Lazarus

The child will be able to explain that Jesus’ power over death means that everyone who believes in him will live with him forever after they die.

Bible Story Reference: John 11:1-6; 11-43

Memory Verse: 

John 11:25 (NIV)

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die;

Introduction

In the last lesson, we learned about how Peter showed his faith. But Peter got scared and started to sink. How did Jesus respond when Peter asked for help? ( Jesus reached out his hand and helped him.)
Today, we will learn about Jesus’ power over death and how believing in Jesus can lead to eternal life.

Bible Story

Jesus had three friends named Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. They were brother and sisters.
Lazarus became very sick. So, his sisters sent a message to Jesus.
Jesus cared about Lazarus and his sisters very much. But he stayed where he was for two more days. Then, Jesus told his disciples that it was time to go.
“Lazarus is asleep,” Jesus said. “I am going to go wake him up.”
“So, he is only sleeping?” they asked.
“Lazarus is dead!” Jesus answered. “Now you will believe in me.”
When Jesus arrived, Lazarus had already been dead for four days.
“Lazarus will live again,” Jesus said, comforting Martha. “Everyone who has faith in me will live, even if they die. Do you believe this?”
“Yes!” Martha replied. “I believe that you are the Son of God!” Then, Martha went to find Mary.
“Jesus is here!” she said. “He wants to see you!” So, Mary got up and went out to see Jesus.
“If only you had been here,” Mary said. “Then, my brother would not have died.”
When Jesus saw how upset everyone was, he became sad and began to cry also.
“Where did you put his body?” Jesus asked. They led Jesus to Lazarus’ tomb, and Jesus told the people to roll the stone in front of the tomb away.
“But Lazarus has been dead for four days,” they said. “It will smell awful.” Jesus told them to have faith and do as he said. So, the people obeyed.
Jesus looked up to heaven and prayed. Then, he called out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”
Lazarus came walking out. He had been brought back to life!

Review

Peter allowed the wind that was blowing all around him to distract him. He became more focused on his fear than his faith in Jesus. Faith means believing in and trusting in someone or something.
There may be difficulties in our lives that feel like storms, too. We might not know how to escape them or how we will manage to survive them. But Jesus is always with us—just like he was with Peter—even when it does not feel like it.

  1. How did Peter show faith? (He got out of the boat and onto the water with Jesus.)
  2. What happened when Peter became afraid? (He started to sink.)
  3. What did Peter do when he started to sink? How did Jesus respond? (He called out to Jesus for help. Jesus reached out his hand and helped Peter.)
  4. What does this tell you about Jesus? (Jesus will help us when we ask him.)
  5. We all experience difficult times that can feel like storms in our lives. What can you do when you feel like Peter did? (Ask Jesus for help and have faith that he will help us like he helped Peter.)
  6. How does this story help you have faith? (It shows that Jesus can be trusted to help us, even when we become scared, afraid, or lose faith like Peter did.)

Prayer

Dear God,
Thank you for the promise of eternal life in heaven with you. Amen.

Crafts

Lazarus From The Tomb

What You Need

  • Tissue roll
  • Tissue paper
  • Glue
  • Black marker or pen
  • Scissors

Steps 

  1. Cut your tissue into strips.
  2. Begin to wrap your strips of tissue around the tissue roll, gluing as you go. Make sure you leave a little opening at the top of your roll.
  3. When you have wrapped your tissue roll enough, draw eyes with a black marker or pen.