Beyond The Eggs- Teaching Your Kids About the Significance of Easter

Do you know how you can teach your child about the lessons and the true significance of Easter?

Can you convey the message about the importance of Jesus going to the cross and rising again?

It may be a little tough for you to know how to convey the message, maybe it is not, but whatever the case may be, let us learn together.

Unlike Christmas, Easter usually seems to be a little ‘under celebrated’. Maybe it’s because of the time of the year, maybe it’s because of the lack of the twinkling Christmas decor, maybe it’s because it’s a time that speaks of death, burial… It’s just usually not hyped like Christmas.

Many of us seem to know exactly what Easter is about, but may find it a bit difficult to get our kids to understand, or to find ways to make it a time for reflections on the essence of the season.

If you are struggling to grasp the full meaning of the season or you need help passing that message across, then stay with me till the end of this.

Our children need to understand the essence of our faith. If you have a child with my kind of temperament, then you need to even help them to understand more. You see, no one can tell me what to do and expect me to do it without first allowing me to internalize that instruction. I need reason to do things. I’m not one to just get on the bandwagon simply because others are there.

It’s easier to get kids to take ownership for their faith as Christians if we help them to understand that faith.

Why Do We Need To Explain Easter To Our Kids?

• The validity of the claims of Jesus rests on His resurrection. Jesus claimed to be all that He is and the proof of that rested on His ability to rise on the third day. His resurrection proves that He is the son of God.

“…and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.” – Romans 1:4

• Without the resurrection of Jesus, we are only going through the motions. As Christians, the Easter story [the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus] is the most significant part of our faith. It’s the basis upon which our salvation rests.

“But tell me this—since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead? For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world. But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died. – 1 Corinthians 15: 12 – 20

• Our Justification is hinged on the resurrection of Jesus. We are saved because our savior is alive. What good will a dead savior do? Without the resurrection, our salvation is not possible.

He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. – Romans 4:25

• The Resurrection is proof that we will reign with Jesus. If Jesus did not resurrect, then it will be pretty difficult for us to believe that we would too, wouldn’t it?

How To Make Easter Real To Your Kids

Let me share with you some great ideas I have tried before and some I got off the internet, that will help you to teach your kids the essence of the season. I plan to try one or two myself – my kids still remember our lovely Christmas Eve carol service from last Christmas.

• Try having a hymnal/communion program at home to help the kids remember the Last Supper of Jesus.
• Read and Discuss The Story of The Death, Burial and Resurrection of Jesus. Don’t just tell the story, read portions of the Bible that will capture the season. I did this for the carol service, each of the kids read out some portion of the story for themselves.
• I love this one here about letting your kids Sense the Resurrection experience. You can try it out too.
• I like this yummy poem idea. Anything involving M&Ms should be welcome. Sure the kids would love it too. Check it out Here.

These are the ones I found that I loved.

So, what are your plans?

Share your ideas for teaching your kids about Easter in the comments below.

Thank you and Happy Easter Celebration.