Jesus is alive! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Opening Prayer
Heavenly Father, you call us your beloved children. May we hear your call to follow your Son Jesus, our Brother. We pray that the light of this first Easter morning will shine on us here today. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
If we have made any mistakes or wrong choices , help us to be sorry and to turn the page to make a fresh start:
Sorry Song (to the tune of If you’re happy and you know it)
When we say that you are sorry, God forgives.
When we say that you are sorry, God forgives.
If our sins are large or small,
God will still forgive them all.
When we say that we are sorry, God forgives.
Then sing the Gloria (tune of Row, Row, Row your Boat)
Praise, praise, praise the Lord, Praise our Father dear.
As we listen to his word, feel his spirit near.
Gospel – John 20:1-9
The Lord be with you. All: And with your spirit. (teach them this)
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John. All: Glory to you, O Lord. (teach them this)
On Sunday morning while it was still dark, Mary Magdelene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. She ran to Simon Peter and to Jesus’ favourite disciple and said, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb! We don’t know where they have put him.”
Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. They ran side by side, until the other disciple ran faster than Peter and got there first. He bent over and saw the strips of linen cloth lying inside the tomb, but he did not go in. When Simon Peter got there, he went into the tomb and saw the strips of cloth. He also saw the piece of cloth that had been used to cover Jesus’ face. It was rolled up and in a place by itself. The disciple who got there first then went into the tomb, and when he saw it, he believed. At that time
Peter and the other disciple did not know that the Scriptures said Jesus would rise to life.
The gospel of the Lord.
All: “Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ”
Suggestions for the Discussion
Do you know what a mystery is? A mystery is something that is difficult or impossible to understand or explain. Do you think what happened in our Bible story today was a mystery at first? I think it must have seemed like the biggest mystery of all time! Mary and the disciples were still very sad when they went to the tomb. How do you think they must have felt when they went inside the tomb and Jesus wasn't there? Confused, scared, surprised. What do you think you would have thought?
They didn't know what had happened to Jesus. The disciples, Peter and John could hardly believe that maybe Jesus was still alive but then they began to hope that something wonderful like that could really happen and finally realized that Jesus had risen.
On Easter Sunday and for the rest of Easter we light a special candle in the church called the Paschal candle. We light it to remind us of something - can you guess what that is? It's to remind us that Jesus, the light of the world has destroyed death and is alive. The candle is a symbol of new life.
What yummy treats do you get at Easter as a symbol of new life? Easter eggs! That's right. Because a chick breaks free from a shell to begin a new life just like Jesus broke free from death in the tomb.
How can we show how thankful we are that Jesus gave his life for us? Pray every day, be forgiving to others who have hurt us, remember to ask for forgiveness for our mistakes, share with others and be kind, pray for peace, listen to our parents, carers etc. We can also tell people about Jesus by reminding our friends to come online to learn about God and Jesus while we can't go to church.
Prayer: Dear Jesus, we thank you for the joy of your resurrection. Help us to live in your hope as we pray for our parish, family and friends that we may share this hope and joy of Easter with our brothers and sisters all over the world. In your name we pray. Amen
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