KidzPort – Easter, Timelines and Double Hockeysticks.

April 27, 2009

Easter Timeline

 This is the whiteboard version of the blackboard graphic we’ve been working with.  Basically, we laid out the timeline of the Easter process in the church today, from the beginning of Lent to Penticost Sunday Basically it goes like this:

• Easter Sunday – Jesus rose from the dead.
• Three days before Easter – Good Friday.  Jesus died on the Cross
• Seven days before Easter – Palm Sunday.  Jesus came to Jerusalem.
• Forty days before Easter – Ash Wednesday.  Beginning of Lent, a time of preparation for Easter
• Fifty days after Easter – Penticost Sunday – Holy Spirit comes to the Apostles.

We also talked about how the number 40 in the Bible refers to a time of preparation. We talked about other examples of this: Jesus fasting for forty days in the desert, Noah when it rained for forty days, the Israelites wandering the desert for forty years.  All were times of preparation.

This week we continued the story.  Yet another graphic:

Week 2 graphic

 Yes, you see it.  The big H-E-double hockey sticks.  After all, how can you talk about Jesus descending into Hell without mentioning it?   The lesson started with a question:  What happened between Good Friday and Easter Sunday morning.  The answers were varied: Jesus went to sleep, Jesus went to Heaven, Jesus wandered the Earth.   But the truth of it is shocking:  Jesus, having become all of our sin, went into Hell to defeat death and Satan. 

We then asked what the worst part of Hell was.  Fire, torture, pointy things.  Yup, all of that is bad.  But the worse thing, it turns out, is that God is not there.  ANd where there is no God, there is no hope!

One girl asked “How can I defeat the devil?”   She was serious!   I gave her a serious answer:  You don’t.  Jesus already did.  You just have to believe in Him. 

We then talked about the cycle seen in the graphic above.  Jesus came from Heaven, died on the Cross, went to Hell for us, rose on Easter and then went back to Heaven.  Then we sang Rick Founds’ wonderful song, “Lord I Lift Your Name on High.”

For Parents:

• Go over the timeline with your kids and make sure they remember what happened. 
• Sing “Lord I Lift Your Name on High” with your child.
• Pray together about being sure of their salvation in Christ.

 We also held our Easter Egg hunt last weekend.  It had been rescheduled due to weather.   The kids had a great time searching for eggs on a beautiful spring day!

KidzPort – Easter Sunday

April 13, 2009

We had a great, great service at Gospel Light on Easter Sunday.  We didn’t have a regular KidzPort session, so that the families could stay together for the day.  But the kids did a lot to participate in the service .

First off, the 10-12 year old group did an amazing drama, retelling the Passion story in their own way.   Check out a clip below.   Also, the 7-9 year old group did their own rendition of David Crowder* Band’s “There is No One Like You.” 

Calendar update:  The Easter Egg Hunt has been rescheduled to Saturday, April 18th, at 2:30 in Beardsley Park.

KidzPort April 5 – Palm Sunday

April 7, 2009

I am certainly no artiste. So when I draw something like this on the blackboard, its’ a wonder the kids even get what I’m saying.

But draw it I did, my humble rendering of a donkey approaching Jerusalem.  Why?  Because it was Palm Sunday of course! 

I was impressed with how much the kids knew about Palm Sunday.  Sort of.  If I were to put their assorted factoids together, it would sound like this:

“God was riding on a donkey into Jerism to save the people and be baptised.  They were fanning him with palms because it was hot. Hosanna is like “hello.”

Ok, so maybe we had some work to do.  But do it we did.  We talked about what happened that day on the road to Jerusalem, what the people were looking for (a king), and why they were waiving palms and shouting “Hosanna!” (they were welcoming their Messiah).

We also read from Zechariah, and explained that he wrote about Jesus hundreds of years before he was born.

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
      Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!
      Behold, your King is coming to you;
      He is just and having salvation,
      Lowly and riding on a donkey,
      A colt, the foal of a donkey.

For Parents:

• Read with your child the story of Jesus’ Triumphal Entry. (Luke 19 or John 12 are good)
• Read the memory verse together.
• Talk about any time you were expecting one thing, but got something that turned out to be better.  How does this relate to the Jews expectations of the Messiah?

Event Update

Our annual Easter Egg Hunt will be Saturday, April 11 from 2:30 to 4:00 at Beardsley Park.  All children 3-9 are welcome!