Jesus Meets Martha

[John 11:1-44]

Intro: Have you ever found out something about someone that has completely changed the way you think about them? Jesus meets a friend in sad circumstances. Martha is someone who he’s met before and stayed with and knows her family. But what she finds out about him will change her life forever.

Games: To introduce elements from the story

1. Lazarus is coming - This is a variation of Captain’s coming (where a leader calls out nautical phrases each of which have an action associated with them). The twist here is that all the phrases have to do with this event. Here are the phrases and the actions (in brackets) you should do:
   Dead Lazarus (Lie down), 5 weeping women (In a group of 5 crying), Living Lazarus (Jump), Rolling the stone (Lie down and roll), Bethany (Run to one end of the room), Jerusalem (Run to the other end of the room).

2. Stuck in the tomb - Run around! One person is ‘it’ anyone they touch is dead and has to lie on the floor in the same place. They can be rescued by anyone calling their name, then ‘Come out!’

3. Free Lazarus - Remove all the face cards from a normal pack (or a half if you have a small group) except one Jack, that Jack is Lazarus. Shuffle them together (Jack included) and put four piles, facedown, in the middle. Take it in turns to pull one card from any pile and look at it straight away. Whoever pulls the Jack is the winner.

Drama:

Create some sketches based on either the confused funeral planners (the one the 9-10 year olds came up with when we did this was absolutely hilarious!) or a TV interview with the resurrected Lazarus.

Ask someone to act as Martha and read this script. We had a ‘special guest’ from our church come in each week of the series as the character in modern dress. Martha would be dressed for a funeral. You could easily have a leader or an older child read it out.

Activity: To reinforce the message that Jesus brings life

Grow some cress. You will need: empty egg cartons or yoghurt pots, cotton wool, cress seeds, shallow bowl of water.
give each child a container. They will need to damp (not soak) a piece of cotton wool and then place it in the bottom of their container. Sprinkle cress seeds on top. Make another one or decorate the containers.

Talk about what the plants need to live; what humans need for life; how incredible it is that Jesus was able to give life to dead people.

Songs:
My God is so Big - Go Fish
Once we were Dead in Sin - Emu Music