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Reply to "BIBLE SKILLS & GAMES Workshop Lessons and Ideas for Empty Tomb/Resurrection"

Holy Week and Jesus' Resurrection

A "Benjamin's Box" "Resurrection Eggs" Bible Games Workshop Lesson

Summary of Lesson Activities:

Students will read "Benjamin's Box: The Story of the Resurrection Eggs" and play a "story ordering and remembering" game using plastic Easter eggs they have filled with the symbols/objects suggested in the story.

Scripture References:

The Benjamin's Box story faithfully recounts ALL the major events of Holy Week from Palm Sunday to Resurrection in a kid-friendly illustrated book. For our purposes, it IS the scripture reading for this lesson.

Below is a YouTube video created by a congregation featuring the story and illustrations of Benjamin's Box read by many voices. There are others like it, but this one had a nice presentation and audio. It should be noted that to legally use this video for group/church use, you should already OWN a copy of the book, Benjamin's Box. You may otherwise project or show the pages from your own copy. Please note that the story is not short, and the Resurrection Egg games and activity in this lesson are connected to it.

See the list at the end of this lesson to see what goes into each "Resurrection Egg" at the end of this lesson for the specific parts of the story that they refer to. 

Note: It is possible to use this lesson without reading/viewing the book. To do so, simple use the list of Resurrection Eggs at the end of this lesson and have students look up and read the passages that go with each egg. However, the book presents the story from a child's point of view and emphasizes sharing the story!


Memory Verse:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 (NIV)

Lesson Objectives:
During this workshop:

  • The children and the teacher will read the book Benjamin’s Box by Melody Carlson
  • The children will race to put items/symbols into the correct order
  • The children will make their own set of Resurrection Eggs to take home
  • The children will practice telling the story of Holy Week using their Resurrection Eggs

Teacher preparation:

  • Read the scripture passages and familiarize yourself with the book and egg activity steps.
  • Prepare and Print the List of Resurrection Eggs found at the end of this lesson plan.
  • Know the Holy Week story well enough so that you can tell it using the eggs/symbols in order.
  • Make sure you have all the supplies you need for each egg.

Materials List:

  • A copy of the book Benjamin’s Box (integral to this lesson), and optionally, a way to show the video reading of the book found at https://youtu.be/EBJM7ybE8l8?s...mQ-ej98wR0Q&t=60 on YouTube.
  • 2 sets of Resurrection Eggs
  • Plastic Easter eggs
  • Egg cartons -- 1 egg carton for each child. If needed, you can buy them in bulk from Amazon.
  • and symbols for each child to make their own set of Resurrection eggs
  • Copies of the "List of Resurrection Eggs" found at the end of this lesson to go home with each student (copy it and make it your own)
  • Permanent markers to number the plastic eggs (after the ordering game)
  • Markers to decorate the egg carton at the end of the lesson

  • Symbols/Objects Needed for the Eggs in Benjamin’s box:
    • donkey fur --a piece of fun/fake fur
    • coin/nickel
    • Cup/plastic communion cups or grape
    • Praying hands/smooth twig
    • Leather strip/leather shoelace cut into pieces
    • Thorn/short pieces off someone’s rose bush
    • Nail/small tack
    • Die/dice (can be purchased in bulk on Amazon)
    • Toothpick spear
    • Cloth/gauze bandage pieces, or bandaid if you want it to be useful
    • Stone/garden rocks or pea gravel
    • He is risen! (Benjamin shows everything to his friends) -- an empty egg


Preview of Benjamin's Box as read and posted by First Parish Cong. Saco ME:



Lesson Plan

Opening:

Greet the children and share an overview of what the children are going to learn and do.

Study:

Scripture/Bible Story:
The story of Benjamin’s Box tells the story of the Resurrection. Students will further learn it through the egg games that emphasize retelling the story of the Resurrection in the correct order. If you want to include readings from student Bibles, invite them to look up the verses associated with each egg. They are included on the List of Resurrection Eggs found at the end of this lesson which the students will be using. Otherwise, include the brief passage of Mark 11:1-11 as a summary of the events.

Today's Bible Skill three-fold: (1) Knowing where to find the Resurrection stories. (2) Knowing that they are "Good News" (and what IS that Good News?). And (3) Being able to remember the stories! (which the book and activities will help do). Tell the children the events of Holy Week are told in the Gospels, which are the first four books of the New Testament. Ask them fi they know the name of these books (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.)

Quickly invite students to find the CHAPTERS where the story of Jesus' cross and resurrection is told in ANY of the four Gospels. When everyone has found at least one, have them show the rest of the class.  (For non-readers, show them.)

Ask: Why is the Death and Resurrection of Jesus "Good News" for us?

Read or Show Benjamin's Box:  (20 Minutes)

Read or show Benjamin’s Box to the class. Point out the items that Benjamin puts in his special box, and encourage the children to try to remember the order Benjamin finds them.  They'll soon play a game about what Benjamin put in each egg!

Tip: If your church has an overhead camera projector, place the book under that to make it appear LARGE on a screen!

Ressurection Egg Activities:

Depending on available classtime, and due to the length of the book, you may not have time for some of the following activities. The crucial one is having students assemble the egg carton with the symbols from the story in the eggs. It is possible to focus on the Resurrection Eggs without telling the full story of Benjamin's Box. Rather, you could summarize the "story of Benjamin" as a precursor to having students assemble their own "box" -- egg carton of symbols just like Benjamin did in the story.

1. If you have enough time, begin with a fun game of "race to the eggs." To play, place all the plastic eggs in one large basket at the end of the room and line up the students at the other end of the room in two or three teams. Give each team an empty carton that they keep at the back of their line. On "go" runners from each team run to the basket and bring back one egg and place it in their team's carton. Do this until teams have brought back 12 eggs. No throwing, no dropping.

2. When the egg race game is over, give each student an empty egg carton and invite each student to collect 12 different eggs into their carton for the next activity.

3. One at a time, the teacher is to pick up each symbol/object that students will be putting into their eggs and briefly tell the story associated with the symbol (found on the list at the end of this lesson).  Invite students to first share what they remember it means before filling in more detail. Place the symbols on the table in the correct order as you talk about each one. Remind them to pay attention to the order of the symbols, because in a moment you're going to scramble the symbols and have them put them back in the right story order!

4. Invite one student to come forward and help you SCRAMBLE THE SYMBOLS on the table. Ask the student "Which symbol/story is first in our story" ...and so on until you and the class have put the symbols back in the correct story order. (Use each symbol as a very brief opportunity to add a little additional insight or ask a question about Jesus and his story.)

5. Now invite each student to come get their own set of the symbols, starting with Symbol 1 (the donkey fur) and place it in the plastic egg that they have marked #1 and put it in their carton. Repeat this procedure until each student has received all 12 symbols/objects and placed them in their eggs.

6. Distribute markers and invite student to quickly DECORATE their egg carton with their name and some of the symbols they have placed in their egg. They can include the memory verse phrase:  "For God so loved the world."

6. Have the students divide into pairs to practice telling the story to each other using their eggs and the list of Resurrection Eggs you've given them (the list/handout that tells what part of the story each egg/symbol represents). For non-readers, have the teacher lead them through this process.

Be prepared to help younger children collect, sort, write, and share the story of the Resurrection Eggs. If splitting into pairs isn't going to work, split into small adult-led groups to help each students share their eggs.

Reflection/Closing Egg Hunt Prayer:

If you have time, use this Easter Egg Hunt Closing Prayer, otherwise, offer a prayer of thanksgiving and encouragement that we would tell others the story of what Jesus has done for us.

Easter Egg Closing Prayer:
Hide a set of Resurrection eggs with the symbols in them around the room. When students have found them all, make sure each student is holding at least one egg and invite them to open it and tell the story associated with that symbol.'Then invite each students to "Thank God" for the symbol they are holding and its meaning.

Write these two sentences on the board and invite students to choose one to end their prayers with: "Jesus, make me a good egg -- one that holds your story and shares it with others" OR  "Jesus, help me to search and find you in my life, and when I'm feeling lost, let me know you are always with me."



OPTION: Write/Illustrate John 3:16 somewhere on the Egg Carton
They may have already written the first part of it on their egg carton. John 3:16 is probably a familiar verse to many of the children. To help them remember it, have them write the entire verse or just "For God so loved the world that he gave his son...."   They could write it on the bottom of their carton or on the inside lid.


Resources:

  • Carlson, Melody. Benjamin’s Box. Sisters, Oregon: Gold ‘n’ Honey Books, 1997.
    Some ideas borrowed from other lessons here at rotation.org.
  • Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.


Turn the following list into your own handout. Give it to the students when they tell each other the story of the eggs they have assembled. Send it home with the students in the lid of their egg carton.

List of Resurrection Eggs

Egg # 1 The Donkey
Matthew 21:1-9
The fur reminds us of the donkey that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday to announce that he was indeed the Messiah come to save.

Egg # 2 Thirty Coins
Matthew 26:14-16
The coin reminds us of the 30 pieces of silver Judas received for betraying Jesus to the Jewish leaders. They remind us that we too are sinners who do not always do the right thing.

Egg # 3 The Cup
Matthew 26:17-19,26-28 The cup reminds us of the Passover meal: Jesus’ last supper with His disciples before His crucifixion when he told them that his blood would be shed (poured out) to bring about the forgiveness of sins.

Egg # 4 Prayer
Mark 14:32-42
The twig reminds us of Jesus visiting the Garden of Gethsemane to pray and reminds us that, like Jesus, we need to bring our troubles and worries to God.

Egg # 5 The Trial
John 19:1-15
The leather reminds us of the whip used to give Jesus 39 lashes after His trial by Pilate.  Pilate was hoping that it would be enough to satisfy the crowd and he could let Jesus go free. But in the end, Pilate gave in to the crowd.

Egg # 6 Crown of Thorns
Mark 15: 16-20
The thorn reminds us of the crown of thorns that the soldiers placed on Jesus’ head while mocking Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!"   Little did they know that he really was their king!

Egg # 7 Nails
John 19:16-22
The nail reminds us of the nails that were used to nail Jesus to the cross. Jesus suffered horribly so that we would never forget how much God loves us and forgives us even when we do bad things.

Egg # 8 Dice
John 19:23-25
This one die reminds us of the Roman soldiers gambling for Jesus' robe. They were mean and didn't understand who Jesus was, but like us, Jesus died for their sins and forgave them.

Egg # 9 Spear
John 19:31-37
This sword reminds us of the spear that the Roman soldiers used to cut Jesus’ side when He was on the cross. Jesus suffered and died so that we might never forget his message of unconditional love.

Egg # 10 Burial Cloth
Matthew 27:57-61
The gauze reminds us of the linen cloth used by Joseph of Arimathea to wrap Jesus’ body after He died.He risked his reputation and position on the Sanhedrin, the council that arrested Jesus, to honor Jesus.

Egg # 11 Stone
Matthew 28:1-2
The stone reminds us of the tomb with the stone that closed it; the stone that was later rolled away by the angels. Nothing for God is too big or too hard or can't be overcome, not even death!

Egg # 12 Empty Tomb
Matthew 28:5-8
The empty egg reminds us of the empty tomb and Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. We don't see his body, but by faith we feel his Spirit living inside us and through his people calling us to believe and follow in his ways.



A lesson written by Jaime Senyard from River Community Church Prairieville, LA
using ideas from other lessons previously posted at Rotation.org
and updated by members of the Rotation.org Content Team

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Last edited by Neil MacQueen
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