Easter Science Sunday School Lesson
Easter Science Sunday School Lesson For Kids:
BOTTOM LINE:
We should praise God for saving us from our sins.
OBJECTIVE:
Kids will share a reason they want to praise God.
KEY PASSAGE:
Mark 11:1-10, Palm Sunday
MEMORY VERSE:
“Anyone who believes in Christ is a new creation. The old is gone! The new has come!”
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIrV)
SUMMARY:
When Jesus came into Jerusalem, the entire city came alive with excitement and celebration because they thought Jesus was going to become their king. They didn’t realize that he was already their king, but that he would have to die for their sins and then do what seemed to be impossible - come back to life. Kids will learn that we should praise God for doing the impossible for us at Easter.
SIMPLE PRAYER:
Dear God,
Thank you for doing the impossible for us!
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
MEMORY VERSE
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)
“Anyone who believes in Christ is a new creation. The old is gone! The new has come!”
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIrV)
LARGE GROUP:
Divide the room into girls and boys. Have the boys read the verse aloud, and then have the girls read it aloud. Who can read the loudest?
SMALL GROUP:
Have the kids each read the verse in the voice of their favorite cartoon character.
SKIT
SCREWBALL SCIENCE: GOD DID THE IMPOSSIBLE
ITEMS NEEDED:
A table
A hard boiled egg (cracked and peeled)
An old milk bottle
Matches
Birthday candles
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN:
2M
CHARACTERS:
Dr. Hairball and Dr. Lipschtick - The Screwball Scientists
Prior to this scene, set the milk bottle, the egg, the paper, and the matches on the table. Be sure to grease the top of the bottle with vegetable oil. Hairball and Lipschtick enter.
HAIRBALL: Hello, hello, and welcome to another edition of Screwball Science! I am Dr. Hairball, and with my as always is my partner, Dr. Lipschtick!
LIPSCHTICK: Yo!
HAIRBALL: Today, we’re going to begin a series of experiments about our favorite holiday.
LIPSCHTICK: Arbor Day!
HAIRBALL: Arbor Day?
LIPSCHTICK: Yes, Arbor Day, the day we celebrate trees by planting more trees.
HAIRBALL: Your favorite holiday is Arbor Day?
LIPSCHTICK: And if you’re really good all year, and you leave an empty pot by your nightstand, the Arbor Day Gnu will deposit a fresh tree shrub in the pot you can plant yourself.
HAIRBALL: That is the silliest thing I've ever heard. But that’s not the holiday I am referring to. We are just a few weeks away from Easter!
LIPSCHTICK: That’s a good holiday too.
HAIRBALL: It’s the holiday we celebrate the impossible.
LIPSCHTICK: How can a rabbit lay eggs?
HAIRBALL: No.
LIPSCHTICK: How can a rabbit hide billions of eggs in one night?
HAIRBALL: I was referring to how God saved us from our sins.
LIPSCHTICK: Ohhhh, that impossible thing.
HAIRBALL: As you know, our God is perfect. And when we sinned, we became separated from God. So how can a perfect God pay the price for an imperfect people?
LIPSCHTICK: It can’t be done!
HAIRBALL: It has been done!
LIPSCHTICK: But that’s impossible!
Hairball lifts the bottle and the egg, setting the egg on top of the bottle.
HAIRBALL: As impossible as slipping this egg into this old milk bottle?
LIPSCHTICK: What? No way! That’s impossible.
HAIRBALL: You think so, huh?
LIPSCHTICK: Oh that’s definitely impossible. The egg is too large! You can’t fit it inside the bottle.
HAIRBALL: Not only will I make this egg go inside the bottle, I will do it upside down.
LIPSCHTICK: No way!!
HAIRBALL: First, we put two birthday candles into the top of the egg.
LIPSCHTICK: Eww, I don’t want a birthday egg. I want birthday cake!
HAIRBALL: Next, we light the candles.
Lipschtick lights the candles.
LIPSCHTICK: Shall we sing “Happy Birthday?”
HAIRBALL: Only if you want to pay for it! Now, Dr. Lipschtick? Place the mouth of the bottle over the candles on top of the egg, sealing the bottle shut.
LIPSCHTICK: Okay, here goes.
Lipschtick places the bottle over top of the egg. Watch and wait for the candles to go out and suck the egg inside the bottle.
HAIRBALL: You did it!
LIPSCHTICK: I don’t believe it!
HAIRBALL: That my friend is exactly what people said when Jesus said he could save us from our sins. They said, “That can never happen! How can sinful people ever go to heaven? But that’s why Jesus came to Earth.
LIPSCHTICK: To open the door so we can all have our sins forgiven!
HAIRBALL: Precisely! Jesus did the impossible, and for that, he deserves all our praise.
LIPSCHTICK: Just like I deserve praise for doing the impossible, right?
HAIRBALL: Dr. Lipschtick, you and I both know that science did this, not you.
LIPSCHTICK: Oh fine, good job science. But that doesn’t compare to what Jesus did.
HAIRBALL: You can say that again.
LIPSCHTICK: Oh fine, good job science. But that doesn’t compare to what Jesus did.
HAIRBALL: Doctor, I think our Easter is off to a great start. Tell these kids to join us next week for another amazing science experiment on our way to Easter.
LIPSCHTICK: Kids, you heard the man. Come back next week. More science! More Easter! More reasons to praise the Lord!
SCIENCE LESSON
ITEMS NEEDED:
A hard boiled egg (cracked and peeled)
An old milk bottle
Matches
A strip of paper
Note: You can read further instructions and see a demonstration of this science experiment at the link below. An alternative version using a smaller bottle and a water balloon is also shown.
https://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/egg-in-bottle/
Directions:
Select an egg for the experiment that is slightly larger than the mouth of the bottle.
Grease the top of the bottle with a little vegetable oil.
Light a few strips of paper on fire and quickly drop them down into the milk bottle.
Cover the top of the bottle with the egg quickly, sealing the bottle, then wait. As soon as the flames go out, the change in the air inside the bottle will literally suck the egg inside the bottle.
Today we are talking about praising God. What does praise have to do with an egg and a bottle? Nothing really, but this egg and bottle are a reminder of one of the big reasons we praise God. It seems impossible for an egg larger than the mouth of the bottle to enter this bottle, but that’s what happened. It once seemed impossible for us to get to Heaven. We are all sinners, and we’ve been separated from God. But Jesus came to save us from our sins and open the doors of Heaven.
Our God is a God who can do the impossible, and Luke 1:37 reminds us nothing is impossible with God. Let’s praise God for doing the impossible and saving us from sin.
LARGE GROUP GAME
EGG ROLL
ITEMS NEEDED:
Three hardboiled eggs in shells
Colored masking tape
INSTRUCTIONS:
Tape two lines on stage, five feet apart. Choose three players. Set the eggs on one of the two taped lines, and have the kids line up on all fours behind them. The kids will roll their eggs across the stage toward the second line using only their nose. The first person to cross the finish with their egg wins.
VARIATION:
To make it more challenging, bring in a sand pit for the kids to race their eggs across. Then while they are racing, have someone dig a few trenches to make it harder.
WHAT’S THE POINT?
Praise God for doing the impossible and saving us from sin!
LARGE GROUP LESSON
BOTTOM LINE:
We should praise God for saving us from our sins.
OBJECTIVE:
Kids will share a reason they want to praise God.
KEY PASSAGE:
Mark 11:1-10, Palm Sunday
INTRO:
When you think about Easter, you think about science. Don’t you? Come on, how can you not think about science at Easter? Easter is full of amazing science questions. For example: how does a bunny lay eggs? Don’t you wonder that? And where do they grow all that Easter grass in our Easter baskets? How come we’ve never seen it growing in the wild? Here’s another good question: what kind of chicken lays a Reese’s Peanut Butter egg? Or a Cadbury Creme Egg? Anyone have an answer for that?
Okay, let’s be honest: there’s not much about Easter that makes you think of science is there? As a matter of fact there are many people who think that Easter and science have nothing in common. Easter is a special time when we celebrate God’s greatest miracle, and miracles, well, they can’t always be explained with science.
Some scientists think that the story of Easter is nonsense simply because it can’t be explained by science. We disagree. We know that our God is the Creator of all things in nature. He wrote the rules of science, and he alone has the power to break them. He also has the power to do the impossible, and for that, we dedicate this first day of our Easter Science series to praise.
Our first scripture reading takes us to a Sunday the week before Easter. On this particular Sunday, the children of Israel are gathering in the holy city of Jerusalem to celebrate a meal called Passover. If you know your Old Testament history, Passover is a feast that reminds the people of the night God saved them from Israel. They were slaves of the cruel king of Egypt, and it seemed impossible that he would ever let them go. God saved the people of Israel and rescued them from Egypt, and as this Passover season begins, God is preparing to save his people from an even greater foe.
READ MARK 11:1-10
MAIN POINT:
People didn’t line the streets of Jerusalem for just anyone. They didn’t wave palm branches and lay down their cloaks for everybody who came to Jerusalem for Passover. The people knew Jesus was special. Many already believed he might be the Messiah, the chosen one whom God promised would save his people!
Jesus was praised as a king, but even then, the people had no clue why they should really worship Jesus. A week later, all would be revealed. Jesus had come to do the impossible. He was going to save not just Israel, but the world from sin!
Jesus is the only man who never sinned. He is the only person who could have taken the punishment for sin upon himself and died for all humankind. Today, we want to lift our voices and praise God for doing the impossible. We want to thank him for Easter, for dying on the cross, and for saving us from sin!
DRIVE IT HOME:
Every week when we gather here at church, we begin our services with music. We don’t do it just because we like to sing and dance. We do it because the Bible tells us that God loves to hear us sing to him. All the songs we sing are songs of praise. Their words remind us why we are here. They remind us of all God has done for us.
It’s especially important to praise God during Easter. There is no story in the Bible more important than the Easter story because this is the story that changes everything! In the beginning, God made a perfect world. The first humans, Adam and Eve, ruined that perfection when they sinned, and for the rest of the Old Testament, it’s a constant struggle for people to stay faithful to God.
God knew there was no way we as humans could ever be good enough to pay for our own sins. No amount of good deeds or sacrifices could ever make up for the sins we have committed. So God sent Jesus to do the impossible. He sent Jesus to defy the laws of science by dying and rising from the grave.
We praise a risen Savior, one we believe is coming back to take us all to his Paradise up in Heaven. We praise God because he came to Earth, and to Jerusalem, to do the impossible for us.
This Easter season, take a moment each day to praise God. Praise him for sunshine if there’s sunshine. Praise him for your family. Praise him for a good meal, or a good friend, or just a good day. More importantly, praise Jesus for what he has done for you.
Jesus has come to save us from our sins. Let us prepare our hearts to remember the Easter story by praising the one who saved us!
CLOSE WITH A SIMPLE PRAYER:
Dear God,
Thank you for doing the impossible for us!
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION (K-2ND)
ICEBREAKER:
How do you welcome visitors into your home?
MEMORY VERSE ACTIVITY:
2 Corinthians 5:17
Have the kids each read the verse in the voice of their favorite cartoon character.
SMALL GROUP GAME/ACTIVITY:
Give the kids a chance to try a few seemingly impossible stunts. Can anyone lick their own nose? Or lick their elbow? Can anyone pat their head and rub their stomach at the same time?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
Read Mark 11:1-10
Where is Jesus going in this story?
What did Jesus send the disciples to get?
How did the people greet Jesus?
Why did Jesus come to Earth?
What is one thing you want to praise Jesus for today?
SIMPLE PRAYER:
Dear God,
We praise you for all the amazing gifts you give us every day.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION (3RD-5TH)
ICEBREAKER:
How do you welcome visitors into your home?
MEMORY VERSE ACTIVITY:
2 Corinthians 5:17
Have the kids each read the verse in the voice of their favorite cartoon character.
SMALL GROUP GAME/ACTIVITY:
Give the kids a chance to try a few seemingly impossible stunts. Can anyone lick their own nose? Or lick their elbow? Can anyone pat their head and rub their stomach at the same time?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
Read Mark 11:1-10
Why did Jesus ride into Jerusalem on a donkey?
Why do you think the people greet Jesus with palm branches and praise?
Why did Jesus come to Earth?
What impossible thing has Jesus done for us?
What is one thing you want to praise Jesus for today?
SIMPLE PRAYER:
Dear God,
We praise you for all the amazing gifts you give us every day.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
For your convenience, you can also download the entire PDF version of this Easter Science Children's Ministry Lesson (just click the link).
Take a look at the links below for other ideas for teaching an Easter Science Sunday School Lesson:
99 Best Biblical Science Experiments
Easter Science Experiment: Demonstrating the Strength of Eggs
Easter Science Activities and Easter STEM Ideas for Kids