Sunday School Good Friday Children's Talk

A Youth Bible Lesson Focusing on the Friendship and Love of Jesus

Apr 2, 2010
Stella Walsh

Props for Good Friday Children's Activity - Stella Walsh

Good Friday can be a difficult day to do Bible study with children. However, this prop-supported lesson on the friendship and love of Jesus can be easily grasped.

Good Friday is the day when the Christian Church focuses on the suffering, crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ. This can be a very difficult topic to explain and discuss with children during Sunday school or a family service.

The following prop-supported activity and discussion is very child-friendly and focuses on the great love and friendship of Jesus, as demonstrated by the Christian belief that He died for humanity.

Bible Verse to Accompany a Good Friday Children’s Activity

The passage from John 13:36-38 (NKJV) focuses on Peter telling Jesus that he will not desert Him, no matter what. Peter claims that he is even prepared to die for Jesus. Later, in another passage, Peter denies that he knows Jesus and he runs away in fear like the other disciples.

Materials Needed for a Good Friday Children’s Activity

There are several simple props required for illustrating the important concepts of this activity:

4 cardboard cutout figures to represent people.
One of the cardboard figures will represent Jesus. A paper crown of thorns can be glued to the head and the eyes can be drawn closed.

Note: The figure representing Jesus will need to be propped up in some way so that it will not fall over during the activity. In this version of the activity the figure is propped up in a glass bowl and taped to the sides. There are paper hearts attached to the bowl to represent Jesus’ love.

Steps for a Good Friday Children’s Activity

If possible the children can sit on the floor in a semi-circle so that everyone can see the activity. Another option is to sit around a large table. This activity can take place in the Sunday school or at the front of the church during worship.

Pre-discussion: The Bible reading is discussed with an emphasis on the fact that Peter doesn’t keep his word to Jesus. Peter is human and sometimes humans let each other down.

Two of the cardboard figures are propped against each other so that if either is moved the other will fall over. The children are told that these figures are two friends who support each other. A volunteer is asked to take one of the figures away. The other figure will of course be “let down.” A discussion will follow about what happens when friends let each other down.
Next, the figure representing Jesus is displayed with the last cardboard figure leaning against Him. A short discussion can take place here about who this figure is and what the hearts represent. Another volunteer takes the leaning figure away. But the propped up figure of Jesus does not fall. This represents His divine aspect. He does not need to lean on humans; they need to lean on Him.
Finally, all of the figures are leaned against Jesus and another short discussion will follow about why everyone can lean on Him. This will illustrate that Jesus is so powerful and loved humanity so much, He was a friend who would die for His friends.

Possible Discussion Questions for a Good Friday Children’s Activity

The following are some discussion questions that can be used during the different steps of the Good Friday activity. Open discussion, as opposed to lecturing, allows the children to explore concepts in their own minds and make their own decisions about what they are thinking. Different ages will follow the discussion and assimilate the information as it suits the individual level of development. It is important to encourage all comments and questions. The questions can be changed to suit the purpose of the discussion.

In step one of the Good Friday activity the following two questions will help to start a discussion on friends supporting each other and sometimes letting each other down:

What happens when one friend stops supporting another friend?
Has this happened to anyone here? How does it feel?

In step two of the Good Friday activity these five questions are suggestions for bringing the discussion around to who Jesus is and why He differs from humans in terms of friendship and strength of support:

Who is this figure?
What’s on His head?
Why are there hearts around Jesus?
Why are His eyes closed?
What happens when a friend stops leaning on Jesus?

The following two questions helps to conclude the discussion in the third step of the activity by focusing on what Jesus' role is in terms of friendship with humans:

Can everyone lean on Jesus at the same time?
If someone leans on Jesus and then goes away for a while, can they come back and lean on Him again? Here, the emphasis will be on bringing out the Christian belief that Jesus is unchanging, unconditional and completely powerful in His love.

This activity provides a simple way to illustrate the Christian belief in the great love of Jesus, as demonstrated by His death and resurrection. The props help to illustrate the concept of how powerful the love of Jesus is and that He is unchanging, giving unconditional friendship.

For other Christian Bible study articles see Facts About the Book of Psalms for Bible Study, Youth Group Bible Study for the Story of Joseph and Children of the Bible for Youth Group Activities.