Because Jesus died for me, I can be resurrected.
Little children might be upset by the accounts of Jesus’s Crucifixion. “Chapter 52: The Trials of Jesus” and “Chapter 53: Jesus Is Crucified” (in New Testament Stories, 133–38, or the corresponding videos on ChurchofJesusChrist.org) provide a good model for how you might appropriately share this story with them.
After watching this video, you can review the story with the children by laying out these stripes of paper and having the children put them in the right order. If you'd like you can make a paper chain...chain of events(: If you don't want to watch the movie you can use this to tell the story.
If you like this idea, there is a pizza(: in the senior primary section that the kids can put into order with Jesus's Trial.
Show the picture in this week’s outline in Come, Follow Me—For Individuals and Families as you tell about Jesus’s trial, Crucifixion, and burial (see also Gospel Art Book, nos. 57–58). Invite the children to share what they know about these events. Emphasize that on the third day, Jesus was resurrected. In other words, He came back to life.
Ask the children to name some things their parents do for them that they cannot do for themselves. Show a picture of the Savior. Explain that because of Jesus, we can be resurrected—something we cannot do ourselves.
Pass pieces out to the children, discuss each picture as they place the piece on top. Bear your testimony that Jesus did this because we cannot do it ourselves.
Sorry this only prints in color.
Show a picture of someone you know who has died. Share your testimony that because of Jesus that person will one day live again.
Click on image to be taken to Etsy.
If you missed last week:
I can forgive others as Jesus did.
How will you help the children understand how to forgive those who are unkind, as Jesus did?
Possible Activities
Describe how the soldiers were unkind to Jesus (see Matthew 27:26–37), and then read Luke 23:34. Explain that when we forgive others, we aren’t angry at them anymore and we show love to them.
Here is an interactive activity to help teach repentance and forgiveness.
(I added more white since this picture was taken, so it doesn't drain your printer ink.)
Print on card stock
Share examples in which someone says or does something unkind. Invite the children to talk about how they could show forgiveness in these situations.
After the child(ren) talk about how they can show forgiveness, they can make a match up, completing the broken hearts.
(Colored card stock)
Sing together a song about forgiveness, such as “Help Me, Dear Father” (Children’s Songbook, 99). Ask questions that are answered in the song, like “Whom should we forgive?” or “Who can help us when forgiving is hard?”
Search a recent issue of the Friend to find a story about a child who forgave someone. Share this story with the children.
Click on the image to be taken to the churches website.
This one is much shorter, if you don't have a lot of time.
Because Jesus suffered and died for me, I can repent and be forgiven.
Although children under age eight are not yet accountable, it is important for them to start learning now how to repent of the wrong choices they make.
Possible Activities
Summarize Luke 23:32–33, 39–43, and help the children find the two thieves in picture 57 in the Gospel Art Book. Explain that when the first thief made fun of Jesus, the second thief admitted that he had done something wrong—he was beginning to repent.
You can have the children place the pieces as you talk about this.
Read Doctrine and Covenants 19:16 to the children. Why did Jesus suffer for us?
Assemble this before you see the children. When you teach this, point out what Jesus had to do so we can have this wonderful gift of repentance.
Show the video “The Shiny Bicycle” (ChurchofJesusChrist.org). Explain that we can pray to Heavenly Father and He can help us fix our sins and mistakes and receive forgiveness.
Let the children make chalk marks on the board to represent wrong choices. Then ask them to erase the board to represent repentance. Show a picture of the Savior, and testify that we can repent because of Him.
Object Lesson:
I got this little white board at Dollar tree. Let the children draw and erase with the dry erase marker provided. Tell them because Jesus died for us we can wipe off our mistakes, but if he never died for us.....get out the permanent marker and draw on the white board....the marks would stay. Let the children try to erase the permanent marker.
Then take the dry erase maker and color over the permanent maker, the permanent marker should wipe off with the help of the dry erase marker. Bear your testimony that Christ did die for us, and the most terrible sins, can be erased.
Click on image to be taken to Etsy.
Teach the Doctrine: Older Children
Jesus died for me because He loves me.
Why are you grateful that Jesus Christ died for you? Consider how you can help the children understand the significance of the Savior’s sacrifice for them.
Possible Activities
Write key events from Matthew 27:11–66 on separate pieces of paper (for help doing this, see “Chapter 52: The Trials of Jesus” and “Chapter 53: Jesus Is Crucified,” in New Testament Stories, 133–38, or the corresponding videos on ChurchofJesusChrist.org). Invite the children to study these verses and place the events in the correct order.
There are also some strips in the Junior primary section you can mix up, for the crucifixion movie.
Ask a child to read Matthew 27:54, and invite the children to share things about Jesus that help them know He is the Son of God.
Ask the children what they learn about the Crucifixion from “Behold the Great Redeemer Die” (Hymns, no. 191) or another sacrament hymn.
Why was Jesus willing to suffer for us? (see Doctrine and Covenants 18:10–11; 19:16).
I can forgive others as Jesus did.
It can be hard to forgive others. The children you teach will be blessed as they follow the Savior’s example and learn to forgive.
Possible Activities
Invite the children to take turns reading about the soldiers being unkind to Jesus in Matthew 27:26–37 and Jesus forgiving them in Luke 23:34. (See the insight provided by the Joseph Smith Translation in Luke 23:34, footnote c.) What do we learn from Jesus’s example?
Write on the board What can you do to forgive someone who is unkind to you? Let the children take turns writing ideas on the board, such as Pray to have kind feelings toward the person or Think of something good about the person.
Bring a stack of paper, and let the students make air planes. Let them experiment with flying them. Then hand them a penny to attach to their airplane. Notice how it affects the flight of the airplane? When we are carrying extra pain or feelings from not forgiving it can affect our life and weigh us down spiritually and physically. Our Savior forgave during the heaviest, hardest time of His life, let us follow His example.
Because Jesus suffered and died for me, I can repent and be forgiven.
This lesson is a good time to testify that because of Jesus Christ, we can repent of our sins and be forgiven.
Possible Activities
Invite a child to read aloud Luke 23:32–33, 39–43. Explain that the two people being crucified with Jesus were thieves. How did one of the thieves show that he was beginning to repent? What can we do to show that we are repenting? (See Guide to the Scriptures, “Repent, Repentance,” scriptures.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.)
Write the following sentence on the board, leaving blanks for the italicized words: “I can be forgiven when I repent because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.” Give the children clues to help them fill in the blanks.
Invite a child to hold a bag, and fill it with rocks as the other children name wrong choices someone could make. Help the children compare the bag to the spiritual burden we carry when we sin. How is repentance like taking rocks out of the bag? You might remind the children that repentance is not a one-time event but a daily process.
Here are some rocks that you can tape to the board that help with the steps of repentance, you can even have the children put them in order.
Look in a recent issue of the Friend magazine for a story or message about repentance, and share it with the children.
Click on the image to be taken to this story, but you can also click HERE for a list of stories and ideas from the Friend. I really like the "choosing to change" it simplifies repentance.
