Elementary + Preteen Message: Easter Grave Clothes

With this Elementary and Preteen Message, Easter Grave Clothes, let kids imagine what it was like when the disciples found Jesus’ empty tomb.

You’ll need:

• a Bible,
• a tent,
• strips of white cloth, and
• markers

Elementary + Preteen Message: Easter Grave Clothes

Before kids arrive, set up a tent in your meeting area. (If you have 10 kids or more, you might set up a couple tents. Or if you don’t have access to a tent, place a sheet over chairs to make it look like a tent.) Place strips of white cloth inside the tent. You’ll need one strip per child. When kids arrive, ask:

• What would you expect to find in a tent?

Say: Let’s see what Jesus’ disciples found when they looked in Jesus’ tomb. Read aloud John 20:3-7. Say: Jesus’ disciples found an empty tomb because Jesus was gone—he had risen and beaten death so we could be with him in heaven forever.

One at a time, ask kids to enter the tent, take one of the strips they find inside, and exit. Provide markers and have kids write or draw on the cloth something representing what Jesus’ resurrection means to them.

When kids are finished, encourage them to return their strip to the tent.

Ask:

• How was your experience in the tent like or unlike the disciples’ experience in the tomb?
• What does Jesus being alive and beating death mean to you?

Say: Though Jesus was dead and buried, he came back to life. It was a wonderful surprise for his disciples to find Jesus’ empty grave clothes and realize Jesus was alive. And we know that Jesus is still alive today, working in our lives.

Looking for even more great ideas for Easter? Check out all our Easter posts.