Seasons > Easter >  Easter Decorations for the Church  > Easter Vignettes for the Church, continued

Jesus’ Death Resulting in Salvation for All

Jesus’ Resurrection and Ascension

Often Easter decorations focus on crosses, but then the emphasis is on the death rather than the resurrection. An Easter garden is a great way to put the emphasis on the resurrection--the bigger the better! In the photo above, the driftwood represents death, and how it could not keep Jesus in the grave--the grave is empty because He rose again! The picture on the wall depicts Jesus going back to heaven. Combined with the crosses on the wall, it makes the display appear much bigger than the Easter garden by itself would be. The challenge for making a large Easter garden is finding a water tight container that is big enough, and that is not so deep that you have to use a ton of dirt to make the garden visible above the rim. If your church has a large foyer, a child’s wading pool might be just right for a gigantic Easter garden on the floor!

How to make an Easter Garden

These symbols of Jesus’ physical suffering can help us remember that sin has awful consequences. Of course, Jesus’ separation from the Father was a far greater sacrifice, but there is not a good way to depict this.  This vignette makes a thought provoking Easter decoration. However, unless contemplating these things leads to repentance, we have failed to hit the mark. Below I have listed some ways to make this display interactive, and hopefully make it more than a decoration.

Objects shown above

1. 1.Crown of thorns
   

2. 2.Plaque put on Jesus’ cross
   

3. 3.Scourge
   

4. 4.Sword used to check for death
   

5. 5.Dice/lots cast for Jesus’ garment
   

6. 6.Nail and hammer
   

7. 7.Purple cloth representing the royal robe put on Jesus
   

8. 8.On the wall are 3 crosses, and a framed picture of Jesus carrying the cross. The picture was from a Christian calendar that had artwork that had several pictures that could be used for Easter decorations.
   

How to make a crown of thorns

How to make a scourge

This display is more subtle than the others, and so may need some sort of written explanation. This focuses more on the reason for Jesus’ death--Salvation from sin for all people--God is not willing that any should perish. So this moves the focus from my individual repentance, to the need to tell the good news so others can be saved, too.

Make the display interactive by putting a cross nearby with a poster explaining what to do, or better, use it as part of an Easter celebration such as a Good Friday or Sunrise Service. Be sure to provide small pieces of paper, pens, and tape or something with which to fasten the paper to the cross. Here are 3 different ideas:

1. 1.Each person writes their name and spiritual date of birth to remind each person that this sacrifice was done for each one of us.
   

2. 2.Each person writes the name of a person that they will pray for, to be saved in the coming year. It might be good to also provide pamphlets with ideas on sharing their faith, or offer a class to teach some evangelism basics.
   

3. 3.Each person writes one or more sins they have committed, for which Jesus died. For a really dramatic ceremony, let each person nail their paper to the cross, then burn the papers in a bonfire to represent how our sins have been forgiven-- “as far as the east is from the west.” Be sure to think through all the logistics--a smoke detector going off, or a fire truck called by a passer-by would totally erase any lessons learned!

The globe and flags represent the Great Commission--the last recorded words of Jesus before He returned to heaven: Go into all the world and preach the gospel, making disciples and baptizing them. The churches represent the birth of the church at Pentecost. The church is God’s plan for spreading the good news as well as providing a spiritual family for believers. So this display would be good for Pentecost as well as Easter.

How to make the churches out of empty cracker boxes

The three pictures on the wall give a slightly different emphasis to the display, but also show how different items can be used. The first photo has a mirror, so the emphasis is on rejoicing for personal forgiveness. The second photo has a painting of a man kneeling at the foot of the cross, so it can remind us that others will not receive forgiveness if they have not heard--the focus is turned toward our responsibility to tell others. The photo on the right has a painting of Jesus welcoming a sinner into heaven, and points to the ultimate gift of salvation--eternal life, our own as well as others.

Make the display interactive--this globe is battery operated. It asks geography questions, and indicates whether you got the answer right or wrong. Other activities might be matching flags with their countries or provide quizzes about missionaries supported by the church, or ask everyone to choose a country to pray for until next Easter.

Make the Vignettes Interactive

If you don’t want these displays to be seen and forgotten as soon as people walk past, make them interactive. That will encourage people to think about what they are looking at. It is especially good for children, and will help them understand what they are seeing. Make it into a game to make it more fun, and give a prize to everyone who completes the exercise. Here are some ideas to get you started, and then you are likely to come up with all kinds of brilliant ideas of your own. You could do something different each year so people look at it with fresh eyes instead of thinking, “Oh, that again. I’ve already done that.”

1. 1.Mark each vignette with a number, and contestants fill in blanks, or match the numbers to a corresponding a list of events the displays depict.
   

2. 2.Pass out sheets of paper that randomly list the objects in each vignette, and ask the contestants to match them to the event/vignette, or match each object with how they were used in the Easter story.
   

3. 3.Take away a different object each week, and contestants have to guess which object is missing.
   

4. 4.Swap one object with an object in another vignette, and contestants have to guess what doesn’t belong.
   

5. 5.Give each Sunday school class or small group a Bible story, and have them put together a display--add a prize for best display to motivate for good quality.
   

6. 6.Someone dresses as a Bible character next to each display and asks contestants questions about that event. If they are correctly answered, provide a small prize at that table.
   

Seasons > Easter >  Easter Decorations for the Church  > Easter Vignettes for the Church, continued

Return to Previous Vignettes Page