This Book Belongs To:
WRITERS : Chia Poh Fang (CPF), Stephen Chan (SC), Emily Lim (EL), Heather Owens (HLO), Sim Kay Tee (SKT), Ruth Wan-Lau (RW)
EDITORIAL : Asia Pacific Content Development Team
DESIGNERS: Joshua Tan, Mary Tham
ACTIVITIES DESIGNED by Jasmine Goh
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NIrV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®. Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Images used under licence from shutterstock.com
© 2022 Our Daily Bread Ministries®. All rights reserved.
Do you have many questions about Good Friday and Easter? Maybe you wondered: Why did Jesus have to die? And, isn’t it horrid to celebrate someone’s death? If you’ve ever asked these questions or others, this booklet will help you find the answers!
Here are some ways you can get the most out of this booklet:
Read the Bible verses in the articles, or scan the QR code to watch the read-aloud version
Read the stories to discover the truth
PRAYER
Use the prayers to help you respond to God
Reflection
Reflect on the questions or act on the prompts
And . . . have fun doing the activities!
Your friend from Our Daily Bread
What ’s So Good About Good Friday?
Verse of the Day
Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.
—Luke 2:11
Scan to Read
Luke 1:68–75
“Once upon a time, there lived a great king.”
Mom paused and turned the page. “I don’t like this kind of story!” Jude complained. “It always has princesses and kissing at the end. Yucks!”
“You haven’t given this one a chance,” Mom insisted. “It has a monster and a hero who saves the kingdom. No princesses, I promise. Anyway, the very best story of all is about a hero who came to rescue a princess.”
“No way! I’ll never listen to that story.” Jude scowled.
Mom laughed. “You’ve already heard that story. It is the story of the hero, Jesus. Remember? Jesus defeated Satan and saved His people from sin, which is disobedience to God. He didn’t do it with a sword or in a battle, but on the cross. He took our punishment for sin, and
set us free—just like a superhero who defeats the bad guys and saves the city.”
Mom pulled out her Bible and turned to the Gospel of Luke. “In Luke 1, Zechariah praises God for sending Jesus ‘to rescue us’ and ‘to enable us to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness’ (vv.74-75). With Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we become a part of God’s family and seek to please Him.”
“I get it.” Jude nodded. Then he looked puzzled. “But there are no princesses in that story.”
PRAYER
Father, thank You for sending Jesus to rescue me from my sin. I accept Him as my Lord and Savior.
“There is a princess.” Mom smiled. “The Bible says that Jesus rescued us. Now, we are waiting for Him to come again. When He does, there will be a real ‘happily ever after’ ending.”
“Wait! We’re the princess!” Jude exclaimed.
“We are,” Mom replied. “And Jesus is our hero, rescuer, Lord, and Savior.” —HLO
Reflection
The Bible tells us that all of us have sinned, meaning we have all disobeyed God. Yet, God sent a rescuer to save us: Jesus. Do you want Jesus to be your hero, rescuer, Lord, and Savior? Say today’s prayer.
What Is Sin?
Verse of the Day
“Although you wash yourself with soap and use an abundance of cleansing powder, the stain of your guilt is still before me,” declares the Sovereign LORD. —Jeremiah 2:22
Scan to Read
Jeremiah 2:23, 25
“Hey, did somebody step on your blouse?”
Bethany asked Sue-Ann.
Sue-Ann smiled and let Bethany examine the blouse she kept in her backpack as a spare.
“That is not a shoe print. It’s the print of an iron!” Sue-Ann replied. “My mom accidentally left the hot iron on the blouse for too long!”
While the dirt of a shoe print can be washed off, the scorch mark of a hot iron is almost impossible to remove. Likewise, sin is a mark that is almost impossible to remove from our hearts. Sin is disobeying God and not trusting Him. We are all stained by the permanent mark of sin .
We can try to cover up our sin (“I’m a good person. See how many good things I do?”), pretend it’s not there (“There’s no sin in me. I’m just tired and stressed, that’s all!”), or try to forget about it by focusing on happy things (“Just relax! Let’s have fun!”).
However, the scorch mark of sin remains. In Jeremiah 2:22, God said through the prophet Jeremiah to His people: “Although you wash yourself with soap and use an abundance of cleansing powder, the stain of your guilt is still before me.”
PRAYER
Father, I want Jesus to remove the stain of sin in my heart. I want Him to be my Lord and Savior.
But, don’t despair. God has provided us with a guaranteed way of removing sin, now and forever. It is the only way to remove sin: He sent His Son Jesus Christ to die for our sins on the cross. Jesus is God’s solution to removing sin. And He is 100-percent effective, no exceptions.
To remove the stain of sin, don’t cover it up. Don’t pretend it’s not there. Don’t forget about it. Invite Jesus to be Lord and Savior of your life. —RW
Reflection
Read John 3:36. If you believe in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, He will take away your sin and give you eternal life. Talk to your parents more about what this means.
God ’s Big Re scue Mission
Jesus came to earth to carry out God’s mission, which was to save us from sin and death. It was not an easy mission, because He had to die in order to save us! John, an eyewitness, tells us that after Jesus died, He was buried in a tomb.
“At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there” (John 19:41–42).
Did Jesus’ life end in the tomb? No! On the third day, Jesus came back to life. He conquered death and accomplished His mission. This was confirmed by many people who saw Jesus alive.
There are many sayings about Jesus and what He has done for us. But not everything is true! Can you tell if these statements below are true (T) or false (F) ?
1. God sent Jesus to rescue us. T / F
2. Jesus was killed by a monster. T / F
3. We can remove sin by washing ourselves with soap. T / F
4. Jesus took the punishment for our sins. T / F
5. Jesus died and was buried in a tomb. T / F
6. We become God’s family when we believe in Jesus. T / F
7. Jesus rescues only good people. T / F
8. Jesus was punished because He sinned. T / F
9. We need to believe in Jesus to be saved. T / F
Did you manage to figure out the 9 statements? On the next page, use your answers to help the hero embark on his journey!
Save the People in the Burning House!
U se your answers on page 13 to help the the people trapped in the burning house. or gets injured, try changing your answer back on the right path!
fireman find his way to If he meets a dead end to help the fireman get
Is Jesus Real?
MVerse of the Day
Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.
—Luke 2:11
Scan to Read
Luke 2:11–20
eng dashed into the room. “Tornado sighted in Singapore!” he shouted excitedly. “Look at the pictures my friend sent me on WhatsApp!”
Mom, who was baking cookies, asked skeptically: “Are you sure? Could it be fake news?”
“Well, let’s ask Google!” Meng replied. After a while, he looked up from his phone and said, “Oh, it’s a waterspout, not a tornado. Some newspapers have reported on it. And many eyewitnesses have posted similar pictures and videos on Instagram.”
Mom smiled. “You know, this reminds me of the Christmas story recorded in Luke 2:11–20. The shepherds were going about their usual business on an ordinary day, when they were told extraordinary news: ‘Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to
you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’
“Imagine the shepherds’ questions: Could a baby who is so vulnerable and weak possibly be the Savior? Would God, who is holy and mighty, be found lying in a dirty feeding trough for animals? That’s quite hard to believe, right? So, the shepherds went to check it out. They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. It was just as the angel had told them!
PRAYER
Lord, help me to know more about Jesus’ birth, and to see that it’s not just a nice story, but also a historical fact.
“How about you? Would you like to check out if Jesus is real?” Mom asked Meng. “Er . . .” Meng replied haltingly, “Yes, I’d like to . . . but how?”
“Just like what you did with the tornado news,” Mom said. “We can find out if the Christmas story is reported by credible sources and supported by eyewitness accounts. Shall we do that together?”
Meng nodded eagerly. —CPF
Reflection
Ask your parents or an older Christian in church to join you in this investigation: Who were the Gospel writers Matthew and Luke? What evidence did they give to show that Jesus was born as a human being? In what way is His birth ordinary, yet also extraordinary?
We Are Washed Clean
Have you ever tried cleaning a dirty coin? It must have taken a bit of effort and time to scrub it and make it shiny again. Do you know that there is an extremely easy way to do it? Try this activity at home with your parent or an older sibling.
What you need: a dirty coin white vinegar salt vinegar a small container (non-metallic)
1. Mix 2 tablespoons of white vinegar and a pinch of salt in a small container.
2. Once the salt is dissolved, dip the dirty coin in the solution for 60 seconds.
3. Dry the coin with a soft cloth.
Clean
Record Y o ur Experiment
How did the coin look before?
Something to Think About
Tip!Toavoiddippingyourfingerintothe canvinegarsolution,you useglovesor a pair of chopsticks.disposable
Because of our sins, we are like that dirty coin, and Jesus’ sacrifice is like the solution that cleaned the coin. When He died on the cross, He took on the punishment for us and cleansed us of all our sins! Read “Why Did Jesus Die?” on page 20 to find out more about Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.
When Jesus Was on the Cross
The day: Good Friday. The place: Just outside Jerusalem, in Israel. A huge crowd gathered as Jesus hung on the cross. Among the people were the chief priests and the teachers of the law who mocked and hurled insults at Jesus. But in the crowd were also people who loved Jesus—His mother, those who knew Him, and a group of women who had followed Him.
Jesus: Dead or Alive?
Verse of the Day
Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures . . . he was buried . . . he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.
—1 Corinthians 15:3–4
Scan to Read
1 Corinthians 15:1–11
Joy was very quiet during the drive home.
“Are you okay, Joy?” Mom asked.
“I miss Grandma,” Joy said softly. The family was driving home after attending Grandma’s funeral.
“ We all miss her dearly,” Mom said. “But Grandma will live again because Jesus has defeated death. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 15:3–4 that ‘Christ died for our sins . . . he was buried . . . he was raised on the third day’. ”
“But how do we know for sure that Jesus defeated death?” Joy asked.
Mom replied: “The Roman soldiers who crucified Jesus confirmed that He died. They pierced Him with a spear just to be sure He was truly dead. Jesus was then buried in a tomb, but on the third day, He rose
from the dead. We know this for sure because His disciples saw Him alive, and so did more than five hundred other people.”
Joy thought for a moment and said, “So Jesus’ tomb is . . .”
“Empty,” interrupted Dad, who had been listening to their conversation while driving.
“The Roman authorities never did find His dead body, even though they must have tried very hard to disprove the resurrection. Joy, we miss Grandma, too. But Jesus promised that those who put their faith in Him will have eternal life. Since Grandma believed in Jesus, we can be sure that we will see her in heaven one day.”
PRAYER
Lord, thank You for defeating death. I know You have risen from the dead, and I have Your promise of eternal life because I put my faith in You.
“Thanks, Dad and Mom,” said Joy. “I feel better now. I look forward to the day when I’ll see Grandma again!” —SC
Reflection
Consider the different types of evidence that show that Jesus truly rose from the dead. How many can you find in the article above?
What Heaven Looks Like
Word Search
Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures . . . he was buried . . . he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and . . . he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also. —1 Corinthians 15:3–8
We have hidden 15 words from 1 Corinthians 15:3–8 in the puzzle. Can you find all of them?
L C M S
What can we learn about Jesus from 1 Corinthians 15:3–8? Go to page 26 to find out!
Unscramble the Letters
Why did Jesus come to earth as a human being? To find the answer, follow the lines to put each letter in its correct space! N S A T
To learn more, go to page 18 to read “Why Did God Take on Human Form?”
The Crucifixion of Jesus
“Pilate handed [Jesus] over to them to be crucified. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). There they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle” (John 19:16-18).
Christ
Color thePicture
Make a 3D C ross
1 2 Interlock the slits of both crosses. 3
Color the crosses.
Cut out both crosses along the dotted lines.
Is Jesus real?
Why did He have to die?
Did He really rise from the
dead?
If you’re asking these and other questions about Good Friday and Easter, this book is just for you!
Check out engaging stories and fun-filled activities to discover the answers to your big questions.
