This Children’s Sermon will teach kids about Jesus raising Lazarus from the Dead. It’s based on John 11:1-45. The Bible object lesson teaches about that JESUS is the Resurrection and the Life. Download the teachers notes, watch our Children’s Message example, and gather your supplies. Then you’re ready to share this message in your church next Sunday!
“Jesus Raises Lazarus”
Children’s Sermon Object from John 11:1-45
Children’s Message: New Life
Will Come!
Jesus Works Things Out, Even
When it’s Tough
Main Objective: The Lazarus story seems like an amazing success story. Jesus took someone who was dead, and brought him back to life! What could be more impressive than that, right? But what we sometimes forget in visiting this tale is how devastating things seemed prior to the miraculous resurrection. It looked like Jesus had failed. Lazarus was dead! Yet Jesus promised that all things would work out to glorify God, and so they did. The message for kids, then, is more than just an exciting death-to-life story. Sometimes things are challenging and uncertain. We may not like the answers God gives, but we can know that He is still in control, loves us, and will work things out for our good.
Law/Gospel Theme: Jesus sort of foreshadows the miracle of the Resurrection in this story. He brings Lazarus to life, after he has died and been laid in the tomb. His ways are higher and greater than ours. As Lazarus came to life, so all will one day return and be with Christ. What a blessing that message is! It may not be within our timetable, but it will bring glory to God.
Optional Materials / Object Lesson Props: Baked treat (or picture of one); optional ingredients or cooking tools/materials.
Bible Passage: John 11:1-45
More Sunday School ideas on Jesus Raising Lazarus back to life
- Bible Lesson: The Resurrection of Lazarus for Kids
- Crafts on Jesus Raising Lazarus
- Sunday School Lesson (John 11:38-44) Lazarus is Raised by Jesus
- Jesus Raises Lazarus Lesson (Mission Bible Class)
- Jesus and Lazarus Science Lesson (Future Flying Saucers)
Message Note: As with most messages, the details of how you choose to communicate this are adaptable and should cater to timing as well as to your audience and student needs. Use your judgment and ideas to best serve students. You can use this message at home with one or two kids, or share it with a group!
Children’s Sermon: Jesus Raises Lazarus from the Dead (John 11:1-45)
Optional: bring along some cooking supplies for this one! Open up the idea of going through challenges…
Hello, children of God! How are you?
Have you ever experienced something that was difficult? Maybe something bad happened at school, or someone said something mean, or perhaps you got sick or hurt in some way. It can be hard, and we might pray for it to get better, but seem to hear nothing from God. We don’t always know what He’s up to…
(Pull out a piece of cookie or cake dough/batter) Object Lesson
Do you know what this is? It kind of looks like a funny blob, doesn’t it? Well, actually, this is the product of putting together several other ingredients, like eggs, oil, sugar, and flour (hold ingredients up, if using). And after I mix it together, I’ll put this blob into a super hot oven…then, when I take it out of the oven (hold up baked cookie), I’ll have one of these! You might recognize this a little bit more, right? It’s a cookie!
Now, let’s pretend this cookie could talk, and had feelings…do you think it would want to go into that hot oven, if I gave it a choice? Probably not. That doesn’t sound too pleasant, does it? But only by going into the oven does it turn into something better than just a blob of dough. Going through hard things completes the cookie. Believe it or not, sometimes this happens to us. We might not like hard things, and we don’t understand why they happen to us. But God is always working in our lives, even when we don’t understand how. Sometimes we don’t know what is coming up ahead. Sometimes we pray for things, and don’t think God is answering. But He has His own plans, and they are usually better than our plans!
In the Bible, there’s a neat story about a man named Lazarus. He was a friend of Jesus, and he had two sisters who were also friends with Jesus. Well, Lazarus got very sick. His sisters asked Jesus to come and see him, thinking surely this miracle-worker could heal their brother and make him better. But that didn’t happen. By the time Jesus arrived, Lazarus had died. His sisters were very sad, and Jesus was sad, too. He had loved Lazarus. There was a lot of confusion. Surely Jesus could have healed His friend…why didn’t He? Well, Jesus said that it was going to work out for the glory of God. He asked to go see the tomb where Lazarus was buried. When He got there, He asked for the big stone in front of the tomb to be rolled away. Some people thought this would be a bad idea, because the body would be pretty stinky. But they did it. Jesus called to Lazarus to come out of the tomb…and he did! He came out, still in his burial clothes, but alive!
So even though Jesus did not do what might have been expected at first, He did bring healing to Lazarus, and it was an amazing miracle. It wasn’t what Lazarus preferred, probably, or his sisters. But it did bring glory to God. And a little while later, someone else faced death and burial in a tomb…Jesus Himself prayed that, if it was possible, He wouldn’t have to die on the cross. It was not something He wanted to do. But because of enduring the cross, we have salvation and the chance to live after death!
Sometimes life is tough. Sometimes we wish things could happen differently, or we pray that things could be different. Our job is to trust God. God has promised that all things will work out for good, if we love Him and live by Him. This doesn’t mean things will be easy. It does mean that one day, all will be made new and right again. Our lives may or may not improve on Earth, but when we are God’s children, we can be certain He will take care of us. We can be assured of His love and power. He has already proven that through Jesus! Shall we thank God for those promises, and ask for His help to remember them?
Children’s Prayer Moment
(Have kids repeat each line)
Dear God,
Thank you for your promises
We know that your words are true
Even though we don’t always understand your ways
You tell us things will work for good
Thank you for your faithfulness
Thank you for your love
We love you, God!
In Jesus name, Amen!
John 11:38-44 (NIV) Jesus Raises Lazarus From the Dead
38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 “Take away the stone,” he said.
“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”
40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”
43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
John 11:38-44