Praxis: Love of God

Lazarus’s being raised from the Dead

Biblical Reference: John 11:1-44

Location Anywhere

Background / Setup
Come up with some appropriate costumes for the characters in the story. (Lazarus, Mary, Martha, Jesus, representatives for mourners, representatives for the apostles, the messenger, the crowd, etc.) Some of the less important people can be left out if your group is small. You may want to do the skit in a grave yard or cemetery.

Warm-up
Have students define love. Not only Godly love, but the other kinds of love. Have students look around for different things that represent love, i.e. book, picture, etc.. After ten minutes come back together and talk about these things.

Study
Have the students act out the story as you read it, melodrama style, when a character speaks have him / her actually say the part. Ham it up!

Application
What was the relationship between Lazarus and Jesus like?
   -They were friends.
How close of a friend was Lazarus?
   -very close, Jesus wept over his death.
What was Jesus able to do for Lazarus?
   -Raise him from the dead.

Reflection
We know that Jesus loved Lazarus very much, but how much does Jesus love you? How do you know this? Let’s look at what the Bible has to say about God’s love.
Love enough to save: Titus 3:3-8, Rom 5:8, John 3:16
How Big: Eph 3:16-19
What can separate us from love: Rom 8:35-39