1. Your thumb is nearest to you. So begin your prayers by praying for those closest to you. They are the easiest to remember. To pray for our loved ones is, as C.S. Lewis once said, a “sweet duty.”
2. The next finger is the pointing finger. Pray for those who teach, instruct and heal. This includes teachers, doctors, and ministers. They need support and wisdom in pointing others in the right direction. Keep them in your prayers.
3. The next finger is the tallest finger. It reminds us of our leaders. Pray for the president, leaders in business and industry, and administrators. These people shape our nation and guide public opinion. They need God’s guidance.
4. The fourth finger is our ring finger. Surprising to many is fact that this is our weakest finger; as any piano teacher will testify. It should remind us to pray for those who are weak, in trouble or in pain. They need your prayers day and night. You cannot pray too much for them.
5. And lastly comes our little finger; the smallest finger of all. Which is where we should place ourselves in relation to God and others. As the Bible says, “The least shall be the greatest among you.” Your pinky should remind you to pray for yourself.

By the time you have prayed for the other four groups, your own needs will be put into proper perspective and you will be able to pray for yourself more effectively.

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Materials
Two plastic Easter eggs. Fill one with a few small things that make lots of noise – e.g. nuts, bolts, nails, washers, marbles. Rice or dried beans also work. Close and shake it to test sound. Remove or items to improve the sound. Don’t overfill the egg or the sound will be dull. Hide the noisy egg up your sleeve. Leave the other egg empty.

The Children’s Sermon
1. Pick up the empty egg and shake it with the hand that has the other egg hidden up your sleeve. It will appear to rattle.
2. Ask the children to guess what’s inside. If they are a little quiet, ask them one by one “what’s inside?”
3. After you have a good number of answers, open the egg and show them it is empty.
4. Why did it rattle? Eventually someone will guess. (If they need a clue, try “rattling” a solid object like a candle or a hymnbook to show them)

The Lesson
They will be surprised that the egg was empty. The disciples were surprised that the tomb was empty. God had something “up His sleeve.” But for God, it was no trick. Instead it was a miracle. Jesus was raised from the dead.

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Hot Cross Buns were traditionally served during the Lenten Season, especially on Good Friday. Their origins, however, like the Easter holiday, are a mix of pagan and Christian traditions.

Pagan Origins
The Saxons worshipped Eostre, from which we get our word “Easter” as the goddess of dawn and spring. At the arrival of spring they celebrated a month-long festival in celebration of the transition from Winter to Spring. During this festival the Saxons made buns to offer the goddess. They marked the buns with a simple cross, to represent the four phases of the moon.

Christian Reinterpretation
When the Christians gained a firm foothold in Britain, their leaders banned the pagan Easter rites. But they soon discovered it was more effective to give them Christian symbolism rather than outright eliminate them. In 782 AD, They found a way to reinterpret some of the Pagan Easter rites into the Christian ones held at this same time of year. The meaning of the cross on the buns was reinterpreted to signify the Cross upon which Christ was crucified.

The Christian Easter Tradition
Some historians date the origin of “Hot Cross Buns” as an Easter Tradition back to the 12th century. In 1361, an Anglican monk named Father Thomas Rocliffe, was recorded to have made small spiced cakes stamped with the sign of the cross, to be distributed to the poor visiting the monastery at St. Albans on Good Friday, known at that time as the “Day of the Cross.”. According to the scholar Harrowven, the idea proved so popular that he made the buns every year, carefully keeping his bun recipe secret. Traditional hot cross buns contain flour, milk, sugar, butter, eggs, currants and spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg. The cross on the top may be cut into the bun or made out of pastry strips. In America, the cross is often fashioned out of icing. According to tradition, “Hot Cross Buns” were the only food allowed to be eaten by the faithful on Good Friday. They were made from dough that had been kneaded for consecrated bread used at Mass or Holy Communion, and thus represented Christ’s body.

Children’s Sermon
Serve Hot Cross Buns to your Children and youth. While it is important to be aware of the pagan origins, for most people today, the pagan origins have been lost and most people now associate “Hot Cross Buns” with Good Friday and Easter. Keep your focus on the Christian Tradition: they were originally made by monks from Dough that had been consecrated for Mass to represent Christ’s body. The cross represented the “day of the cross” which was the way they referred to Good Friday at the time. It represented the day that Christ died on the cross for our sins.

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There are many traditions and stories surrounding the food we know today as a “pretzel” and it is difficult to separate the facts from the legends. The exact origin of the pretzel is unknown and, like the doughy treat, its history takes many twists and turns.

“Little Rewards” and “Little Arms”
One tradition says that as early as 610 AD, monks somewhere in Southern France or Northern Italy offered pretzels to children as a “little reward” for memorizing their Bible verses and saying their prayers. The monks appropriately called it a pretiola, Latin for “little reward”. At some point pretiola became brachiola, which is Italian for “little arms” because the pretzel looks like arms folded in prayer. Eventually if found it way to Germany and became known as a Bretzel or Pretzel.

Food during Lent
Since many pretzel recipes didn’t contain any of the ingredients that were avoided during the pre-Easter Lent season – eggs, milk, butter, lard – the pretzel became a popular Lenten food throughout the Middle Ages. Pretzels are still part of the Easter celebrations in many European countries.

Good Luck, Prosperity, Spiritual wholeness
In 1440 AD a page in the prayer book used by Catharine of Cleves depicted St. Bartholomew surrounded by pretzels. They had come to represent the good luck, prosperity and spiritual wholeness.

Everlasting Life and Rebirth
A decade later in 1450, Germans ate pretzels and hard-boiled eggs for dinner on Good Friday – the day of fasting. The large, puffy pretzel symbolized everlasting life, and the two hard-boiled eggs, nestled in each of the large round curves of the pretzel, represented Easter’s rebirth.

Hidden Treat
Soon, at Easter, the pretzel was hidden with two hard-boiled eggs for children to find. This is likely the origin of the Easter Egg Hunt we now associate with Easter, with the difference being now we hide the eggs instead of the pretzels. As pretzels and eggs were often hidden in the hay of a barn, baskets filled with hay were later introduced as part of the festivities.

Hard Pretzels
The hard pretzel seems to have been introduced later. While it may have simply been the result of a recipe for the season of Lent, another story says that a baker’s assistant fell asleep while preparing the pretzels and overcooked them. The Master Baker, in the process of throwing out the spoiled pretzels, decided to taste one of the spoiled brown treats. He discovered he liked the nutty flavor and crunchy taste and realized they would keep longer since the moisture had been completely baked out.

Pretzels as an Easter Symbol
Regardless of the true origins, a pretzel turned upside down does look like arms folded in prayer and the three holes could be used as a symbol of the trinity. Pretzels also resemble a heart and thus can be a reminder of the love God showed when Jesus was crucified for the sins of the world. As the pretzel is broken and eaten, we are reminded that Christ in the Passover meal said that his body would be broken. Some pretzel recipes consist only of water and flour, thus proclaiming Lent as a time of fasting and penitence. In many places of Europe, pretzels are served only from Ash Wednesday to Easter, thus keeping the ancient symbolism alive.

Children’s Sermon
Introduce the Children to an Easter basket filled with pretzels and eggs. When you get questioning looks and discussion about the presense of the pretzels, tell them about the history of the treat, the symbolism, and then give each one a pretzel to eat and as a reminder of so many Easter truths.

Variation
Instead of an Easter Egg Hunt, hide small snack size packets of pretzels. Alternatively, wrap the pretzels in plastic wrap and then hide them. Kids will be curious as to why pretzels have been hidden instead of eggs. Then introduce them to the Easter traditions and symbolism associated with the tasty treat.

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Materials
1. Eight (8) glasses of the same shape and size to be placed on a large table. Glass dinner glasses or wine glasses work best.
2. Source of water. (Can be a bucket or large jug)
3. Bowl with small peices of shredded paper
4. Pencil
5. towel
6. Permanent Marker or marker that can write on glass (for preparation)

Preparation
1. Before the talk, number the glasses from 1-8 for easy reference.
2. Fill the eight glasses with water so that they produce a musical scale of a single octave. Use a piano, guitar or another instrument to tune the glasses (Add or remove water until you have got them right all at thge right pitch). Chck the pitch by lightly tapping each glass with a wooden pencil
3. Mark of a line on each of the glasses where the water level should be so that later all you need to do is fill them to the line
4. Set the materials out for the talk.

Activity
1. Allow eight of the children each to fill a glass with water from the container right up to the mark on the glass.
2. Help them to adjust the water level if it is too little or too much
3. After the glasses are filled, tell the class that the way to find out if the group had done a good job is to play a simple tune (such as “Doe A Deer A Female Deer” or “Mary had a little lamb”) by striking the glasses lightly with the pencil.
4. After playing the tune, praise the children for a job well done.
5. Now empty the glasses into the water container and repeat the whole process with another group of 8 children. 6. Again test the results by playing a tune.
7. You can repeat several times with different children, but for the last group you will do something different. When the last team comes on, plant a volunteer within it, whose job is to fill his/her cup not with water but with pieces of paper from the bowl.
8. Now, try to play a tune from the glasses. The tune will be missing one of the notes. One glass will be out of tune.

Application
1. Ask the class what was wrong with the music in the the last team (it did not sound right, something was wrong with it, etc.).
2. Ask the children to identify the cause of the problem and listen to their answers. Someone will likely answer that one of the glasses was filled not with water but with paper.
3. Affirm their answers and say, “You know, our God is big and wonderful, ready to give us all kinds of blessings; but we often feel empty, alone, and sad like those empty glasses. ”
4. “God is like this water. If we invite God to come into our lives, He can make a great difference in us. It’s like filling those empty glasses with water. When God is in our lives, he can use our lives to bring music and joy to others. ”
5. “But if we fill our lives with things other than God, such as toys, television, playing with friends, school that become more important to us than God, we will not bring music and joy to others. Instead we will bring dischord and noise. It’s like trying to play a tune from a glass filled only with paper. It’s no wonder we don’t feel much of God’s love and joy and wisdom in us. Watch carefully what you are filled with — God or the things of this world.”

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Materials
One or two items which are of value to your-personal “treasures”

Lesson
1. Bring out your “treasures” and explain, one by one, why each of them means so much to you.
2. Do any of the youth/children have anything special which they treasure? Ask, “What are some of your treasures?”
3. You might also ask youth/children the following question. Your house is on fire and you only enough time to save three of your personal items… What would you save? Why?

Application
Matthew 6:19-21 tells us that the our treasures are where our heart is. God’s kingdom is the greatest treasure of all. Jesus is the greatest find of all. He is so valuable that all of our treasure becomes worthless in comparison People who find Jesus give up everything else to follow him. When anyone finds him they find riches beyond compare. Yet like Isreal we often let other treasures take the place of God.

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Materials
1. Masking Tape
2. Tape Measure

Objective
Fairness is often a matter of perspective.

Preparation
1. Tape two 4-foot strips of masking tape on the floor, 12 to 15 feet apart.
2. Tape markings to the wall labeled with the height.

The Lesson
1. Invite participants in a competition to determine who can jump the highest.
2. Give them some time to warm up and practice jumping then give them 2 chances.
3. Award the girl and guy with the highest jump and the highest vertical jump (distance between reaching up and jumping up).
4. Then invite participants to compete in a distance jump.
5. Again let them practice. But this time choose a couple of participants to pull aside. Make them do leg exercises. You might even give a couple a jump rope so they can practice jumping. Be tough on them… many are likely to say its not fair because the others don’t have to exercise.
6. With smaller children, allow them to continuously jump from one line and keep jumping in multiple jumps until they reach the other. Then ask them to try to jump the distance in a single jump.
7. With older participants simply allow them to jump and measure the distance where they land.
8. On the second attempt, choose one of the smallest participants in the group, pick them up under the arms and carry him or her across to the other tape strip. (get assistance if needed so you don’t injure your back)

Discussion
Wow! Isn’t (name) a great jumper?
Let participants respond. Most will probably complain that the jump wasn’t fair.

Sometimes God helps others more because they need more help. Being fair depends on the way people look at things. The little child may think it isn’t fair because all the older children are bigger and have longer legs to jump. Some think it isn’t fair because I help the little one. Others may think it isn’t fair because I made life tough for some of you and made you work out. But I was making your muscles stronger so you could jump farther. Yes God doesn’t help everyone in the same way so it may seem like he isn’t fair. But God will always do what’s best for you. If he always carried you, your legs would become very weak, but sometimes he will carry you when you really need it. Sometimes he will allow things to be difficult to make you stronger. There are some things we just can’t do by ourselves. We have to trust God to help us. God promises to support us just like I supported (name). When we’re feeling weak, we can just jump into God’s arms, and he’ll help us be strong.

Scripture
Isaiah 41:10, Hebrews 12:1-17

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Materials
You’ll need three or four blindfolds and several objects to set up a small obstacle course.

Preparation
Ask one or two adult assistants to help you set up the course. Alternatively, blindfold everyone and lead them about the church. As you begin your message, have your assistants set up an obstacle course in front of the area where the children sit.

Activity
1. Has anyone here ever gone through an obstacle course? Let children respond. We’ve set up a little obstacle course here today. Describe the course you’ve set up.
2. Could I have three or four volunteers to try my obstacle course? Choose three or four children. Let them begin the course and then stop them.
3. Oh, I forgot to tell you. You have to do this obstacle course blindfolded. But don’t worry, I’ll lead you.
4. Have the volunteers hold hands. Then lead them through the obstacle course.
5. Other children may call out directions or encouragement.
6. When children have completed the course, remove their blindfolds and have them sit down.
7. Congratulations! Lead children in applause for volunteers.

Discussion
1. What would have happened if the blindfolded volunteers had to go through the obstacle course without a leader?
2. Without a leader, they might have stumbled and fallen.
3. The Bible says Jesus is the way. He shows us and guides us to God. He is the only way to reach God. Without him we are lost forever, stumbling in the dark.

Scripture Text
John 14:5-14

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Materials
Tape, glue, stapler, and a bolt.

Activity
I would like for you to discover what this tape, glue, stapler, and bolt have in common. Think about it.
(Allow them to answer.)

That’s right! They are all used to hold things together. Most of you probably have tape and glue in your desk at school or in your room. You may also have a stapler of your own, or perhaps your teacher or parents do. Your father probably has a jar of bolts in the garage that he uses to hold metal or wooden objects together. Almost everything we have has to be held together by something. Can you name a few other things that hold things together?

Application
There is something else that needs to be held together as well and that is people. We need to be close to people. If we are not, life becomes very sad and lonely. We need to be close to our family, to our friends, and to our fellow church people-plus many others. Let me tell you what holds people together better than anything else: Love! Love is the best tape, the best glue, the best staple, the best bolt that you can find to keep you close to people. There are other things that we sometimes think keep us close to others but they don’t work as well as love. You may think that it’s because you live on the same street that you are friends with a certain person, but if that is all that makes you friends it will be over with the first time you have a serious fight. Sometimes we think we are close friends with someone because we like the same sport or the same games but this usually doesn’t last either. Even living in the same house with your family will not automatically make you close to them. In every case what we really need is love for that person. No matter what you like doing with someone close to you, just remember that to love that person is the most important thing of all. Love will be the tape, the glue, the staple, the bolt that holds us together in unity.

Possible Bible Stories: Greatest Commandment (Matthew 22), Good Samaritan (Luke 10), They will know that we are Christians by our love (John 13:34), Command to Love one Another

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