A Special Time of Family Worship at Easter-Part 1

by Marcia Newkirk

As wives and mothers we often plan far ahead for special holiday times with our precious family and friends. Why not plan this year for a unique and special time of family worship in the week before Easter? Will you spend more time picking out your daughter’s Easter dress and shoes or sharing with her what the first Easter morning was like? Will you spend more money on your son’s Easter candy or on tools to teach your children about the reality of the Gospel? Will your Easter dinner include a time of thanksgiving and worship or just ham and sweet potatoes? Enough of the guilt trip, let’s pause now and think about some creative ways to include family worship in your plans for this year’s Easter celebrations.

You may well know why we celebrate Easter but don’t assume your family does. If you don’t tell them, who will? If we neglect to teach our children about Jesus death and resurrection we are missing a most wonderful opportunity to encouraging their life of faith and trust in the Lord. Begin praying now that God will prepare you to teach and their hearts to understand the good news of the Gospel this Easter.

If you don’t routinely have family devotions, this would be a great way to start. Do not expect very young children to sit for an extended period of time while you preach a sermon. Instead, plan an activity that is applicable to their age group. Children learn using all their senses, so be creative. Consider sight, smell, sounds, and touch. Include as many senses as you can. Even a child in a high chair can learn to worship and praise God. If you wait until they are told enough, you have waited too long. Many websites today offer free pages for printing color pages or activity pages for children. If you have children of various ages, print off several so that your younger children can be busy coloring while devotions are going on. While they are coloring, they can be listening.

Here are a few:

http://www.apples4theteacher.com/coloring-pages/

http://www.coloring.ws/jesus.htm

http://mybiblecrafts.com/CraftThemes/EasterTheme/eastercoloringpages.html

Have your family read Matthew 28:1-10 or Mark 16:1-8. Talk about how the disciples must have felt, what the women saw when they came to the tomb, and the amazing power of the resurrection. Depending on the age of your children, share your own personal testimony with them about when you became a Christian and what Easter means to you. Thank God for saving you by dying on the cross. (There are some excellent children’s books about the Easter story, read our post highlighting some of them under “Easter”.)

Include a time of singing and praising in your family’s worship. If you don’t have a hymnal at home, check out songs you remember on YouTube and sing with your children’s favorite Christian band as they lead you in worship.

Share why it is important that Jesus be raised from the dead. Read Acts 2:22-32; Romans 6:5-11; 1 Corinthians 15:212-22 and Ephesians 1:19-23.

Pray together as a family. Spend time praising God for the sacrifice of His Son and the forgiveness from sins that we celebrate at Easter. Thank Him for specific things He is teaching you or how He is providing, protecting, or leading your family.

{Read the rest of Marcia’s post next week.}

Marcia Newkirk has been blessed to be married to her best friend (Pastor Dennis Newkirk) for the past 41 years.They have 3 grown sons each with a precious wife, and 4 perfect grandchildren! She loves to study God’s Word, read, work in the garden, walk/run, and loves sharing her time with her church family. She enjoys hospital visits, homebound visits, and any encouragement she can give to others. She is an R.N. who seeks to use her gifts and passion to encourage and bless her church family. Marcia teaches the Personal Spiritual Growth Skill Session in the updated Keepers DVD set.