(5–8 minutes, easy setup)
Learners will identify how they personally prepare to worship the risen Christ at Easter.
Provide a dry erase board and marker. Provide a copy of the Responding to the Risen Lord activity sheet and a pen to each learner.
Ask: What did you do to prepare for Easter this year? (Since learners include those who are parents, and have leadership responsibilities in the church, help them identify the busyness of preparation and details like shopping, preparing dinner, and preparing Easter celebrations like Easter baskets and family reunions.) Ask: How did you prepare spiritually for Easter this year? (Possibly spiritual preparation was overlooked in the busyness of other preparations.) Say: Most of us have multiple responsibilities in preparing for Easter . . . taking care of children and grandchildren, looking after aging parents, preparing food for family get-togethers, making sure everyone is appropriately dressed for Easter. The list of what we do can be so long that we may not have the time to prepare spiritually for celebrating the risen Lord.
On the board, write the words to stanza 4 of the hymn Christ the Lord is Risen Today: Soar we now where Christ has led, Alleluia! Foll’wing our exalted head, Alleluia! Made like Him, like Him we rise, Alleluia! Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia! Point out that these words remind us that our actions should be in response to what Jesus did for us. Distribute a copy of the Responding to the Risen Lord activity sheet and a pen to each learner and encourage learners to work through the handout, creating a personal response in the final section. After two minutes, call learners together and explain that learners will have an opportunity to share the responses they’ve written as a time of worship. Call for volunteers to share—not allowing comments. Then, lead learners in prayer that they will never forget the incredible sacrifice Christ made for them, through His life, death, and resurrection.