Childrens Sermon Service

Object: Three or four rips of cloth. I have used pieces of gauze from bandages, or long strips of an old sheet. We will also need a couple of volunteers for the role-play. When you wrap your volunteer, it does not need to be tight, but just enough to show how it keeps them from moving freely and being free.

Note: This is optional. To reinforce the message, I have used hand motions to help the children understand the point. When you talk about wrapping the cloth, hold your hands out in front of you with your palms down, like everything is over and nothing can be done. When you unwrap the clothes, hold your hands out in front of you with your palms up, like you are open to listening and caring. At the end, I ask the children to make the motions with me.

* * *

Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Great! I think you may have heard this story before because it is a pretty exciting one.It is about the time Jesus got a message from two of his friends. Their message said that their brother, Lazarus, was very sick, and they asked if Jesus would please come and see them.

The place they lived was a long way from where Jesus was, and by the time Jesus got to their house, Lazarus had gotten so sick that he had died. When Jesus got there, how do you think the sisters were feeling? (Let them respond.) They were probably pretty sad, weren’t they? (Let them respond.) And I think they were even a little bit angry, too, becausewhen Jesus got there, they both went to him and said, “If you had been here our brother would not have died! They were upset that their brother had died, and that there was nothing they could do to change that. (Show the hands-down motion.) They had no more hope.

When Jesus saw how they were feeling, he did something really amazing. He went over to the place they had buried Lazarus and he told them to open the door. Then Jesus said a little prayer and then shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” And do you know what happened? (Let them respond.) Lazarus came walking out. I’ll bet that surprised everyone didn’t it? (Let them respond.) When Lazarus came walking out, he still had all of the pieces of cloth wrapped around him they had put on him when they buried him, and Jesus told them to take the cloths off and let Lazarus go back home.

That is a pretty amazing story, isn’t it? (Let them respond.) It is really sad when someone we care about dies, and sometimes it makes us angry, too. And sometimes, it would be nice if we could do what Jesus did and bring people back who had died, wouldn’t it? (Let them respond.) We can’t do that, but sometimes we can do something that is almost that amazing. Let me show you. I need a volunteer. (Select a volunteer who will stand still in front of you while you wrap the clothes around them as you continue.)

Do you remember when I said that when Lazarus came walking out he had those pieces of cloth wrapped around him? (Let them respond.) Back then, when someone died, they wrapped them up in pieces of cloth like this when they buried them. (Show the pieces.) They poured expensive perfume on the cloths, so they smelled really nice, and then wrapped them around the body. They didn’t wrap them all the way up like a mummy, but usually just enough to cover them up. That is how they wrapped people up when there was no more hope of them living.

Now, I have a question for you. Have you ever done something wrong and gotten in trouble, or just done something that someone else made fun of, or just had someone be kind of mean to you? (Let them respond.) I sure have. And when that happens, do you know how it feels to me? (Let them respond.) When someone laughs at me or treats me badly, or even just ignores me, it almost feels like someone is wrapping a piece of cloth around me and making it hard for me to do anything.

And that makes me wonder. When we see people making fun of someone because they look different, I wonder if that person feels like someone is kind of wrapping them up and making them feel sad inside too. (Wrap a piece of cloth around your volunteer and let them respond.) And I wonder if we just walk right past someone and completely ignore them if theyfeel like we are wrapping a piece of cloth around them and making them feel sad inside, too? (Wrap a piece of cloth around your volunteer and let them respond.) And I wonder if we see someone who is all alone or who needs some help, and we don’t do anything if they feel like they are all wrapped up alone and there is nothing they can do? (Wrap a piece of cloth around your volunteer and let them respond.)

I have felt that way sometimes, have you? (Let them respond.) And it feels really bad, doesn’t it? (Let them respond.) I am still alive, but inside I feel really sad. (Show hands-down motion.) I feel all alone.

But we can do something amazing to change that. The next time we see people making fun of someone because they look different, (Show hands-down motion.) can you think of one thing we could do to help that person feel better? (Let them respond and remove one of the cloths as you continue.) Yes! (Show hands-up motion.) And instead of just walking past someone and completely ignoring them (show hands-down motion)  can you think of one thing we could do to let them know we see them and care about them? (Let them respond and remove one of the cloths as you continue.) Excellent! (Show hands-up motion.) Andif we see someone who is all alone or who needs some help (show hands-down motion)  can you think of one thing we could do to let them know we care about them and will try to help? (Let them respond and remove one of the cloths as you continue.) Yes! (Show hands-up motion.)

Jesus did something really amazing for Lazarus, but we can do some pretty amazing things to help people too.

Let’s pray and ask God to remind us that Jesus loves every one of us and wants us to follow him and take care of each other the way God takes care of us.

Prayer
Dear God, thank you for reminding us how much you love us, and for forgiving us when we forget that. And please help us remember that you love all of the people you have created and help us let the people around us know that we love them just like Jesus loves us. Amen.