Empty Tomb Lego Easter Lesson

My kids love making Bible scenes out of Lego (and watching Lego Bible story videos). It’s something about Lego, I guess: they get to be creative, and they get to build things. This Easter we made an empty tomb Lego scene to help tell the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection.

This creative Easter activity allowed me to tell the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection, and it allowed the kids to explore the story in a creative way. My kids also decided to modify the empty tomb scene and made it into a double-decker treehouse empty tomb. Then they added more Lego figures, flying thrones, and a Star Wars Wookie and a Minecraft character. But since they were still basically playing with the Easter story, I was pretty happy. (Futuristic alternate-universe Lego resurrection scene, anyone?)

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How to Lead a Lego Bible Building Session

Leading a Lego Bible building session is really quite simple.  There are 3 main parts to this Lego activity:

1. Tell the story.
2. Ask some questions.
3. Close in prayer.

We love doing this kind of Bible lesson both with our own kids at home and at church, for children’s ministry. Telling the Bible story while the kids build with Lego gives them a creative outlet to explore the story, and it keeps their hands busy.

This is important: have the kids build WHILE you are telling the story and asking them questions.  This helps with attention span.  If their hands are busy, they are often more able to listen without the distraction of squirming around and fiddling with other things.

The question period is where a lot of the theological and life reflection comes in.  I’m always amazed at what comes out of my kids’ mouths at this point.  Sometimes they’ve absorbed lessons quite well and made kind-of astounding connections that I wouldn’t expect.

If you want more of these Lego Faith Building sessions, be sure to pick up Building Faith, Brick by Brick.  This book contains dozens of Bible stories, and includes questions, building prompts, facts about the context and background of the story, and themed snacks for each story.  This is a great way to turn a Lego Faith Building session into a whole family event.  (Perfect for churches, Sunday school, and for home!)

Before you begin:

• Make sure you have a pile of Lego in the center of the table (or floor).
• Tell the kids that you are going to be telling them a story, and that you want them to build something that they hear in the story, or something that they imagine happening in the story.

1. Tell the Story: Jesus’ Resurrection

One thing that I love about the story of the empty tomb and Jesus’ resurrection is that it is a story that we tell every year at Easter, and so it’s a story that tends to stick with us. (Of course, it’s also THE central Christian story, the most important part of our whole story.)

Because it’s a familiar story, having a creative way to retell it with your kids will be a huge benefit. Depending on the age and attention span of your kids, you may want to:

• Read the story from the Bible.  (The story of the empty tomb and Jesus’ resurrection is a fairly short story, and so it’s easy to read it straight from a regular Bible without losing the attention of your kids. We use the NIrV Adventure Bible for Early Readers, which gives you the entire Biblical text but puts it into language that kids can understand.) Try Matthew 28:1-10 or John 20:1-18. You can also start the story earlier and include Jesus’ death. (Or start at his trial or at the entry into Jerusalem.)
• Read the story from a children’s storybook Bible.  (The Brick Builder’s Bible is perfect for Lego fans who want a shortened version of the Bible story and lots of visuals. This children’s Bible tells the whole Easter story, from Palm Sunday through to the resurrection and ascension, with Lego.)
• Retell the story from memory.  (Learn the story and retell it.  Add some detail, condense some parts.  A retelling can help keep the attention of little ears.)

2. Ask Some Questions

The question and wondering part of this activity is the best part! After reading the story, ask your kids some questions about the story. I like to phrase these questions as “I wonder…” rather than a direct question. That makes it more open ended and less like there’s one right answer.

Getting kids to think about the story and explore questions is one of the richest parts of this Lego building Bible activity. Have the kids come up with their own questions, too. Ask them what they wonder about.

It’s during this question period that you can get some really good theological discussion and life application. Let your kids imaginations run wild.

Here are some sample questions to get you started, but you can ask anything at all about the story. What do you wonder about it?

• I wonder how the women felt when they were going to the tomb?
• I wonder how they felt when they saw the boulder rolled away?
• I wonder how they felt when they noticed that Jesus’ body wasn’t there?
• I wonder how they felt when the angel talked to them?
• I wonder what happened to the Roman guards?
• I wonder if Jesus knew that he would rise again in 3 days?
• I wonder how Jesus felt when he woke up and left the tomb?
• I wonder who Mary and her friends told first? I wonder if they believed them?
• I wonder if anything has happened to you before where you’ve been really surprised?
• I wonder if you’ve ever felt afraid because you were facing something new and unexpected?
• I wonder if you’ve ever had to be brave like Mary and her friends?
• I wonder what you would have done if you had been with Mary and discovered the empty tomb?
• I wonder if you’ve ever seen an angel before?

3. Close with a Prayer

God of new life and transformations, thank you for sending Jesus to rescue us from the power of sin and death. Thank you for the promise of resurrection and new life. Please help us to life in hope and in love, and strengthen our faith in you. Amen.