What was Jesus Doing on Day Three of Passion Week?

Read here about Day Three of Passion Week.  Jesus had a busy day, having his authority challenged 4 different times and spending time teaching. In your personal reading, read Mark 11 – 16 to become very familiar with the account of Jesus’ last week on earth.  Be prepared to tell some of the parables with enthusiasm. 

Read to your children from their children’s Bible some of these stories that Jesus told.   Click here for children books about the parables by Arch Publications.  Click here and here for suggestions for good children’s Bibles.  My favorite I used with my children is The Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes


Jesus often taught in parables. Follow His example in teaching and use visuals or stories to get the point across:

Plant a seed as a visual to illustrate the death and resurrection of Jesus. Talk about when we put seeds in the ground we can’t see them anymore, but after a while they will push their way out of the ground.  Just like when Jesus died and friends put him in the tomb, they couldn’t see Him anymore, but after three days, the first Easter morning, Jesus came out of the tomb alive! (marigolds or zinnias sprout within three days!)

Take a family walk and notice any new growth as you talk about the fact that Easter comes at springtime when seeds begin to sprout after being dead all winter.   The plants come out to praise God and remind us that Jesus is alive! (Psalm 145:10 All Your works shall praise You, O Lord,)

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What was Jesus Doing on Day Two of Passion Week

What happened on Day Two of Passion Week? Click to find out. Tell your children the events of this day some 2000 years ago.  You can be very animated as you tell of Jesus cleansing the temple because He loved God’s house so much and people were not respecting it. Jesus said His house is a house of prayer.

Talk of ways to respect your church (keep it clean, don’t run inside, listen to your teachers, etc.)

Be thankful for your church and share Psalm 122:1 “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go into the house of the Lord'” enthusiastically as you talk of when we will all meet together again in God’s House.

Emphasize that your bodies are now the temple of God (1 Cor. 6:19) and we must take care of them.  Plan and prepare a healthy meal together and have a family exercise night.

Research ways to have better nutrition. The Adventures of Junk Food Dude is an excellent book for children to learn about healthy food choices.  Here’s the link to see and hear it read on YouTube. Another excellent children’s book about healthy eating is Eat Well Feel Good.

Jesus told the church leaders that children give the best praise.  Teach your children a praise song or have them make up their own.  Record it and send it to someone to encourage them to sing praises. Here are some I have recorded on YouTube for preschoolers 🙂

Make a cross out of twigs or craft sticks and keep it in a prominent place during the Easter season.  Point out that it is empty because Jesus didn’t stay on the cross or in the tomb . . . He is alive!!

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Christ is Risen!!

IT’S SUNDAY MORNING!

“Low in the grave He lay, Jesus my Savior,
waiting the coming day, Jesus my Lord!
Vainly they watch his bed, Jesus my Savior,
vainly they seal the dead, Jesus my Lord!
Death cannot keep its prey, Jesus my Savior;
He tore the bars away, Jesus my Lord!”
Up from the grave He arose;
with a mighty triumph o’er his foes;
He arose a victor from the dark domain,
and He lives forever, with His saints to reign.
He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose!”


I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me—that Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, as the Scriptures said.

1 Cor. 15:3-4

Rejoice for this validates everything that Jesus did and said! It also grants us a confirmed hope! We who are alive in Christ will one day be reunited with those who are asleep in Christ!

The sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over us, but all who receive God’s wonderful, gracious gift of righteousness will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.
Romans 5:17

Make Easter a family time of worshiping together and thinking about the risen Lord:

  • Start the morning with Resurrection Rolls This link tells you how to use rolls to teach the real reason we celebrate Easter!
  • Watch the sunrise and think on that first Easter sunrise when The Son rose!!
  • Read the Easter story together from Matthew 27-28, Mark 15 – 16, or Luke 23-24.
  • Sing praises together.  Hooray is one song that children really love about the empty tomb.  It is from Every Song a Bible Story from Maranatha Music.

Happy Easter from my family to yours!

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Day Seven of Keeping Christ in Easter

He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.
Matthew 28:6


Read about what was happening on Day Seven of Passion Week. It was a dark day for Jesus’ disciples – they thought He was in the tomb, but they could not imagine what He was actually up to during their darkest moments!!

Emphasize all day that when things look dark in our lives, God is busy at work, taking care of the things that concern us, even though we can’t see it.


Make an empty tomb with just a paper plate cut in half.  Color back side of one half of the plate brown. Color the top side of the other black which will be the inside of the tomb.  Cut a stone out of the brown side.  Staple the two sides together.  You can crumple a piece of brown paper for the stone.

Get complete instructions here to make an Easter Garden.

Tell the Easter Story with this Easter Cookie recipe. This is complete instructions with scriptures to share as you make the cookies.   When done, the cookies are empty just like the tomb.

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Day Six of Keeping Christ in Easter

picture from Read and Share Bible

I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me—that Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said.  He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, as the Scriptures said.
1 Cor. 15:3-4

Day Six of Passion Week is the day that Jesus was put on the cross.  It is  the most crucial focal point in history. Think with your children about the agony He went through  – betrayal, arrest, false accusations, abandonment, beatings, harassment, and finally being nailed to a cross. –  all this for someone else’s sins.   It’s Friday, but Sunday’s coming is a video that depicts some of what was happening.

Resurrection Eggs is a wonderful teaching aid for helping your children visualize what Jesus was going through.  Each egg contains a different symbol such as 3 coins, leather strip, crown of thorns, 3 nails, etc.   It comes with a booklet telling the story related to each symbol and can be purchased at most Christian book stores.  Click here for excellent instructions on making your own!

Save your colored egg shells to make a cross like the one in this picture.  Cut a cross out of cardboard; cover it in glue; then sprinkle the crushed egg shells on it.  Share with your children as you are making this that just as these egg shells are broken to make a beautiful picture, Jesus’ body was broken for us to make our lives beautiful and free from the punishment for sin.

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