We all make plans for big events and the next big one coming up is Easter. We often find that things rarely go according to how we intend and we tend to get caught off guard. The Easter account is full of surprises. Like the plot twist at the end of a suspense novel, all the characters get the surprise of their lives and their lives are never the same again. Here’s a fun game you can play that expresses the surprising Easter story!

Resources

• Colored Easter Eggs

Preparation

1. Prepare a variety of Easter eggs in different colors (black, white, red, yellow, blue, green, orange, and purple), some with numbers (7, 11, 13, and 15) and some without.
2. Hide them around the room or a designated area.

What to Do

1. Before starting the game, divide the youth into 2 or more teams.
2. Tell them they have 10 minutes to find all the eggs. You might have to extend the time depending on the size of the group or the playing area.
3. Let them know it is a team competition and that some eggs will be worth more than others.
4. You are also allowed to trade eggs with other teams once your find them.
5. When you announce the game has begun, the youth search for eggs, trying to acquire the eggs they think are worth the most and trading eggs with each other based on what they think the true value is.
6. Only you will know the true value of the eggs and the meaning of the numbers.
7. When the time is up, gather the teams together and reveal the scoring system for the eggs:

Colors: (Substitute colors as needed)

• Black = 30 points
• Red = 10 points
• Yellow = 5 points
• Blue = 2 points
• Green = minus 2 points
• Orange = minus 5 points
• Purple = minus 10 points
• White = minus 30 points

Numbers:

• 7 = subtract 50
• 11 = double score
• 13 = add 50
• 15 = add 1

Take It to the Next Level

In this game, you thought you knew the outcome. You had an idea of the meaning of the eggs and the numbers. You thought you knew the rules. You thought you had a plan. You thought you knew what to expect. But you were surprised.

Sometimes what seems a solid victory can actually be a defeat. What seems a defeat can be a victory. Sometimes the ending of the story is actually the beginning. The expected gives way to the unexpected and we are surprised. With God there are many things which are certain. But there are also things that only He understands. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Make it Spiritual

• Like the game, the Easter Story is full of surprises – some pleasant and some unpleasant. What are some of the surprises in the easter story?
• What expectations did the disciples have? The pharisees? The crowd? The criminals on the cross? The Guards at the tomb? Satan? The other characters in the story?

His disciples were surprised. In the hours after Christ’s crucifixion, believers huddled together in fear behind locked doors. Then Jesus appeared, inside the locked room, in their midst. Can you imagine the surprise?

Can you imagine the surprise of those who persecuted Christ? The religious leaders surely thought that they had won. The so called Messiah would never question their authority or their righteousness again. Can you imagine how they felt when they heard about the empty tomb?

Can you imagine Satan’s surprise? It seemed that God had allowed Christ to placed under the heel of death. You can imagine his satisfaction as he watched Jesus’ head fall onto His chest, the last breath leaving His body on that terrible Friday afternoon. “We have won!” But can you imagine His surprise when Jesus rose from the dead, stole the victory from him, and conquered sin and death?

Can you imagine the surprise of the Roman soldiers guarding the tomb? Jesus was a convicted rebel put to a very painful death for his crimes. He was a rebel. He was argumentative and angered many powerful people. Even the crowd wanted his blood. And as the soldiers were guarding the tomb can you imagine their surprise when they felt a violent earthquake and the appearance of an angel who rolled away the massive stone. Matthew reported they were so petrified they were shaken stiff – just like dead men.

The women visiting Jesus’ tomb were surprised.  They were expecting to tend to a corpse. They came prepared with spices but they saw an angel actually speaking to them and telling them the unbelievable story that Jesus is not dead, and has risen. They were the first to be told that Jesus had risen from the dead. They were the first to hear of the news and Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene personally! Not surprisingly, when they reported this to the apostles, the apostles thought that what the women said was nonsense and they did not believe them (Luke 24:11).

The greatest Surprise? Of all the surprises that Easter morning, the greatest surprise is that a holy, perfect God would be willing to die for sinful man. That He died for you and He died for me. And that He rose again so will we – that’s the true surprise of the Easter story.

Make It Personal

1. When you are surprised, what reactions do you have? How do you feel? What is the difference between a pleasant surprise and an unpleasant one? Do any make you feel the need to make changes?
2. What surprises you in the Easter Story? What do you think should surprise us more?
3. How is Jesus’ whole life a surprise to many?
4. How do we assign value to people? Are there some people you consider less valuable than others? How does God value people? Does his value differ from ours?

Make It Practical

You are valuable to God. Not just you, the lost, the sinful, the broken hearted, the poor, the rich, everyone has value to God. Just how valuable? They say you only know the true value of something by what someone else is willing to trade for it. God traded His beloved Son and Jesus paid the price Himself, for you. That’s how valuable you truly are.

This Easter, how can you share God’s love with someone and let them know that it’s not just you who sees their true value, but how much more God does? What are you willing to trade to show someone else the love of Christ? Commit to surprising someone with the love of Christ through your words or deeds this week!

Scripture References

“‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.'”
– Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV)

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