Egg #1

We began a new Easter tradition last year called "Resurrection Eggs". They sell these online and at stores like Lifeway and Family Christian Bookstore, but you can also make your own set. I made a set for each of the 15 kids in Elias' class last night for about $30 total. You end up with 12 eggs that you can open in order to tell the story of Easter. We begin the Wednesday (today) a week and a half before Easter, so that we can open one each night. We found that doing it this way builds anticipation of what will happen next, and it gives us all time to think about and process each part. So, over the next 12 days, I am going to blog about our Easter Eggs, what is inside each one, and what it reminds us of. I am also hoping there will be some sweet (ok, or funny) reactions from the kids to write about.

Egg #1
Item inside: a leaf (you can also use a miniature donkey if you have one)
Message: Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. The people lined up along the road waving palm branches and shouting "Hosanna!" (This event had been written about and predicted in the Old Testament LONG before it happened. Look it up: Zechariah 9:9) It is really neat for kids to see that Jesus had been foretold so long before He ever came to Earth.
Scripture to Read: Matthew 21:1-11
1As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2saying to them, "Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3If anyone says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away."
4This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
5"Say to the Daughter of Zion,
'See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.' "[a]
6The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. 8A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
"Hosanna[b] to the Son of David!"
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"[c]
"Hosanna[d] in the highest!"
10When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, "Who is this?"
11The crowds answered, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee"

Since Elias is doing this at school each day, I asked him to explain to Elena why the leaf was in the egg. As he told her the story, he described how people were putting their coats and branches on the road for Jesus to ride over on the donkey. We talked about how that was a way of recognizing Jesus as royalty. I think Elias liked telling the story to his baby sister, and Elena was pretty excited about the leaf. :-)