Discussion Guide for Parents, Teachers and Grandparents
LET’S TALK ABOUT THE EASTER BUNNY STORY
Easter is the most important time of the year for Christians. It was on the first Easter when God’s son Jesus gave his own life to save us because he loved us soooo much—more than he even loved himself. Jesus died to save you and me so we could go to Heaven someday and wouldn’t have to die. Then God did a miracle and brought Jesus back to life. Like Audrey angel said, “It is God’s most important miracle the world will ever know.”
Let’s think about what happened in the story about the Easter bunny and see how the Easter Bunny story reminds you of the real story of Easter, the story about Jesus dying for us and then coming back to life on Easter morning.
1. How did Hal the bunny get lost in the forest? (Ans. He stole some carrots and then ran away so he wouldn’t get caught.)
2. Why was Madeline the monkey caught in the top of the tree at night? (Ans. She disobeyed her parents.)
3. What could each of the animals have done differently so they wouldn’t have gotten stuck in the forest at night? (Ans. They could have done the right thing – Hal could have not stolen carrots. Madeline could have obeyed her parents.)
When we do something wrong, it is called sin. Sin keeps people from being able to go to Heaven. Heaven is a beautiful place. God lives there and because sin is ugly and God is so beautiful, He can’t look at ugly sin. So when we are covered with ugly sin, God can’t look at us. But everybody does things wrong at times. Everybody sins. That’s why Jesus died so we could go to Heaven. If we love Jesus and tell Him we’re sorry and ask Jesus to come into our life, He will forgive us and everything is okay again . . . just like we didn’t do anything wrong at all. We get to start over. Each of the animals did something wrong. They sinned, and that’s why they got stuck in the dark forest.
4. Were any of the animals sorry for what they did? (Ans. Yes, both Hal and Madeline were sorry by the end of the story.)
5. When did Madeline realize she had been wrong? What did she do? (Ans. When the angel fainted after rescuing Madeline from the top of the tree, Madeline realized the angel wouldn’t have fainted if Madeline had obeyed her parents. She tried to help by doing what she could to help the angel and by offering to make a fire and then making a basket for the eggs.)
6. Did Hal admit he was wrong to steal carrots? (Ans. Yes, when the angel wanted him to run away and save himself, Hal admitted he was wrong in stealing the carrots.)
7. Even the little angel did something wrong, didn’t she? What was it? (Ans. She didn’t pray. She didn’t trust that God always hears us when we pray. She didn’t have faith in God’s ability to help her and the animals.
8. What made her strong and well again? (Ans. She prayed. Even though she only had a little bit of faith, she prayed, and God heard her prayer.)
9. What did the angel discover to be the true source of her power? (Ans. Praying to God and having the faith that He could help her no matter what else was happening.)
10. What did Hal do that made the angels so proud of him? (Ans. Hal wanted so much to save the angel from the tiger that he was willing to die for her even though he was afraid. He was willing to give his life to save hers.)
11. As we just said, Hal the bunny wanted so much to save the little angel that he was ready to save her even if it meant he had to die doing it. Does this remind you of the real Easter story in any way? Tell me what you think. (Ans. The bunny was willing to die to save the angel’s life just like Jesus actually did die to save our lives so we can live forever and go to Heaven.)
12. Who do you think is the hero of this story and why? (Ans. Hallelujah, the bunny because he was willing to die to save the angel’s life.)
Let’s think about the real Easter story again – the story of Jesus.
13. Who died, then came back to life on Easter? (Ans. Jesus)
14. Why did he do it? (Ans. Because he loved us so much and didn’t want us to die.)
15. Why did he come back to life? (Ans. Because God is so powerful and raised him from the dead so that all of us who believe in Jesus and what he did could live forever.)
16. Who is the REAL hero of Easter and why? (Ans. Jesus is our hero because he actually did die to save us so we would never have to die. Because he died, we can one day go to Heaven and live with God.)
17. In all the stories you know about heroes, who is really the greatest hero of all? (Ans: Jesus because he died to save YOU.)
18. Going Deeper: There are also some important differences between the real Easter story and the Easter bunny story. Can you think of any? (Ans. 1- Little bunny Hal was willing to die to save the little angel’s physical life. Jesus died to save our eternal lives. 2- Little bunny Hal was just an ordinary bunny who was not perfect. He was mischievous and stole carrots. Jesus was perfect, and that’s why he could die in place of us and come back to life. He took the punishment for our sins.)
Let’s talk about how you celebrate Easter.
19. What part does the Easter Bunny play in your family’s celebration of Easter?
20. What else do you do on Easter?
21. If there is a full moon, go outside and look at it tonight. Can you see the rabbit? Did you know there was a rabbit in the moon?
AN EASTER PRAYER
Dear God, thank you for Easter. Thank you for loving me and letting your son Jesus die on the cross for me and then bringing him back to life so I could live forever. I want to have a new life too and live with you always. Please forgive me for all the things I have done wrong. I want Jesus to be my Savior. Please come into my heart and life and be with me wherever I am all the time and show me what you want me to do. I love you, God. Amen.
The Bunny Side of Easter http://www.bunnysideofeaster.com
Printable: Let’s Talk About the Easter Bunny Story
