Story for a Lifetime

Tonight we had EPIC (our weekly meeting with teenagers) and while it started off feeling a bit overwhelming, God worked in the hearts of our teenagers.

Greg & I did a joint teaching, his first time speaking at EPIC, on the Easter story and how it relates to our life today. And we also did a blindfold Easter Egg Hunt having our teens working in pairs.

The Easter Story was shared through different symbols found in 11 of the eggs that were found & then Greg shared how this relates to us.

Here are the symbols that were in the Eggs & what was explained.

1. Donkey - Jesus & his friends (called disciples) we going to Jerusalem. He told 2 of his friends to go get a donkey & tell the owner they needed it. Jesus road into Jerusalem on the donkey & when the people saw him coming the created a path of palm leaves & Shouted Hosanna - Jesus is the King

2. Silver Coins - Not everyone was happy including some of the priests who did not believe that Jesus was the Son of God. They wanted to arrest and kill Jesus. They went to one of Jesus’ friends, Judas, and told him that if he would betray Jesus they would give him 30 pieces of silver.

3. Cup - Jesus sat down to have a meal with his friends, his last supper. He told them that the next day he would be in Heaven with his Father. His friends said they would not let anything happen to him. Jesus said that one of them had already taken money to betray them.

To remember him Jesus took some bread and said “This is my body, take it and eat it and remember me.” Then he took a cup of wine and told them “This is my blood. Drink it and remember me.”

4. Praying hands - After dinner Jesus and his friends walked to the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus was very sad and asked his friends to watch over him while he prayed. As he prayed his friends fell asleep.  Then his friend Judas arrived with soldiers who came to arrest Jesus. Judas kissed Jesus on the cheek as a way of pointing out who he was to the soldiers.

Peter, one of Jesus friends cut off the ear of one of the soldiers. Jesus said he should not have done that and touched the mans ear and healed it.
The disciples ran away in fear for their lives.

5. Leather Whip - The leaders could not find anything wrong that Jesus had done, even though they paid people to lie about him. Eventually they asked him if he was the Son of God. - He said “I am” and that was enough, they said it was a insult to God.

They took him to Pontius pilate, the Roman Governor. The people asked Pilate to free a murderer named Barabbas and crucify Jesus - King of the Jews.  Even though Jesus was innocent of any crime, Pilate listened to the people.
The soldiers took Jesus away and Whipped him.


6. Crown of Thorns - They removed Jesus clothes and crushed a crown of thorns on his head. They mocked him as blood ran down his forehead saying “Hail, King of the Jews.” 

7. Cross Made of Nails - Jesus was made to carry a heavy wooden cross upon his beaten bloodied back to the place where he would be crucified. The soldiers drove 3 large nails into Jesus hands and feet. Two robbers were also put up on crosses, one on either side of Jesus.

One of the robbers spoke to Jesus saying Save Yourself and us! The other criminal said, we are punished justly, but this man has done nothing wrong. Then he said to Jesus - remember me when you come into your kingdom today. Jesus said, Today you will be with me in Paradise.

8. Soldiers Spear - The solders went up to the thief's and broke their legs so that they could not longer hold themselves up to keep from suffocating and would die more quickly. When they got to Jesus they saw he was already dead. To make sure he was absolutely dead they pierced him in the side with a spear and blood and water poured out, proving he was dead.

9. White Linen - When Jesus was taken down from the cross they wrapped his body in linen and placed it in a tomb cut into the rock & sealed it with a stone larger than a door and heaver than a car. Roman soliders were placed to keep people outside of and away from the tomb.

10. Stone - Two days later a friend of Jesus named Mary Magdalen when to the tomb. She was shocked to find the huge stone moved away and the body gone. She ran to tell Jesus other friends that she had only found burial sheets in the tomb.

11. Empty Egg - As Mary was crying a man asked her  why she was crying - she explained that Jesus was gone and then realized the man she was talking to was Jesus risen from the dead. Mary went and told Jesus friends.

Jesus appeared to his friends many times. He told his friends once he left they would receive the power of the Holy Spirit & to spread the word of God throughout the world.

Tonight we had 4 students invite Christ into their hearts & 4 more that want to meet with myself and Greg to talk about what it means to have a relationship with God. God is working in the lives of teenagers in South East Orlando.