4. Easter Ideas for Kids Church: Wiped Away
Help kids of all ages understand that Jesus’ death wipes away our sins.
You’ll need:
- Newspapers,
- baby wipes,
- trash can,
- candle, and
- matches
Have kids form a large circle. Then place the newspaper in the center. Tell kids the newspaper represents the sin in our lives. Have kids grab a piece of newspaper and rub their hands with it until ink transfers to their hands. Read aloud 1 John 1:9. Remind kids that like the stain left by the newspaper, our sins leave stains on our hearts.
Place a baby wipe in front of each child. Next, dim the lights. Have an adult leader light the candle. Say: Jesus came into a dark world to be our light. Because of Jesus’ death, we’re forgiven and can live in the light forever! As you focus your eyes on the light, Jesus, use the baby wipe to clean your hands. Then drop it into the trash can to remind you that when Jesus wipes your sins away, they’re gone for good.
When kids are finished, pray together. Thank Jesus for being a light in our dark world and for dying on the cross for our sins.
5. Easter Ideas for Kids Church: Wrapped in Forgiveness
Help children understand Jesus’ work on the cross. Because of him, mistakes that left a mark on our hearts are gone when we tell Jesus we’re sorry and ask him to forgive us.
You’ll need:
- A white sheet,
- permanent markers,
- washable ink, and
- baby wipes
Spread the sheet on the floor or table. Then have children gather around the outer edges. Talk about how after Jesus died on the cross, people wrapped him in a special cloth. Tell kids that Jesus died so we can accept his gift of forgiveness. When we do something wrong, we can tell him about it. When we say we’re sorry, then Jesus forgives us. So we don’t have to worry about it anymore! Jesus takes that “sin” mark away.
Have children use washable markers to “paint” a finger and then place their fingerprint on the sheet. It’s a reminder that we all do things that make Jesus sad. Have adult leaders use permanent markers to draw hearts around children’s fingerprints and print their name under their heart.
Then pray together, telling Jesus we’re sorry for the things we do wrong and thank him for forgiving us. Remind children to look for the sheet on Easter Sunday. They’ll see that the fingerprint stain they left inside the heart will be gone. Why? Because Jesus defeated death on Easter morning!
Afterward, take the sheet home and wash it. The washable ink will disappear, leaving the hearts and children’s names. Drape the sheet over a cross on Easter morning as a reminder of Jesus’ forgiveness.
