Our sins paved the way to the cross

The path to the cross was paved by my sins.

Last year, I wrote out my sins that paved the way on my Hill of Calvary. This year, I realized it was important to also explain to my sprouts that their sin also paved the way.

Me: Why did Jesus die on the cross for us?

Anne: So we could live forever in Heaven.

Me: But why couldn't we live in Heaven with him if he didn't die on the cross?

Silence...thinking...

Me: It was because of our sin. We all sin, and sin separates us from God. Jesus died on the cross to cancel out our sin so we could live with him in Heaven.

Me: Do you know what sin is?

Jack: I dunno.

Me: It's when we do things that God says not to do. What kinds of sin do you guys do?

Anne: lying, being bossy....

Jack: dis-obaying, hitting, kicking...

We came up with some others too: jealousy, pride, being mean, not being thankful...I begin to feel my face turn red and tingle...I am guilty of the same sin.

"God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." 2 Corinthians 5:21

 

Jack wanted us to tie Jesus up like he is in this illustration. Think a Jesus toy is cheesy? Well, it kind of is, but Jack is all about the action figures. And remember, kids learn through play.

Then, Jack put all our sins into the tomb. ...to once again die...with Christ.  

And we sealed it with a rock.

"He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification."  Romans 4:25

On Easter Jesus not only rose from the grave, conquering death, but he conquered our sin--FOREVER. Our sin is dead. On Easter morning, our sins will no longer be in the tomb---it will be empty!

Will you share your Hill of Calvary with us? If you've done a post, please leave a link using Mr. Linky below. I would LOVE to see it. If you don't have a blog, please email (janna@mustardseedswriting.com) me a picture.

Comments

[Candace]

I love the rocks with our sins on it! I didn't get many pictures in my post, but we LOVED the activity, none the less. :)

[Heather @ Cultivated Lives]

We did the Hill this year too, but the grass is a little sparse because my three year old decided to try and 'replant the dirt/seeds in his sandbox while daddy wasn't watching and I was out running errands... :\ Thankfully, it still pulled through. We just talked a lot about why Jesus had to die too... I love the idea of burying our sins in the tomb. We might give that a try to reinforce what we've been talking a lot about this year.

[Krista Kincaid]

I love how you are teaching your children about Christ. My little one is only 20 months, so I will be referring to your page for years to come. There are so many cute craft pages out there, but this is the best of everything. It is super cute, plus it holds actual meaning behind the adorableness... guiding our children toward THE ONE we love the most. Thank you!
Krista

[yanna westmoreland]

This was beautiful and I sent your blog link to everyone I knew who either have children, grandchildren, teach or just to give them a blessing. I cried buckets as I looked at each of the photos. I have a 20yr old daughter and an 18yr old son and I am heartbroken over regrets of what I did not do. Yet, your post also brought joy that God is teaching me how to teach and giving me a way to share with future generations.

[angie]

Janna, so many of my friends did this hill this year! I loved it. It's the start of our new family tradition. We didn't do the rocks this year, but we will next year. I goofed (confused two projects I was doing) and planted mine with grass seed. It really didn't make a difference. I just loved the anticipation each morning to see how much it had grown, which served as a wonderful build-up to Easter. I've said it a million times, but you are such an inspiration!

P.S. I hate to just... do away with it now! But I suppose I should scrape it and pack the pots away for next year in my Easter bin so we can do it right away. Boo hoo.