March, Week 1
Return of the Dead Guy
K-1st/March 6, 2016
Bible Story: Return of the Dead Guy (Lazarus raised to life) • John 11:1-45
Bottom Line: Whatever happens, remember how powerful God is.
Memory Verse: “In this world you will have trouble. But be encouraged! I have won the battle over
the world.” John 16:33b, NIrV
Life App: Hope—believing that something good can come out of something bad.
Basic Truth: I can trust God no matter what.
1. Verse in a Tent (memory verse activity)
What You Need: Bibles, flashlight or smart phone light, sheet, folding chairs
What You Do: Create a tent for the kids to sit in by draping a sheet over a few folding chairs. Gather
everyone inside the tent. If your tent is too small, just gather everyone around the entrance. If inside the
tent, turn on your flashlight or smart phone light. Help the kids look up John 16:33b and read it together.
Talk about the word “trouble” and what it means. What kind of “trouble” do the kids in your group face? Do
they literally “get IN trouble” with parents or grandparents sometimes? Is there something at school that is
giving them “trouble” as they’re trying to learn something new?
What You Say: “This is such a great verse to learn! We will face hard stuff—what this verse calls ‘trouble’!
But we don’t have to be scared. There is hope because God wins in the end. He is more powerful than any
trouble we might face. [Bottom Line] Whatever happens, remember how powerful God is.”
2. Lazarus, Come Out!
What You Need: Lunch bags (1/kid), yarn, glue sticks, construction paper, scissors, crayons, tape
What You Do: Hand out a lunch bag to each kid. Assign the parts of the story and have the kids create a
lunch bag puppet depicting that character. Story characters: Lazarus, Mary, Martha, Messenger, Jesus, a
few disciples, a few friends of Mary and Martha, crowd members (There can be more than one of each.)
Give the kids a few minutes to complete their puppets. Use the tent as the tomb and reenact the story as a
puppet show with the script below. Make sure each kid knows what puppet they have so they can “act out”
their part when called upon.
Lazarus Script
“A man named Lazarus had two sisters, Mary and Martha. One day, Lazarus got sick—very sick. And Mary
and Martha got scared—really scared. So they sent a messenger to their friend Jesus. He said, ‘Lord … the
one you love is sick.’ (John 11:3, NIrV) Mary and Martha waited … and waited. And Lazarus got sicker and
sicker. When the messenger returned, Jesus wasn’t with him. But he did have a message from Jesus. He
said, ‘This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory. God’s Son will receive glory because of it.’
(v. 4) So they thought Lazarus would get better. But he didn’t. Instead, Lazarus died.
“They placed Lazarus’ body in the tomb and Mary and Martha and all their friends were so sad. Days later,
the messenger returned and said, ‘Jesus is coming! He’s just outside the town!’ Martha ran to meet Him.
She said, ‘Lord … I wish you had been here. Then my brother would not have died.’ (John 11:21, NIrV)
Mary, Martha, Jesus and a crowd of friends and family arrived at the tomb where Lazarus was. And Jesus
wept. He was so sad. There was a huge, heavy stone covering the entrance of the tomb. Jesus told them to
roll it away. Martha said, ‘Lord, Lazarus has been in there for four days. Um, well, it’s not going to smell very
good.’ But Jesus told them to remove the stone. Then Jesus prayed, ‘Father, I thank You for hearing me. I
know that you always hear me. But I said this for the benefit of the people standing here. I said it so they will
believe that You sent me.’ (vv. 41-42) ‘Lazarus, come out!’ (v. 43) After a moment, there was movement.
March, Week 1
Then Lazarus stumbled out of the tomb, alive and well! Mary said, ‘You’re alive!’ Mary and Martha hugged
their brother. Many people saw what Jesus had done and believed in Him. God’s power was even greater
than death!”
What You Say: “Isn’t this story amazing? Can you imagine if you had been in the crowd that day?
Everyone went from super sad to super joyful. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead! Talk about a powerful
God! He’s even more powerful than death! All month long we’re talking about hope. Hope is believing that
something good can come out of something bad. Mary and Martha were hopeless when Lazarus died. But I
LOVE the part of the story where Jesus prays and says, ‘God, I do this so the people listening will know that
you sent me.’ Jesus wanted that crowd to know that something good can come out of something bad
because of God’s great love and power. [Bottom Line] Whatever happens, remember how powerful
God is.”
[Make It Personal] (Tell your group about a time when you needed help and God provided it. Make
sure to keep your examples kid-friendly. Talk about a time when you prayed for something and God
answered your prayer in a powerful way.)
3. God’s Power
What You Need: “Stories of God’s Power” (Activity Pages, use all hours)
What You Do: Divide kids into four teams and pass out one “Stories of God’s Power” picture to each team.
Make sure they do NOT share their picture with the rest of the group. Explain that each team has a picture
of a story from the Bible where God showed His great power. Make sure each team knows what Bible story
they have. Give the teams a few minutes to figure out how they will act out their picture for the rest of the
group. If kids are having trouble getting started, you may want to pull each team aside and quietly give them
a few suggestions for how they can tell their story. Allow each team to act out their story as the rest of the
group tries to figure out what the story is.
Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead: John 11:1-45 (today’s story)
The parting of the Red Sea: Exodus 14:10-31
Feeding of the 5,000: Mark 6:30-44
Daniel in the lions’ den: Daniel 6:6-24
What You Say: “Great job, everybody! There is nothing more powerful than God! God can do anything! He
created the whole world just by speaking. He fed over 5,000 people with just one boy’s lunch. He parted the
Red Sea, raised Lazarus from the dead, and saved Daniel from the lion’s den. So when things seem bad
and you have no hope, [Bottom Line] whatever happens, remember how powerful God is!”
Pray and Dismiss
What You Need: No supplies needed
What You Do: Go around the circle and have kids finish the following sentence, “God, you are more
powerful than _____.” They can literally finish the sentence with anything! Once every kid has shared, close
in prayer.
What You Say: “Dear God, we do believe You are more powerful than (list some of the kids’ answers). We
know that You love us and that we can have hope if we trust in You. Thank You for the amazing story of
Lazarus and how You showed Your great power that day. Whatever happens, help us to remember how
powerful You are. We love You. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
Remind kids to stay seated on the carpet until parents arrive. Encourage the kids to show their puppets to a
parent and talk about what happened to Lazarus to show how powerful God is.
March, Week 1
Return of the Dead Guy
2nd-3rd/March 6, 2016
Bible Story: Return of the Dead Guy (Lazarus raised to life) • John 11:1-45
Bottom Line: Whatever happens, remember how powerful God is.
Memory Verse: “In this world you will have trouble. But be encouraged! I have won the battle over
the world.” John 16:33b, NIrV
Life App: Hope—believing that something good can come out of something bad.
Basic Truth: I can trust God no matter what.
1. Verse Ball (memory verse activity)
What You Need: Bibles, beach ball with the Memory Verse written around it (use all hours and all month)
What You Do: Help kids look up John 16:33b in their Bibles. Read the verse together a few times. Hand the
ball to a kid and tell her to say the first word of the verse. Have her toss the ball to another kid who says the
next word and so on. Explain that you will be using the ball all month. (So make sure to keep it!)
What You Say: “This month we’re learning all about hope—believing that something good can come out of
something bad. Our verse tells us why we can have hope—because God has won the battle over the world!
Yes, there will be sadness and pain on earth, but God is more powerful than those things. He is more
powerful than any evil, and we saw in today’s Bible story that He even has power over death! [Bottom
Line] Whatever happens, remember how powerful God is.”
2. Lazarus, Come Out!
What You Need: Bible, paper (1/kid), pens, markers
What You Do: Ask kids to work together to write down all of the characters in today’s Bible story. Make
sure they include: Jesus, Mary, Martha, Lazarus, messenger, disciples, and friends. Then ask them to add
the words “tomb” and “cloths” to the list. Assign one person or item from the list to each kid. More than one
kid can be assigned a disciple or friend. Tell kids to draw their person or item on a piece of paper. Read the
Bible story aloud from the Bible. As you do, kids will use their figures or items to act it out.
What You Say: “If you’ve heard this story a lot, you can forget how CRAZY it is that Jesus actually brought
a man back from the dead. But it’s not just crazy; it’s POWERFUL! If He can raise people from the dead, He
can do anything, right? Now, that doesn’t mean He always will. Bad things will still happen as long as we’re
on earth, but God has made a way for us to spend all of eternity with Him in heaven when we believe in
Jesus as our Savior. Now that’s what I call powerful! [Bottom Line] Whatever happens, remember how
powerful God is.”
3. Paper Lanterns
What You Need: “Paper Lanterns Template” (Activity Pages, 1/kid), scissors, one-hole punches, clear tape,
markers, LED tea light candle (use all hours)
What You Do: Give each kid a “Paper Lanterns Template” and tell them to cut on the solid lines and then
fold on the dotted lines, forming a pyramid with the triangle in the middle acting as the bottom. Tell kids to
think of three words that remind them of God’s power. They should write one word on each side of the
pyramid, so that when the pyramid is formed, the words can be read right side up. Let kids use the hole
punches to punch 7-10 holes in each side of the pyramid (not the bottom). Instruct them to help each other
tape the sides of their pyramids on the INSIDE. They should be sealed tightly so that light will not come
through the edges. Show the kids how it works by sliding the tea light in one of the lanterns. Make sure you
stress that they should ONLY use LED tea lights in their lanterns—not real candles!
March, Week 1
What You Say: “You have just created your very own night light to help you see through the dark. When
things are dark in our lives, and things aren’t going well, we often tend to think the worst. But even in those
times, God is there with us. His light can shine even in the darkest night. [Make It Personal] (Tell kids
about a hard time in your life when you needed to remember how powerful God is. Or maybe there
was a difficult time when remembering how powerful God is encouraged you to keep going and
keep believing.) So, [Bottom Line] whatever happens, remember how powerful God is.”
Pray and Dismiss
What You Need: Beach ball (from “Verse Ball” activity)
What You Do: Gather kids into a circle with you. Hold the ball and tell kids you will toss the ball to one of
them. When they catch it, they should thank God for His power. Encourage them to say something more
than just, “Thank You for Your power,” such as, “Thank You for showing us Your power through the story of
Lazarus,” or “Thank You for Your power that gives us hope in dark times.” When each kid finishes, he
should toss the ball to someone who hasn’t prayed yet. Close with a final prayer.
What You Say: “Dear God, thank You so much for Your power and for using it to show us Your love for us.
We know You can do anything, and we praise You for it! In Jesus’ name, amen. Okay, let’s go out this week
and have hope in God’s power. [Bottom Line] Whatever happens, remember how powerful God is.”
Remind kids to stay seated on the carpet until parents arrive. Show them the paper lanterns and how they
work. Ask kids to explain the words they wrote on their lanterns.
March, Week 1
Return of the Dead Guy
4th-5th/March 6, 2016
Bible Story: Return of the Dead Guy (Lazarus raised to life) • John 11:1-45
Bottom Line: Whatever happens, remember how powerful God is.
Memory Verse: “In this world you will have trouble. But be encouraged! I have won the battle over
the world.” John 16:33b, NIrV
Life App: Hope—believing that something good can come out of something bad.
Basic Truth: I can trust God no matter what.
1. Static Balloon Verse (memory verse activity)
What You Need: Tracing paper (1 small piece/kid), pens, balloons (1/group)
What You Do: Help kids look up the verse in their Bibles. Then read it out loud together a few times. Have
the kids tear scraps of tracing paper and write one or two words of the memory verse on each one. Then
have them rub the balloon until some static builds up. When the balloons are staticky, stick the paper to the
balloon, word by word. It will probably take a lot of rubbing and a lot of trial and error and working together
to get all the pieces on the balloon.
What You Say: “You couldn't see the power that was holding the scraps of paper on this balloon. The static
electricity had the power to hold the paper, but you couldn't see that until you tried to put the paper on it. In
our lives we can't always see the powerful ways God is working behind the scenes to help bring good things
out of bad things. It takes going through a lot of hard times for us to learn to trust and know that God is
powerful enough to hold us though anything that may happen. [Bottom Line] Whatever happens,
remember how powerful God is.”
Optional Discussion Questions
 What is something good that you have learned from going through a hard or difficult time?
 In hindsight, can you see the value in what you went through? Why or why not?
 Do you think you would be as strong and smart as you are, if you could just wave a magic wand or
say a special prayer and solve any problem in exactly the way you want?
2. All Wrapped Up
What You Need: Toilet paper (2 rolls/group)
What You Do: Divide the kids in two teams and have each team make a line, standing shoulder to
shoulder. Put the toilet paper at one end of the line. The kid closest to the toilet paper will pick up a roll and
hold it as the other kids pull the paper off of the roll toward the other end of the line. They must try to do this
quickly, but without breaking the paper. The kid at the end of the line represents Lazarus. Lazarus will turn,
slowly, so that the kid next to Lazarus can take the paper as it is passed to him or her and wrap Lazarus in
it, like a mummy. The first team to wrap their “Lazarus” from head to toe—with the least amount of breaks—
wins.
What You Say: “You did a great job wrapping your Lazarus for your teams. In our story, Mary and Martha
had hoped for Jesus to heal Lazarus, but He didn't. They had to wrap Lazarus up and bury him. Their hopes
were dead. But that was not the end of the story God had planned. Jesus had the power to heal Lazarus,
but He didn't. He had something greater planned. When we face difficult times, it is easy for us to think that
God should use His power to fix things in the exact way that we want them to be fixed. But no matter what
God does or doesn't do, you can trust that God has something good in mind for you, is powerful enough to
do what He plans to do, and will use that seemingly bad thing for His good.
March, Week 1
“Jesus comforted the sisters, even before He raised Lazarus. And He can comfort you, because He has the
power to comfort in the worst of times. And, yes, He has the power to miraculously turn around any situation
from death to life. But the greatest power Jesus has is to be with us and go before us through our times of
suffering and difficulty. [Make It Personal] (Share about a time when you thought God had ‘dropped
the ball’ when you went through a difficult time. Share something that you learned through the
experience or something good that came out of it.) [Bottom Line] Whatever happens, remember how
powerful God is.”
3. Swat or Not
What You Need: A badminton racquet, paper (1/kid)
What You Do: Hand out the paper and let kids each make a paper airplane. Then give the racquet to one
kid. Tell the other kids to try to fly their paper airplanes toward the racquet kid from a short distance away
and he or she will try to catch them on the racquet. Tell the racquet kid, secretly, that you will have one
signal to catch the planes, and one signal to swat them down. Make the signal something simple, but
obvious, such as standing with your arms crossed to swat them down, or holding your arms at your sides to
catch them. Let the kids keep trying to get the racquet kid to catch their paper airplanes. Eventually the
group will become very upset at the racquet kid for swatting their planes down. Stop the activity at that point
and explain your secret signal. After this, you can play as many times as you want to, with a new kid as the
racquet holder, and a different secret signal.
What You Say: “I gave a signal in this game to cause the racquet holder to swat your planes instead of
catching them. I did this to remind us that bad things will happen in our lives when we don't expect them to.
Things can be going along fine one day and then SWAT! Something comes along that knocks you right out
of the sky.
“What can we do then? We can look at the example of Mary and Martha. Mary and Martha did not expect
Jesus to let their brother Lazarus die. But they never lost faith in Jesus and they knew the first person they
should go to was Jesus. When something bad happens in our lives, we can know that Jesus loves us and
we can trust in His power. We may not always get to see God’s power work in the way that we expect, but
no matter what happens in life, we can trust in God’s love and power to help us make it through any
situation. [Bottom Line] Whatever happens, remember how powerful God is.”
Pray and Dismiss
What You Need: A story about a kid or family going through a difficult time
What You Do: Share a story about a kid or a family who is going through a difficult time. It can come from
the news, from a missionary agency, or from your own church family. Remind kids that we can have hope
that God is powerful enough to help good come out of bad. And one way to grow that hope is to pray for
those around us going through bad things. Lead kids to pray for the kid or family whose story you shared.
What You Say: “Remember that God is powerful enough to turn around any situation that seems hopeless.
But when we truly love and put our hope in God we will want God's presence with us more than we want a
miracle or solution from God. [Bottom Line] Whatever happens, remember how powerful God is.”
5/6 Challenge
What You Need: Images from Oh, the Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss
What You Say: “Sometimes picture books have a way of getting right to the heart of a matter. And the
images and ideas can stick with us for years. How many of you remember reading and liking a Dr. Seuss
book when you were younger? In his book, Oh, the Places You’ll Go, he talks about “the Waiting Place.”
(Show images from the book in this section.)
March, Week 1
“I’m guessing some of you sometimes feel stuck in the Waiting Place, too. Or you know someone who is.
It’s hard when we realize God isn’t a personal genie in a bottle, granting us our wishes. He is always
powerful and capable, but sometimes He doesn’t intervene or help, even when we beg Him to. But He loves
us through it all. The story of Lazarus ends in a miracle, but some of US are waiting. Is there something
you’d like us to pray about as you or someone you care about wait, knowing God is powerful and promises
to be with you no matter what?”
Remind kids to stay seated on the carpet until parents arrive. Tell kids to tell whoever picks them up what a
balloon, static, and God all have to do with each other.