Resurrection Sunday Poems: 8 Short Easter Poems for Church Kids

Eight short, original Resurrection Sunday poems for church kids to recite at your Easter program. Each one tells a true part of the Easter story from the Gospels, and each is marked with the age it fits: two lines for the littlest, six for older kids. Finish with every child saying Matthew 28:6 together.

The poems

1. Welcome (ages 3–4) Welcome, friends, on this glad day! Jesus is alive, we say!

2. Hosanna! (ages 4–6, Matthew 21:8–9) They spread their garments in the way, And branches, too, that happy day. "Hosanna!" cried the multitude. I'll praise Him too! The Lord is good!

3. Love One Another (ages 5–8, John 13:4–5, 34) Jesus took a towel and then He washed the feet of His friends. "Love one another; as I have loved you": That's what He told us to do!

4. Christ Died for Us (ages 5–8, Romans 5:8) Jesus died upon the cross For love of me and you. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. It's true!

5. The Stone Rolled Away (ages 5–8, Matthew 28:1–6) The women came at break of day; The angel rolled the stone away! "Fear not," he said. "He is not here: For he is risen!" Shout and cheer!

6. With Fear and Great Joy (ages 8–11, Matthew 28:8–9) With fear and great joy, the women ran To tell what the angel had said. And Jesus Himself met them on the way: He was risen, no longer dead! They held His feet and worshipped Him there. Now I'll tell it everywhere!

7. Thomas (ages 8–11, John 20:24–28) Thomas said he would not believe Till he saw the print of the nails. Eight days later Jesus came; His love for Thomas never fails! "My Lord and my God!" Thomas said. Jesus is alive! He's not dead!

8. The Third Day (any age, 1 Corinthians 15:3–4, 57) He died for our sins, was buried, and then He rose the third day: He's alive again! Thanks be to God for the victory He gave! Jesus is risen, and mighty to save!

Tips

• Send poems home three weeks early so families can practice at bedtime.
• Pair a shy child with a buddy who says the poem with them.
• Hold a picture: a paper cross for poem 4, a gray paper stone for poem 5. It gives nervous hands something to do.
• The poems follow the same story as our Easter play for kids, and they slot right into the Easter program for small churches.

Every poem is original to VBS HQ and checked against the Bible: the garments and branches in the way (Matthew 21:8), Jesus washing His disciples' feet (John 13:5), the angel rolling back the stone (Matthew 28:2), and the women running "with fear and great joy" (Matthew 28:8). The memory verses of our Triumphal Entry, Last Supper, Jesus Dies on the Cross and Jesus Is Alive! story sets fit right alongside them.