Davison's Doodle

Easter

John Dominic Crossan argues that each Gospel is its own “parable” about a character from Nazareth called Jesus (Crossan, The Power of Parable: How Fiction by Jesus Became Fiction about Jesus, HarperOne, 2012).

There are several options for the children’s sermon on Easter Sunday that stand apart from the biblical text. One could choose to talk with the children about what is different in the sanctuary that day (flowers, colors, banners, music, etc.?) and how that enhances the celebration of Easter. Is there a particular image everywhere in your sanctuary that could be the content of the children’s sermon?

Another option, if there are baptisms on Easter, is to invite the children to come close to the baptistry and talk with the children about the people who are making a confession of faith and getting baptized that morning. Scoop out some water and let the children put their hands in it. Whatever your baptism ritual (believer’s or infant), you could talk with the children about what baptism means for your congregation and the Christian faith.

One could close the children’s sermon by asking them to either touch the container of water (or the water itself) and say a prayer of blessing for the water and those being baptized that day. Then, put the water back into the baptistry.

If you chose to begin Holy Week by explaining to the children what your congregation will be remembering this week, be sure to return to this on Easter Sunday as you note the empty tomb and complete the calendar for the children.

Acts 10:34-43

• One way to approach the children’s sermon on Easter is to do so by telling your story of faith or how you understand Jesus. This would be an interesting model, as you share a brief bit of this story from Acts with the children. You might even ask the children, “Today, we remember that Jesus is alive again. What do you think that means, or (if you have an older group) what does that mean to you? It falls to all of us, children and adults alike, to talk about our experience of God and Jesus when asked. No matter who asks, we are challenged to speak authentically as Peter did.
• This is an opportunity to talk with the children about the theological claim that God shows no partiality between people. God does not “play favorites” might be a better way to explain the claim to the children. God wishes for all of us to experience God’s love. On Easter, we remember that, for many Christians, God’s love is expressed through living the way Jesus did, as well as believing that Jesus is God’s son.

John 20:1-18 / Luke 24:1-12

• The children will know why you are in church today and why there are so many in worship. If asked, “What is today?” they will surely answer, “Easter.” You may ask, “And what do we remember today?” You will hear a variety of answers that will demonstrate what is happening in your Sunday school program, in the homes of the children, and how much the children listen during worship. You will hear different versions of “Jesus is raised from the dead.” This is an opportunity for you (or another adult) to share your story of encountering Jesus and then share the story about Mary Magdalene talking with Jesus on Easter morning.
• This is also an opportunity to connect the Holy Week events for the children. Consider gathering the children around the communion table. Remind them to touch the table, or you could ask them to touch things on the table. Let’s remember our table manners. One could talk about what the congregation did on Maundy Thursday and how, each time we celebrate communion (the Lord’s Supper or the Eucharist, depending on your tradition), we celebrate Easter by remembering Jesus.
• Consider making the children’s sermon the gospel reading for the day rather than reading the story from John or Luke by asking the children to help you tell the Easter story to the congregation. This is an opportunity to test what the children know of the story. You will need to fill in the blanks as you go along. What a great moment this would be—children telling the Easter story among the decorations in the sanctuary. Keep it moving and build the story from the children’s knowledge.
• This is an opportunity to highlight Mary Magdalene’s importance in the Easter story. Had it not been for her willingness to go and tell what she had seen and whom she had met, how would Jesus’ story have been different? The children could learn from her example.