Easter F.H.E./ Sharing Time

Since Easter is this Sunday I wanted to have a meaningful Family Home Evening with my kids this week. Normally around 5:00 I'm scrambling to come up with anything I can pass off as some sort of lesson and scrounging around the cupboards to figure out what I'm going to give the kids when they ask what the treat is. So, Like I said, I really wanted this week to be different. Early in the afternoon I went to a binder I have full of F.H.E. lesson ideas (don't ask why I don't use it more often. I don't know the answer) and found what they had outlined for Easter. I loved the idea because it was simple, but was still a fun way to teach the kids about why we really celebrate Easter.

I know that Monday night has already passed, but I thought this would still be a great thing for any family to do on Sunday. My kids really enjoyed this lesson and I felt like they learned a lot. Also, Jenn is the Primary guru around here, but I thought this might make a great sharing time idea.

Depending on how old your kids are and their attention span, you can spend time looking up and reading the scriptures that are outlined, or you can just do what I did and tell in my own words the summary.

You will need 12 plastic Easter eggs labeled 1-12 and have these items inside. And just so you know, I totally had to improvise on some of these.

#1-Sacrament cup
#2-3 Dimes
#3 Soap
#4 Rope
#5-Thorns
#6 Cross
#7-Dice
#8-Small Rocks
#9-Linen or Cloth
#10 Spices
#11-Large Rock
#12-Empty

Here is the summary of what you will be reading:

Jesus and his disciples celebrated the feast of the Passover together. The passover is a very special Jewish holiday which celebrates the passing over of the destroying angel when they were delivered from the Egyptians and the promise that a Messiah would come and save them. Jesus taught his disciples about service by washing their feet and saying, "The greatest among you is the servant of all." He also taught them about the sacrament.

Open Egg #1 Luke 22:42 and 44
Jesus then went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. Here he took upon Himself the sins of the world. His suffering was so great that he bled from every pore.

Open Egg #2 Mark 14:10-11 and 44-45
One of Jesus' disciples, Judas Iscariot, led men who were angry with Jesus to Him while He was praying, He did this because the wicked men told him that they would give him 30 pieces of silver for doing so. They wanted to take Jesus away and kill Him. Judas showed them who Jesus was by giving Him a kiss on the cheek. As the men took Jesus, one of Jesus' disciples cut off one of the ears of one of the soldiers. Jesus then healed the guard's ear and was led away. Judas later felt so bad about betraying the Savior that he took his own life.

Open Egg #3 Soap Mathew 27:24
Jesus was brought to stand trial in front of Pontius Pilate. Pilate was a powerful man and because it was the time of passover, he allowed the people to release one prisoner. The people chose a murderer and thief named Barabbas rather than Jesus, who was an innocent man. Pilate, to show that he held no responsibility for Jesus' coming execution, symbolically washed his hands. Though he found no fault with Jesus, he still mocked and scourged Jesus and delivered Him to be crucified.

Open Egg #4 Mathew 27:29
Jesus was bound by ropes, spit upon, severely beaten, whipped and mocked. One of Jesus' disciples, Peter, was so frightened by how the treated Jesus that he denied even knowing Him three times.

Open Egg #5 Mathew 27:28
Jesus was mocked and dressed in a scarlet robe. The wicked men made a crown of thorns and placed it upon Jesus' head. He was beaten and whipped again.

Open Egg #6 Luke 23:33
The wicked men decided to crucify Jesus. They made Him carry a heavy cross to a hill called Calvary where He was to be put to death. He fell while carrying the cross due to the severe beatings and bad treatment He had received. A man named Simon stepped in and helped Him carry the cross the rest of the way. While he was on the cross. Jesus asked John. one of His disciples to take care of His mother. Before he died. Jesus cried out "My God, my God, why hast Though forsaken me?" When the soldiers head this, they mocked Him once again by offering Him a cup of vinegar. Jesus did not drink it but instead spoke the words, "Father, forgive the, for they know not what they do" thus giving us the ultimate example of forgiveness.

Open Egg #7 Mark 15:24
While Jesus was dying on the cross, the soldiers gambled for his clothing.

Open Egg #8 Mathew 27:51 and 54
Jesus, after six hours of being on the cross finally said, "Father into Thy hands I commend my spirit," and the He died. As soon as this happened, darkness and storms arose showing the tremendous grief Heavenly Father felt when He witnessed these things being done to His son. The wicked people then realized that this must indeed be the son of God.

Open Eggs #9 and #10 John 19:40
Joseph of Arimathaea. a disciple of Jesus. asked Pilate if he could care for the body of Jesus after He had died. Pilate agreed to let him do this. The body of Jesus was wrapped in linen with appropriate spices. Spices were used to preserve bodies. Mary and Mary Magdalene wrapped Christ's body in the linen with spices the day Jesus died (Friday) and then waited until the first day of the week (Sunday) before they returned to do this again- because Saturday was the sabbath.

Open Egg #11 Mathew 28:2
A large stone was rolled across the door to the tomb in which Christ's body lay because the Pharisees went to Pilate and told him that Jesus had said that He would rise on the third day. They were afraid that the disciples might come and take the body to make it look like He had risen. They even set a watch to make sure nobody took the body. An angel of the Lord descended from heaven and rolled back the stone and the men on the watch started to shake and became "as dead men." When these men told the Pharisees what had happened, the pharisees paid them to tell others that the stone had been rolled away while they were asleep.

Open Egg #12 Mathew 28:6; John 20:15-16
When Mary and Mary Magdalene went to the sepulchre, there was an angel sitting there who told them to go and tell the disciples that Christ had risen. Jesus first appeared to Mary Magdalene while she was in the garden mourning His death. She actually looked at Him and did not know who He was. He said to her, "Woman. why weepest though?" She thought He was a gardener and asked Him what He had done with the body of Jesus. Then He said to her. "Mary." She turned and recognized Him, saying "Rabboni" or "Master."


I hope this lesson will be helpful to some of you in teaching your children the importance of Easter. I really was surprised at how well this kept my children's attention and so pleased that they actually learned something. And I wish I knew who to give credit to for putting this all together, but there is no name on it.