Christ Centered Easter Basket

April 12, 2019

Bunnies, candy and plastic eggs are often times the focus around Easter and we tend to miss the real reason for the season.  While it is easy to run out and buy a bunch of sweets to fill their basket on Easter morning, we love creating a more meaningful tradition that you can incorporate year after year as a family.  This idea has been floating around online for some time, but we want to spread the message further and help busy parents bring it into their own home with ease.

Start Planting Seeds:

Two weeks before Easter, start talking about Easter and why it is so important.  Drive time in the car, at bedtime or while you eat dinner together as a family are all great times.  Here are a few questions to get the conversation started…

 

Build A Tradition:

One week before Easter, pick a day, time and location to start your family tradition.  Get out your supplies and have everyone start writing down their sins.  They will want to put one sin on each rock.  This could be things like fighting, lying, not listening, disobedience, pride, anger, envy, etc.  Once everyone is finished, each person puts the rocks in their own basket.

Then read Ezekiel 36:26:

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh."

After the children go to bed, bring out a new basket and label it “Jesus”.  Move all of the rocks into this “Jesus” basket and replace them with gifts.  Ideally some of the gifts in the basket would help them grow spiritually and help them worship the Lord all year long.  Devotional books, cards, Christian music and games are great options.  Don’t forget a few sweets as well. 😊

When they wake up, explain that Jesus took all their sin for himself, so they could have blessings.  If your children are young, you will want to keep the message simple.  If they are a little older, it is great to go into more detail regarding the meaning of Easter is Jesus Christ's victory over death. His resurrection symbolizes the eternal life that is granted to all who believe in Him. Easter symbolizes the complete verification of all that Jesus preached and taught during His ministry. If He had not risen from the dead, if He had merely died and not been resurrected, He would have been considered just another teacher or Rabbi. However, His resurrection changed all that and gave final and irrefutable proof that He was really the Son of God and that He had conquered death once and for all to save us and forgive us of our sins. 

Planting Preparation:

This tradition can be easy to prepare and set up for.  A few weeks before Easter, start getting rocks and supplies.  If you live in an area that has rocks, make it a fun activity to go outside one afternoon and collect about 10-15 per person.  Ideally they are smooth and about 2-4” long so you can write on them.  Or you can buy painting rocks or river rocks at places like Home Depot, Hobby Lobby or Amazon.  Also grab some permanent markers or paint and paint brushes plus newspaper to protect your table.  Be sure you have a basket for each child plus one extra one for Jesus.  I love when the parents participate in this activity as well so grab some extra rocks and baskets for everyone if you prefer.

Watch Them Grow: 

Kids can ask some tough questions but with a little preparation and honest answers, watching them grow in their faith is amazing.  Here are a few questions that may come up and possible answers for you to consider.

1. What is sin?
   Without an understanding of sin, our children can’t appreciate the significance of what Jesus did for us on Good Friday and Easter.  You can explain that the word sin simply means all the things we do wrong (including big and little things).  All people sin.  All people but Jesus.  He was perfect. Sin is choosing your way over God's way. It's doing what you want to do instead of what God wants.
2. Why did Jesus have to die?
   Jesus came to earth knowing that He would one day die. He died because people needed a Savior.
3. Did God want Jesus to be killed?
   No. God created people to be perfect, but then people did bad things. But because God's love for us is great, He sent Jesus to redeem our sins.
4. Did it hurt Jesus when people were mean to Him?
   Yes. Jesus had feelings. He felt pain and sadness when He was on the cross.
5. Why couldn't somebody else die on the cross?
   Jesus is the only One who could die on the cross and be the Savior because He never sinned.

Want to see how others bring this idea to life or additional Easter ideas, we love our friends at #dontmomalone.com and #focusonthefamily.com.

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