THE RAISING OF LAZARUS

Objectives:

1. Children should be able to tell the story of Lazarus in their own words.
2. Children should know the names of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.

Possible Lesson Plan:

1. Open with prayer.
2. Read the story of the raising of Lazarus in the Beginner’s Bible, pages 418-422, the Children’s Bible Reader, pages 227-229, or the Read with Me Bible, pages 329-339. Supplement, if desired, with the Golden Children’s Bible, pages 423-425. Where was Jesus when Lazarus became sick? Who were the sisters of Lazarus? How was Lazarus by the time Jesus came? What did Jesus do? Why did Jesus cry? What happened to Lazarus after Jesus prayed? Review the story with the icon, identifying Jesus, Lazarus, Peter, and the sister.
3. Feed the Elephant True/False Questions:

True                                                     False

            Mary liked to sit at Jesus’s feet.                     Martha sat and listened to Jesus.

            Martha was very busy getting things done.    Mary was busy getting things done.

            Lazarus was very sick and died.                     Lazarus had a little cold.

            Mary and Martha were Lazarus’s sisters.        Elizabeth and Anna were Lazarus’s sisters.

            Jesus told Lazarus to come out.                      Jesus told Lazarus to take a bath.

4. Play-act the story with one student wrapped like Lazarus in toilet paper. Another student plays Jesus, with students as Mary and Martha and the disciples watching. Jesus prays and shouts, “Lazarus, come forth!” Lazarus enters the room. Jesus tells the others to untie him and the toilet paper is unwrapped.
5. Discuss death a bit: What is death? Have the children ever known anyone who has died? Why are we sad when someone dies? Mary and Martha knew that Lazarus would rise again someday, but they were still sad. They would miss their brother. Even Jesus cried. Remind the children that Jesus knew that He would also soon die. Is Jesus stronger than even death? (Yes) How did He prove this even before He Himself rose from the dead?

6. Make a Sponge Puppet Mummy: Take a pink or white kitchen sponge, unusued. Use a rubber band to separate head from body. Draw on face and attach hair, etc. if desired. Cut two holes in middle of sponge to stick fingers out to be arms. Give each child a long piece of toilet paper or gauze and wrap Lazarus like a mummy.  Can everyone tell the story of Lazarus? Act out with puppets, rising up and taking off the wrappings.
7. Alternate craft idea: Print on cardstock the Lazarus Come Forth full page size, stone with flap sized to match PLUS Jesus and Lazarus from the icon coloring page. Color Jesus and Lazarus and cut them out; cut out the stone, with the flap. Glue Lazarus in the tomb and Jesus to the side of the opening. Tape flap on bottom and children can “remove” the stone to reveal Lazarus.
8. Begin the “Path of Lent” by printing the sheet for each child, plus one for the class, and color in the days already past. Children can take home and color in one day as each passes. This is adapted from the Catholic Icing website to include the Orthodox weeks and feasts. Write in the fixed feast of Annunciation on March 25 as it falls in this year. 
9. Close with prayer.
7.