This term, members of the Open the Book team will be reading stories from the Lion Storyteller Bible.

Our stories are all going to be about the last week of Jesus’ life on earth, the week before Easter Day. Christians call this week, Holy Week.

1. The Great Parade   Read by Jenny Penfold   https://youtu.be/IkLXYB36vlo    

This story tells of what happened on Palm Sunday, which Christians celebrate on the Sunday before Easter Day.

Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. There was a lot of noise because the people were pleased to see Jesus. They knew he was a kind and good man who made sick people better and told wonderful stories. The people shouted and cheered, laying their cloaks on the ground in front of the donkey and waving palm branches to show how happy they were.

Dan the Donkey

This extra video is produced by the BBC for primary schools. It has been added to help you think about what the donkey might have thought as it carried Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/school-radio/assemblies-ks1-ks2-easter-palm-sunday-dan-the-donkey/zsc2dp3

1. An Important Meal   Read by Peter Rumsey   https://youtu.be/MYY11eqA12o

Jesus wanted to have a special meal with his friends because he had some important things he wanted to tell them.  This meal is sometimes called ‘The Last Supper’ because it was the last meal Jesus had with his disciples, his special friends, before he died. He showed them that eating bread and drinking wine would be a special way for them to remember him after he had gone away.

1. A Dreadful Day     Read by Mary Mann  https://youtu.be/hRFGhWQKV8s

This story takes place on the day after the ‘goodbye meal’ we heard about last week. It is probably the saddest story in the Bible. It tells how, although Jesus was good and kind and loving, some bad people planned to hurt him and kill him. The day that this happened is often called ‘Good Friday’.

1. A Happy Day     Read by Linda Hopkins   https://youtu.be/E4TEWN1l4Q8

Today’s story starts with Jesus’ friends being very sad. But the story has a happy ending. 

For Christians, this is the most important story of all because it tells how Jesus won the battle against everything that is bad and proved his power by coming back to life. Christians celebrate this story every year on Easter Day.

1.  During the last week of term before the Easter holiday, Rev Alec will conduct an Easter service at school.