An Accessible Journey With Jesus To Easter
Episode 3 – Easter Sunday!
Outline:
An accessible video and text bible study series journeying with Jesus on the road to Easter. Travelling together we will stop from time to time to explore key moments and understand what they are saying to us. This series will be accessible for everyone, including people of all ages with additional needs.
Watch:
Find a comfortable spot to watch the video. The video for this third episode is here (it’s part eight of a separate Lent series): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjNFbIVlrWU
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, as we think about your journey to Easter, help us to understand all that you want to show us as we journey with you. Help us to learn from you through what you said and what you did. Help us to be like you and to share the Good News about you with people that we meet. In your own name we pray, Amen!
Easter Sunday:
This time we will be looking at the story of Easter Sunday, which is the day that Jesus rose from the dead and left the tomb. He did it to give all of us that believe in him new life, just like he had.
Q. What does Easter Sunday mean to you? Is it just about Easter eggs, or do you remember that Jesus came back to life and left the tomb? How does your church celebrate Easter Sunday?
Easter Sunday isn’t really about Easter eggs, delicious though they are! It’s about what Jesus did when he beat death, the devil and all the devils plans and rose from the dead to new life! It’s a time of great celebration for all Christians!
Jesus and the journey to Easter:
As we go through Jesus’ journey to Easter together in this three-part series, we will journey with Jesus, looking at what he said and did that can help us to understand his journey better. This time, as we journey on with Jesus, we arrive at the end of our journey, Easter Sunday!
The part of the Bible we’re going to read from is John chapter 20 verses 1-8, and the version below is taken from the Accessible Edition New Testament:
‘Early on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb. It was still dark. She saw that the stone had been moved away from the entrance. So she ran to Simon Peter and another disciple, the one Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb! We don’t know where they have put him!”
So Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb. Both of them were running. The other disciple ran faster than Peter. He reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there. But he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came along behind him. He went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there. He also saw the funeral cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place. It was separate from the linen. The disciple who had reached the tomb first also went inside. He saw and believed.’
John Ch20 v1-8 (NIrV Accessible Edition).
What does this mean:
Easter Sunday is a day of celebration and victory! It is one of the best days in all of history! Only three days before, on Good Friday, everyone thought that Jesus was dead, that the devil had won. Now, on Easter Sunday, the tomb is empty and Jesus has come back to life! He has beaten death and beaten the devil and all his evil plans. Jesus is alive! Hallelujah!
Now living again, Jesus offers us all new life, life that lasts for ever, life with him! He longs to give you this never ending life and all you have to do to accept it is to say “Yes!” that Jesus is your saviour and lord and that you want his new life to be in you too!
Q. Do you believe that Jesus came back to life and left the tomb? Do you believe that Jesus won and that the devil is defeated?
The Good News is that Jesus offers the new life that he now has to all of us that believe in him too! He wants us to spend forever with him and if we ask him and accept him as our saviour and lord then that never ending new life with Jesus can be ours!
Q. Do you want that never ending new life with Jesus? Do you accept him as your saviour and lord, and accept the new life that he offers?
If you want to do this, here’s a prayer that you could use:
“Dear Jesus, thank you that you love me. Thank you that you died for me, paying the price for the wrong things that I have done. I am sorry that I have done wrong things, please forgive me and help me not to do them again. I love you with all my heart and believe and trust in you as my saviour and lord, thank you for the gift of never ending new life with you that you offer to me. Help me to live my new life in a way that is pleasing to you. Thank you, Jesus, Amen.”
Jesus longs to hear you pray like this, so that what he did for you on Good Friday and Easter Sunday can mean that you are forgiven and can be free from the wrong things you have done, and that you can have the never ending new life that he offers you. Never ending life with him!
Activity: Paint a flower pot!
Have a go at decorating a flower pot! You could get an ordinary flower pot and either paint straight on to it or cut out some paper to stick to it, then decorate it to show that ‘Jesus Gives Us New Life!’ Or, you can buy a ‘decorate your own flower pot’ craft kit. There are loads of them available. You could add some flowers, a cross, the empty tomb, anything that reminds you of Jesus and new life! Remember to ask for some help if you need it.
When you’ve decorated your own flower pot, put some compost in it and plant some flower seeds in the compost. Remember to water it afterwards (again, ask for help if you need it).
As the flowers start to grow, think about the new life that Jesus has given to you. New life that is alive in you, growing each day. When the flowers open up and look beautiful, remember that you are God’s beautiful creation too, and thanks to Jesus and the new life that he has given to you, you will be with him forever!
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, we thank you so much for all that you did for us on Easter Sunday. As you beat the devil and all his plans and rose from the dead to new life, you gave that new never ending life to us all too!
I want that new never ending life from you to be in me. I believe and trust in you and accept you as my saviour and lord and thank you for my new life.
Help me to live my new life in ways that please you, and help me to share the Good News about you with everyone that I meet so that they have the chance to accept you as saviour and lord and have that new life too.
Thank you Jesus, Amen
I hope you’ve enjoyed this accessible journey through Easter. You can go back and look at any of the other sessions whenever you would like to. Remember to ask God to show you something new each time.
See you again, bye for now!
Arranged by Mark Arnold, Additional Needs Ministry Director at Urban Saints. Email: marnold@urbansaints.org
All text © Mark Arnold / The Additional Needs Blogfather. Images © unknown.
See also:
Journeying With Jesus To Easter: Episode 1 – Palms!
https://theadditionalneedsblogfather.com/2023/03/27/journeying-with-jesus-to-easter-palms/
Journeying With Jesus To Easter: Episode 2 – Good Friday!
https://theadditionalneedsblogfather.com/2023/04/06/journeying-with-jesus-to-easter-good-friday/
With Jesus In The Wilderness: Episode 1 – Bread!
https://theadditionalneedsblogfather.com/2023/03/21/jesus-in-the-wilderness-bread/
With Jesus In The Wilderness: Episode 2 – Angels!
https://theadditionalneedsblogfather.com/2023/03/22/jesus-in-the-wilderness-angels/
With Jesus In The Wilderness: Episode 3 – Kingdom!
https://theadditionalneedsblogfather.com/2023/03/22/jesus-in-the-wilderness-kingdom/
Accessible Jesus: Modelling Inclusion
https://theadditionalneedsblogfather.com/2017/10/06/accessible-jesus-modelling-inclusion/
The Additional Needs Blogfather 