Easter Passover

Teaching Goal:  To understand the Passover Story and create a family tradition.

Scripture:

Exodus 12 “Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb…take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses…On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn…The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you.  No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.”

Matthew 26:17-20   “Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?…Go into the city to a certain man and tell him…I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your home…When Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve.”

Materials:

• Matzah crackers, grape juice, candles & stands (1 per female), matches
• Plates and cups (use paper for quick clean up)
• Optional:  YouTube, show Prince of Egypt 10^th Plague clip
• Prizes for children as they find the Matzah

Preparation:      In advance, set a table for the number of children and adults who will be participating in the Passover Family Time celebration.  If you are going to show the video, cue up the video to the part you want to show.

1. Play theme song
2. Pray
3. Review last lesson
4. Lesson and discussion

• Words written in bold are when the leader is speaking. Feel free to use your own words.

We are going to celebrate the Passover. Can anyone tell me, what is the Passover?  Put the story of the original Passover in Exodus 12 into your own words.  We celebrate the Passover to remember how God protected the Israelites before he delivered them from slavery in Egypt.

OPTIONAL VIDEO: Cue up YouTube and show the Prince of Egypt 10^th Plague video clip.  This clip explains Passover and shows the angel of death passing over the Israelites who put lamb’s blood over their doorposts.

Each year, the people of Israel celebrated the Passover remembering how God protected them from the angel of death. Did you know that Jesus celebrated the Passover too?  Invite a volunteer to read Matthew 26:17-20 or put the story in your own words.  The night before he was crucified on the cross, Jesus celebrated the Passover with his friends, the disciples.

We are going to have a Passover celebration using symbols that remind us of what God did for the people of Israel in Egypt and what God did through Jesus in the New Testament.

Each female lights a candle. In the Old Testament, the lighting of the candles signaled the start of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, which was an eight-day party.  We ask the females to light the candles because in the New Testament, Mary gave birth to the light of the world, Jesus.

Break the Matzah. Give each person a piece of Matzah and ask them to then break it in three pieces.  The Matzah symbolizes the manna, which God provided to the Israelites as they traveled through the desert after crossing the Red Sea and before entering the Promised Land.  God provides for us every day.  We break it in three pieces to symbolize God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. 

Now, break the middle piece of Matzah to symbolize how in the New Testament, Jesus was broken for us on the cross.  Write the name of each child on his or her napkin and wrap it around the broken middle Matzah.  You can also hide the adults’ broken Matzah.  Leader, take a few minutes to hide the Matzah while the children sit at the table.  The kids will take time to find the Matzah later.

The toast.  Pour each person a cup of grape juice.   In the Old Testament, the toast was to remember God’s promise to redeem them.  Redeem means to pay a price.  A lamb was sacrificed so that blood could be put over the door to save the life of the oldest child.  In the New Testament, we remember that Jesus’ dying on the cross was the price to redeem us from sin.  Jesus took a cup at His last Passover and said, “This cup is my blood, shed for you, for the forgiveness of sin.”  Make a toast like, “Praise God.”

Prayers of thanks and love. In the Old Testament, God sent Moses to deliver the Israelites from Egypt to Canaan, the Promised Land.  In the New Testament, God sent his son Jesus to deliver us from our sins so we can live forever in the Promised Land, Heaven.  Everyone offers a simple one-line prayer thanking God for:  Jesus, Easter, Heaven, etc.

It’s now time to look for the Matzah. When the children find the Matzah, they can eat it or turn it in for a special treat.  Parents may give the children a hint, and if necessary additional hints, until they find the Matzah.

Close in Prayer