Assembly Objective:
- What do we like most about Easter? This assembly explores how the various emblems of Easter are associated with the Bible’s teaching about new life.
Film:
- Rise of the Guardians (DreamWorks, 2012) certificate PG. Click here to buy the DVD online.
Bible:
- 1 Corinthians 15: 3-6, 17-20 (Contemporary English Version)
Supporting Values Education:
- The value of Individual Liberty affirms each person’s right to enjoy and develop their life. In this assembly pupils consider how each of us can find hope and new beginnings in our life.
OPENING ACTIVITY
The Word Walk (game)
- Invite two or three volunteers to stand at one end of the room. Explain that the object of the game is to reach the other side of the room, but they can only take a step when they say a word. Explain that you will name an object, and they can tell you all the words that object makes them think of. Give them an example by saying the word ‘carrot’ and then taking a step with every word you say to do with carrots – orange, crunchy, stick, healthy, pointy, vegetable, etc. Use a different random object for each race. Finish by using the word ‘Easter’.
Quick-fire Thankyous (creative thinking)
- Using a board to record ideas, ask the children to tell you some of the things they are thankful for at the moment. It could be personal, seasonal or school-related, but at some point steer discussion towards Easter/springtime by asking the children what they especially like about this time of year.
FILM CLIP
- Play the clip from Rise of the Guardians (DreamWorks, 2012) certificate PG.
- Start time: 00:55:40 (shot of broken Easter eggs lying in a tunnel and Jack says ‘No!’)
- End time: 00:57:13 (the Easter Bunny says, ‘Easter’s about hope. And now it’s gone’)
- Clip length: 1 minute and 33 seconds
- If you can’t play the clip, read this instead:
- Evil forces called Nightmares attacked the Easter Bunny’s lair. They smashed every egg, crushed every basket. When the Easter egg hunts begin, there is nothing for the children to find. A group of children leave the park disappointed. They don’t believe in the Easter Bunny anymore. Jack Frost doesn’t understand how serious this is, until the Easter Bunny explains, ‘Easter is new beginnings, new life. Easter’s about hope. And now it’s gone.’
TALK
Download the A World Without Easter Assembly PowerPoint for use with this talk.
Scripted Talk
- [PowerPoint slide 1]
- Welcome, everyone! Easter is on its way, so today we’re going to think about what makes this event so special. What do you like about Easter? [Take suggestions.]
- [PowerPoint slide 2]
- Without birthdays, there would be no birthday parties, no birthday cake and no birthday presents! Without Christmas, there would be no Christmas dinner, no carol singing, no Santa Claus. But, now we’re going to try to imagine a world without Easter. What would we miss out on?
- Let’s watch a clip from Rise of the Guardians to help us think about this question.
- Start time: 00:55:40 (shot of broken Easter eggs lying in a tunnel and Jack says ‘No!’)
- End time: 00:57:13 (the Easter Bunny says, ‘Easter’s about hope. And now it’s gone’)
- Clip length: 1 minute and 33 seconds
- If you can’t play the clip, read this instead:
- Evil forces called Nightmares attacked the Easter Bunny’s lair. They smashed every egg, crushed every basket. When the Easter egg hunts begin, there is nothing for the children to find. A group of children leave the park disappointed. They don’t believe in the Easter Bunny anymore. Jack Frost doesn’t understand how serious this is, until the Easter Bunny explains, ‘Easter is new beginnings, new life. Easter’s about hope. And now it’s gone.’
- If there were no Easter, what would the world miss out on? [Take suggestions.]
- [PowerPoint slide 3]
- Easter means beautifully decorated eggs; it means chocolate; it means springtime! But, Easter has a deeper meaning than all of those delights. As the Easter Bunny in the film said, ‘Easter is new beginnings, new life. Easter’s about hope.’
- [PowerPoint slide 4]
- There are many symbols connected with Easter and all of them are about new life. Here are a few… Easter eggs and the Easter Bunny have long been used as symbols of new life; baby animals such as chicks, calves and lambs remind us of new beginnings; spring flowers like lilies, daffodils and tulips give us hope that we will soon be seeing more sunshine than rain!
- [PowerPoint slide 5]
- Those delicious-looking hot cross buns show us another symbol associated with Easter: the cross. Why would a cross be a symbol of new beginnings, new life or hope? After all, in ancient times, the cross was the worse way to die.
- We’re going to read a message from Paul, a man who lived alongside Jesus and saw it all himself. This message is recorded for us in the Bible. Perhaps it can help us understand why the symbol of the cross brings hope to Christians all around the world.
- Read 1 Corinthians 15: 3-6, 17-20 [PowerPoint slide 6-7]:
- ‘I told you the most important part of the message exactly as it was told to me. That part is:
- Christ died for our sins, as the Scriptures say. He was buried, and three days later he was raised to life, as the Scriptures say. Christ appeared to Peter, then to the twelve. After this, he appeared to more than five hundred other followers…
- Unless Christ was raised to life, your faith is useless, and you are still living in your sins. And those people who died after putting their faith in him are completely lost. If our hope in Christ is good only for this life, we are worse off than anyone else.
- But Christ has been raised to life! And he makes us certain that others will also be raised to life.’
- [PowerPoint slide 8]
- Paul gives us the short version of the message of the Bible: Jesus died for our sins, [click] he was buried, and three days later [click] he was raised to life. [click] He then appeared to people, proving that he was alive again. The Bible teaches that because Jesus was raised to life, his followers can be sure that they will be raised to life as well – he is the proof. That’s what the empty cross means: new life for Jesus, therefore new life for his followers!
- [PowerPoint slide 9]
- For Christians, Easter is one of the most important celebrations of the whole year – perhaps the most important of all. Why? Because without it they would have no hope! At Easter, Christians remember the time when Jesus died and then was given new life. And, at Easter, Christians look forward to the time when they will be given a new life themselves, just like Jesus.
- Whichever way you look at it, Easter truly is all about hope!
Headings and Bullets
- Introduction [PowerPoint slide 1]
- Welcome, everyone!
- Introduce the theme of Easter.
- What do you like about Easter?
- A world without Easter [PowerPoint slide 2]
- Without birthdays, there would be no birthday parties, no birthday cake and no birthday presents!
- Without Christmas, there would be no Christmas dinner, no carol singing, no Santa Claus.
- Imagine a world without Easter. What would we miss out on.
- Introduce the film clip
- Start time: 00:55:40 (shot of broken Easter eggs lying in a tunnel and Jack says ‘No!’)
- End time: 00:57:13 (the Easter Bunny says, ‘Easter’s about hope. And now it’s gone’)
- Clip length: 1 minute and 33 seconds
- What is Easter really about? [PowerPoint slide 3]
- Easter means eggs, chocolate and springtime!
- But, Easter has a deeper meaning as well.
- ‘Easter is new beginnings, new life. Easter’s about hope’ (Easter Bunny).
- Easter symbols [PowerPoint slide 4-5]
- There are many symbols connected with Easter and all of them are about new life.
- Easter eggs and the Easter Bunny, baby animals and spring flowers.
- Hot cross buns.
- Why would a cross be a symbol of new beginnings, new life or hope?
- Introduce the Bible story
- Read 1 Corinthians 15: 3-6, 17-20 [PowerPoint slide 6-7]
- The empty cross [PowerPoint slide 8]
- Paul’s message: Jesus died for our sins, [click] he was buried, [click] he was raised to life and [click] then appeared to people, proving that he was alive again.
- The Bible teaches that because Jesus is the proof that – just as he was raised to life – his followers will be raised to life as well.
- That’s what the empty cross means: new life for Jesus, therefore new life for his followers!
- The empty cross [PowerPoint slide 8]
- Easter is hope [PowerPoint slide 9]
- For Christians, Easter is the most important celebration of all because without it they would have no hope!
- At Easter, Christians remember Jesus dying and coming back to life.
- And, at Easter, Christians look forward to the time when they will be given new life themselves.
- Whichever way you look at it, Easter truly is all about hope!
RESPOND
Reflection
- [PowerPoint slide 10]
- Let’s look again at the symbols of Easter, and think about the promise of new life. Think for a moment about one Easter thing you are really thankful for. It could be chocolate-egg hunts, baby animals, fresh flowers, more sunshine, or Jesus coming back to life. Let’s really make the most of this Easter!
Prayer
- I’m going to say a prayer now and you can join in if you want to by saying ‘Amen’ at the end, which just means ‘I agree’.
- Dear God, thank you so much for Easter – for the chocolate and fun activities, but most of all for new life! It’s amazing that Jesus came back from the dead. Please show us more of what the cross means for us this Easter. Amen.
YOU WILL NEED:
- Rise of the Guardians (DreamWorks, 2012) certificate PG. Click here to buy the DVD online.
- A World Without Easter Assembly PowerPoint.
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A board for Quick-Fire Thankyous opening activity.
Ethos Education 