Download this FREE Easter Sunday School Lesson that you can use at your church this Easter.  If you're looking for coloring pages and additional activities then be sure to check out all of our FREE Easter Resources.  Easter is a great opportunity to teach your kids about the importance of Jesus' sacrifice for us, and why his resurrection is important.  Remember, some kids may only think the Easter bunny is the reason we celebrate Easter, so, take advantage of this opportunity to teach kids about what Easter is truly about.

Or Read The Full Easter Sunday School Lesson For Kids Below:

BOTTOM LINE: 

Jesus died on the cross for our sins. 

OBJECTIVE: 

Kids will learn that because Jesus died and rose again we can have a good relationship with God.

KEY PASSAGE: 

Genesis 3:2-6, John 19:30, 38-40, 20:11-18

MEMORY VERSE: 

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” - Romans 5:8 (NIV)

“But here is how God has shown his love for us. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” -Romans 5:8 (NIrV)

SUMMARY: 

The story of Easter begins in the book of Genesis, when God created a perfect world. Adam and Eve disobeyed God and their sin messed up their relationship with him. Since that time, there has been a distance between God and humans. Then God sent Jesus, who was perfect, to bridge the distance. Jesus died on the cross for our sins, taking the punishment for us. Because Jesus died and rose again, we can have a good relationship with God again.

OBJECT LESSON:

Smooth plate, clear drinking glass, penny, votive candle, and colored water 

Set the plate down.

For some of us, it might be hard to really understand what happened when Jesus died on the cross. What does that mean for you? Let's look at it this way: Imagine this is you.

Bring out the penny. Set it on the plate.

No matter how hard we try to be good, all of us have done bad things. We call this sin. 

Pour the colored water into the plate.*

Sin covers us up. We're drowning in it. There's not way out for us on our own. But then God sent his son, Jesus.

Place the lit candle onto the plate. The candle needs to be setting in the water but not covering the penny.

Jesus came to be a light. He lived a perfect life. And then he died on the cross.

Place the drinking glass over the candle. (After a few seconds, the light will go out and then the water will soak up inside the glass.)

That amazing act of love takes our sin away. If we accept Jesus and ask for his forgiveness, he will forgive us of our sins. They are gone forever.

That's what Easter is all about.

*To ensure success, you need to practice this object lesson beforehand, experimenting with different amounts of water and making sure the plate has an even surface. To see what this lesson is supposed to look like, go to: http://anotherdayintheministry.blogspot.com/2011/04/easter-object-lesson.html

LARGE GROUP LESSON

INTRO

When you hear the word “Easter” it might bring to mind baskets full of jelly beans and chocolate bunnies. Or maybe Easter egg hunts in the backyard. Or maybe even putting on your Sunday best to come to church.

But what is Easter really all about? That's what we're going to talk about today. To understand what Jesus did at Easter, we have to go all the way back to the beginning of time, when God created everything.

God made the world and everything in it. He created Adam and Eve – the first people and he put them in a beautiful garden to live. The world was perfect. Adam and Eve had a good relationship with God – they got to see him and talk with him. The garden was filled with gentle animals and great food to eat. There was only one tree in the garden which God had said “do not eat from this tree.”

God had given humans only one rule. And as we read, they couldn't even obey that one rule.

READ Genesis 3:2-6

MAIN POINT

In following the serpent's advice and eating the fruit, Eve and Adam had disobeyed God. The perfection that had been in the world was destroyed. People had brought sin into this world. Sin took away the good relationship that Adam and Eve had with God. 

Sin separates us from God. It creates this great distance between us – a gulf, a chasm. For thousands of years, people have tried to cross that distance. But we can't do it. That's the bad news.

But here's the good news. We may not be able to cross the distance, but God can. And he did. God loves us so much. He wants to have a good relationship with us, like he had at the beginning with Adam and Eve. He doesn't want our sin to keep us away from him.

So the Father sent his son, Jesus, to earth. Jesus left heaven. He came to earth so that he could make a way for us to have that good relationship with God again. But how could he do that?

Remember back in the garden? God had told Adam and Eve that eating of the tree would cause them to die. Sin brings death and separation from God.

Jesus came to take our death for us. The word for that is sacrifice. Jesus died on the cross as the sacrifice for our sins.

READ John 19:30, 38-40

When Jesus said “it is finished” he didn't just mean that his life was finished. He meant the work that he came to do was finished. Jesus came to die for us, and he succeeded in his mission.

After his death on Friday, he was taken down from the cross and placed in a tomb that belonged to Joseph of Arimathea. For everyone involved, they thought that was the end of the story.

Then on Sunday, Mary Magdalene went to visit the tomb. It's like when people go visit a cemetery. They go to visit the place where a loved one's body is buried.

But when Mary got to the tomb, it was empty. There was no body to visit. Mary did not understand what had happened.

READ John 20:11-18

DRIVE IT HOME:

Jesus is alive! He conquered death. He destroyed sin. 

Jesus is alive! If we put our trust in Jesus he will give us new life with him. He will take away our sin. He will give us back that good relationship with God.

Do you know Jesus today? Do you believe that he died for you and rose from the dead? Do you put your trust in him?

If you answered “yes” then remember that Easter is a time to celebrate what Jesus did for us. Actually every time we come to church we can celebrate that. In fact, you can celebrate that all of the time, wherever you are. This news is too good not to celebrate all of the time. And to share with others.

If you haven't met Jesus yet, but you want to know him, today is your day. Pray to him. Ask him to come into your heart. Ask him to take away your sin. Ask him to give you a good relationship with God.

God loves us. He wants to have a good relationship with us. He sent Jesus to die for us and take away our sin. Jesus rose from the dead. This is happiness. This is good news. This is Easter.

CLOSE WITH A SIMPLE PRAYER

Dear God,

Thank you for sending Jesus to earth. Because of his death and resurrection our sins can be forgiven and we can have a good relationship with you.

In Jesus’ name, 

Amen

MEMORY VERSE: 

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” - Romans 5:8 (NIV)

“But here is how God has shown his love for us. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” -Romans 5:8 (NIrV)

LARGE GROUP MEMORY VERSE ACTIVITY: 

Divide the room between girls and boys. Have the girls and boys read the verse aloud together, alternating every other word, so girls say the first word, boys say the second word, girls the third, etc.

SMALL GROUP MEMORY VERSE ACTIVITY: 

Have the kids create a picture puzzle that spells out the memory verse. Write the memory verse on a piece of paper. Give the kids 3-5 minutes to decorate the page with something that reminds them of the memory verse. Then cut the page into puzzle pieces, mix the pieces up, and let the kids put the puzzle back together.

CRAFT IDEA:

Have kids color the “Jesus is Risen” Easter coloring page.

LARGE GROUP GAME:

EMPTY BASKET

ITEMS NEEDED: 

3 Tissue boxes (empty and with the plastic over the hole removed

9 Plastic Easter eggs

Broad ribbon

Duct tape

INSTRUCTIONS: 

Beforehand, attach four foot lengths of ribbon to each tissue box using the duct tape.

Select three kids to play. 

Tie a tissue box around the waist of each kid, tissue box in the back. This will be their “Easter basket.” Place three plastic eggs inside each tissue box. The goal is to remove the eggs from their “basket” without reaching in and taking them out. The first kid to jump, shake, and wiggle the eggs out of their basket is the winner!

VARIATION: 

For smaller kids, cut a larger hole in the tissue box or use fewer plastic eggs.

Use ping pong balls instead of plastic eggs to get a little more bouncing action.

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION (K-2ND)

ICEBREAKER

What's the kindest thing someone has ever done for you? 

MEMORY VERSE ACTIVITY

Romans 5:8

Have the kids create a picture puzzle that spells out the memory verse. Write the memory verse on a piece of paper. Give the kids 3-5 minutes to decorate the page with something that reminds them of the memory verse. Then cut the page into puzzle pieces, mix the pieces up, and let the kids put the puzzle back together.

SMALL GROUP GAME/ACTIVITY

Marble Roll. Have kids stand in a line. Give each kid a paper towel roll tube that has been cut in half lengthwise to look like a chute. Go to the front of the line and place a marble in that kid's chute. Challenge the kids to roll the marble down the entire line without letting it fall to the ground. Discuss the distance from God that our sin created and how Jesus bridged that distance when he died for our sins. If the marble rolls too fast, try a ping pong ball instead.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Read Genesis 3:2-6, John 19:30, 38-40, 20:11-18.

How did Adam and Eve disobey God in the garden?

What were the last words Jesus spoke before he died?

Who took and buried the body of Jesus?

When Jesus spoke to Mary outside the tomb, who did she think he was at first?

What did Jesus instruct Mary to do?

SIMPLE PRAYER

Dear God,

Jesus died for our sins. Jesus is alive again. We thank you for sending Jesus and giving us a way to have a good relationship with you.

In Jesus’ name, 

Amen

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION (3RD-5TH) 

ICEBREAKER

What's the kindest thing someone has ever done for you? 

MEMORY VERSE ACTIVITY

Romans 5:8

Have the kids create a picture puzzle that spells out the memory verse. Write the memory verse on a piece of paper. Give the kids 3-5 minutes to decorate the page with something that reminds them of the memory verse. Then cut the page into puzzle pieces, mix the pieces up, and let the kids put the puzzle back together.

SMALL GROUP GAME/ACTIVITY

Marble Roll. Have kids stand in a line. Give each kid a paper towel roll tube that has been cut in half lengthwise to look like a chute. Go to the front of the line and place a marble in that kid's chute. Challenge the kids to roll the marble down the entire line without letting it fall to the ground. Discuss the distance from God that our sin created and how Jesus bridged that distance when he died for our sins. If a marble rolls too fast, try a ping pong ball instead.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Read Genesis 3:2-6, John 19:30, 38-40, 20:11-18.

Why did Adam and Eve eat the fruit they were told not to?

What were the last words Jesus spoke before he died?

Who took and buried the body of Jesus?

What do you think was going through Mary's mind as she wept outside the tomb?

What did Jesus instruct Mary to do?

 SIMPLE PRAYER

Dear God,

Jesus died for our sins. Jesus is alive again. We thank you for sending Jesus and giving us a way to have a good relationship with you.

In Jesus’ name, 

Amen

For your convenience, you can also download the entire PDF version of this Easter Children's Church Lesson (just click the link).  We've also included an Easter video below that Zondervan has posted on Youtube.  This is a great video for sharing the Easter story with younger children.

You can also find additional Easter Sunday School Lesson Ideas from these websites:

Easter Sunday School Lessons - Sunday School Center

The Easter Story - DLTK-Bible

He Is Alive! An Easter Bible Lesson — SojournKids

Free Sunday School Lesson on Easter: The Good News - Jesus is Alive!

Do Your Children Understand Easter? | Focus on the Family