Stronger than death
Family worship guide · theme: I am · the resurrection and the life · ages 5–14 · 20 min
Opening
Waking seed: show a few dry beans (and, if you were able to prepare a few days ahead, a bean already sprouting on damp cotton). Ask: does this bean look alive? It looks like a little pebble, but it holds life inside. Then play sleepy statues: everyone lies on the floor, perfectly still; when the leader calls out a name, only that person jumps up. Today we are going to see Jesus call a friend by name like no one had ever done before.
Reading
The passage is long and moving. Before reading, sum up verses 1 to 16 in a few sentences: Lazarus, Jesus' friend, got sick, and his sisters, Martha and Mary, sent word to Jesus. Then read it in three scenes: Martha (vv. 17 to 27), Mary and Jesus' tears (vv. 28 to 37) and the tomb (vv. 38 to 44). At verse 43, the reader calls Lazarus really loud. If someone in the family recently lost a loved one, read calmly and leave room for tears: Jesus wept too.
17When Jesus arrived, He found that Lazarus had already spent four days in the tomb. 18Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, a little less than two miles away, 19and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them in the loss of their brother. 20So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet Him; but Mary stayed at home. 21Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. 22But even now I know that God will give You whatever You ask of Him.” 23“Your brother will rise again,” Jesus told her. 24Martha replied, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” 25Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies. 26And everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27“Yes, Lord,” she answered, “I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.” 28After Martha had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside to tell her, “The Teacher is here and is asking for you.” 29And when Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to Him. 30Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met Him. 31When the Jews who were in the house consoling Mary saw how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there. 32When Mary came to Jesus and saw Him, she fell at His feet and said, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34“Where have you put him?” He asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they answered. 35Jesus wept. 36Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!” 37But some of them asked, “Could not this man who opened the eyes of the blind also have kept Lazarus from dying?” 38Jesus, once again deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39“Take away the stone,” Jesus said. “Lord, by now he stinks,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man. “It has already been four days.” 40Jesus replied, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” 41So they took away the stone. Then Jesus lifted His eyes upward and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. 42I knew that You always hear Me, but I say this for the benefit of the people standing here, so they may believe that You sent Me.” 43After Jesus had said this, He called out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44The man who had been dead came out with his hands and feet bound in strips of linen, and his face wrapped in a cloth. “Unwrap him and let him go,” Jesus told them.
Teaching
When Jesus arrives in Bethany, Lazarus has been in the tomb for four days. Martha goes out to meet Him with words many grieving people know well: “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” Jesus does not scold her. Martha believes in the resurrection at the last day, a hope for a distant future. Jesus brings that hope close, into His own person: “I am the resurrection and the life.” The resurrection is not just an event; it is Someone, and He is right there, talking with her. Martha answers with one of the most beautiful confessions in the Bible (v. 27).
Jesus knows He is about to call Lazarus back, and still He weeps (v. 35). He does not look down on pain; He steps into it. Then, before the opened tomb, He commands: “Lazarus, come out!” And the dead man comes out. Lazarus would die again someday; the sign points to something greater: Jesus' own resurrection and the life He gives to those who believe, a life death cannot put out. With children, talk about death in simple, truthful words. Anyone going through heavy grief, or who feels they don't want to live anymore, doesn't have to carry it alone: reach out for help, including CVV 188 (Brazil).
Conversation
For little ones
- Why were Martha and Mary sad?
- Jesus cried with them. When you are sad, is Jesus close to you?
For kids
- Jesus knew He was going to bring Lazarus back. Why do you think He cried anyway?
- Jesus asked Martha: Do you believe this? How would you answer that question today?
For teens
- Martha told Jesus about her disappointment without hiding anything. Do you think you can be that honest with God? What usually gets in the way?
- If Jesus is the resurrection and the life, what does that change in how you think about death, the future and the losses you've already lived through?
For adults
- How have I talked about death with the kids: with silence, with confusing phrases, or with the truth and hope of Jesus?
- About which loss do I still tell Jesus that, if He had been there, things would have been different? What would I bring to Him today, as Martha did?
Activity
Loose the wrappings: wrap the arms and legs of a volunteer (or a doll) with toilet paper, leaving the face free, the way Lazarus came out of the tomb wrapped in strips of cloth (v. 44). Everyone repeats Jesus' command, Unwrap him and let him go, and you all unwrap them together, laughing. Then talk: what does Jesus want to set us free from today? Fear, sadness, guilt?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, You are the resurrection and the life. Thank You for weeping with Martha and Mary and for being with us when we suffer. Today we remember those we miss: [names]. Keep our hearts in Your hope. And I answer like Martha: I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God. [Each person adds their own words.]. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Blessing
Jude 1:24–25
During the week
Hope week: plant a few beans together on damp cotton and watch every day as life comes out of what looked dead. At each meal, someone says: Jesus is the resurrection and the life. If there is someone grieving nearby (a neighbor, a classmate, a relative), choose together a gesture of comfort: a visit, a message, a meal, remembering that Jesus wept with those who wept.