We strayed from our usual this week and, instead of teaching off what Pastor Mike taught on Sunday, with only 4 days left til resurrection Sunday, we decided to teach a lesson on Easter.
The first thing we had the kids do was write their sins down on small scraps of paper. We discussed as a group what some of those sins might be. They then used push pins we'd already placed on a bulletin board to attach their sins to the board.
Then we headed into the kitchen to make Easter cookies. For anyone interested, here is the recipe and directions:
Ingredients
1 cup whole pecans
1 teaspoon vinegar
3 egg whites
pinch salt
1 cup sugar
1 large plastic zip bag
wooden spoon
mixing bowl
cookie sheet
wax paper
tape
Bible
Directions
Preheat your oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
1. Place the pecans in a large plastic zip bag and let the youth beat them with the wooden spoon to break them into small pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested, the Roman soldiers beat him.
Read John 19:1-3.
2. Let each youth smell the vinegar. Put 1 teaspoon of vinegar into a mixing bowl. Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross he was given vinegar to drink.
Read John 19: 28-30.
3. Add egg whites to vinegar. Explain the eggs as representing life and that Jesus gave his life to give us life.
Read John 10:10-11.
4. Sprinkle a little salt into both hands of each youth. Let them taste it from one hand and brush it from the other hand into the bowl. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus’ followers and the bitterness of our own sin.
Read Luke 23:27.
5. Say “So far the ingredients are not very appetizing.” Add 1 cup of sugar. Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because he loves us. He wants us to know and belong to him.
Read Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16.
6. Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Explain the color white as representing the purity God sees in those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus.
Read Isaiah 11:8 and John 3:1-3.
7. Fold in the broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto a wax paper-covered cookie sheet. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus’ body was laid.
Read Matthew 27:57-60.
8. Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven off. Seal the oven door with tape. Explain that Jesus’ tomb was sealed.
Read Matthew 27:65-66.
9. Wait a couple of hours. If you do this in the context of an overnight meeting, wait until the next morning. (Make sure the oven is off). Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven, and in the same way Jesus’ followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed.
Read John 16:20 and 22.
10. Open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow. On the first Easter Jesus’ followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty.
Read Matthew 28:1-9.
Now since ZG only meets for an hour and a half, obviously we couldn't wait a few hours for the cookies to be done. So we had made a batch the night before and brought those for the kids to eat.
Then it was back to our sins posted on the bulletin board. We took them off one-by-one (leaving the pins in place), gave them to the kids to hold with tongs and then let them light them on fire. We talked about how our sins are remembered no more by God the instant we ask Him to be Lord of their lives. Using yarn then, we outlined the pins left on the bulletin board and, to the kids' surprise, the shape made by the pins and yarn was a cross.
We ended our evening making sure the kids knew that tonight could be the night of their salvation if they had not yet made that decision.
