Lots of families and churches use Easter eggs every year, but did you know you can use frog eggs, snake eggs, turtle eggs, and even dinosaur eggs to share the truth of Christ’s resurrection and the history of Easter eggs with kids?
Christians have incorporated fancy eggs into Easter celebrations for centuries and have long regarded them as symbols of Christ’s resurrection. But for modern day kids (and many adults), the connection between eggs and Easter has become scrambled. Eggs are readily recognized by kids as emblems of Easter and can be easily used to celebrate and share the truth of the Gospel. It’s super easy to make a Bible lesson with Easter eggs. In fact, I’ve already made it for you. All you’ve got to do is download and print the pictures or prepare the PPT slides. (OR if you REALLY want to make it easy on yourself, just show this video to the kids in your home or church…DONE!)
Showing this video is the super simple route, but if you’d like something a bit more hands on, you can download the FREE Easter Eggs lesson and prepare to teach it yourself. The lesson download includes pictures of the animals that hatch from each egg, but I’ve omitted the pictures in this article to avoid giving the answers away in case you want to simply read this article to your young children. First you show them some plastic Easter eggs or maybe even start with a simple Easter egg hunt by having each child find one egg that has a small snack inside, and then you can settle down and lead them through this lesson while they enjoy their snack. It goes something like this…
Easter Eggs
What kind of eggs are these? Did you know that long before people began decorating Easter eggs, God created millions of animals that lay eggs of all colors, shapes, and sizes? (Just for fun, you could help the kids list animals that lay eggs such as penguins, turtles, spiders, geckos, dinosaurs, and platypuses.)
What animal laid these eggs?
Scientists have discovered fossilized eggs from over 100 different kinds of dinosaurs! Fossilized dinosaur eggs are the color of rocks, but scientists believe some dinosaur eggs may have originally been blue or green—kind of like some Easter eggs! (Just for fun, you could have the kids guess how big dinosaur eggs were and then tell them the largest dinosaurs of all time hatched from eggs that were only slightly bigger than a basketball…bonus points if you hold up a basketball for size comparison.)
What animal laid these eggs?
These are American Robin eggs. (Just for fun, you can help the kids list other birds that lay eggs…ALL birds lay eggs so ANY bird is a right answer!) Many birds lay blue eggs and some even lay eggs that are green, yellow, orange, pink, or red—kind of like some Easter eggs! These eggs look hard and lifeless on the outside, but inside a new life is growing!
What animal laid these eggs?
These snake eggs are just starting to hatch. When an egg hatches it almost looks like something that was dead and motionless suddenly comes to life. That’s one reason eggs are often used as a symbol of birth and life. People have decorated eggs in many different ways and for many different reasons for thousands of years. Today many people use decorated eggs to celebrate Easter because eggs remind them of the most awesome thing that has ever happened!
(This is where the Bible lesson part comes in! Help the children see how eggs can remind us of the Good News that Jesus is alive, the tomb is empty, and Jesus gives new life!)
Clap your hands if you know what this is.
About 2,000 years ago God’s perfect Son, Jesus, came to the world to rescue people from sin and give them new life that lasts forever. [Read John 3:16.] All people deserve death and separation from God because of our sin, but Jesus took this punishment for us. He was killed by evil men even though He hadn’t done anything wrong. They nailed Him to a cross where He suffered and bled until He died. Once they were sure He was dead, they let some of His friends bury His body in a tomb. But they hated Jesus so much that they closed the tomb and ordered guards to watch it and make sure His body stayed trapped inside.
Stomp your feet if you know what this is.
Jesus was buried in a tomb like this. But on the third day there was an earthquake and an angel broke the tomb open! The guards were so scared they collapsed. Jesus’ friends looked in the tomb and discovered it was empty! “He is not here. He is alive!” the angel said. At first many of them didn’t believe, but then they actually met Jesus. It was true! He is really alive! He died to take the punishment for the sins of the whole world and then God’s power brought Him back to life! [Read 1 Corinthians 15:3-4.] Today, we call that special day Easter. It doesn’t actually have anything to do with eggs, but many people started using eggs to celebrate it. Let me show you why.
What animal laid these eggs?
These are sea turtle eggs. The baby turtles have come out of the eggs to begin their lives and now the eggshells are empty. When a baby animal hatches, they aren’t in the egg anymore. They are alive and their eggshell is empty. This reminds some people of what happened on Easter. Jesus came out of His tomb because He’s alive. Jesus is alive and the tomb is empty!
What animal laid these eggs?
These frog eggs are transparent—you can see right through them! It doesn’t look like there’s much inside an egg does it? It might seem impossible, but a fertilized egg has everything needed for a new life to begin. This reminds some people of how Jesus is everything we need to be saved from sin and begin new life with God. Jesus gives new life!
What animal laid this egg?
This egg will hatch into a caterpillar that grows into a beautiful butterfly. Most egg-laying animals look nothing like the eggs they hatched from. It’s like they become something totally new! This reminds some people of the new life Jesus gives. He wants to make us new on the inside so we can be part of God’s family that lasts forever! Then He wants to keep working in our lives to help us grow to know and enjoy God more. Jesus can make us new!
Eggs can remind us of these real reasons to celebrate Easter. Without Jesus we all deserve to die and be separated from God, but He can save you from sin and give you new life with God that lasts forever! [Read John 3:15.] Believing in Jesus means trusting Him to save you from sin and give you life with God that never ends because you believe that He really died on the cross and came back to life to take the punishment for your sin. You can believe in Jesus and have new life with God today. If you want to talk more about this you can meet me after the story. [Tell them when and were to meet for further discussion.]
You Can Teach Kids the Good News of Resurrection Day!
This lesson is a simple and interactive way to help kids understand the real meaning of Resurrection Day. You can teach this to your kids in family devotions or to your Sunday School class at church. If you’d like to have these pictures (plus pictures of the animals that hatched from the eggs), a script, a game, and even PowerPoint slides for use with kids in your home or church, download our “Easter Eggs Bible Lesson,” It’s free! Easter is WAY more than Egg Hunts or Bunnies. (Speaking of Easter Bunnies, we’ve got an article about that too!) YOU can use Easter as an opportunity to teach your kids this good news. If you need more ideas, coloring pages, lessons, or games to help you enjoy Palm Sunday or Easter with kids, check out our Easter resources page. Happy Easter!
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