Game

Jesus returned to Bethany in response to Mary and Martha’s message. He told His disciples that Lazarus’s sickness would not result in death; yet when they arrived, Lazarus was already dead.

Who can answer our question from Large Group: How many days had Lazarus been in the tomb when Jesus arrived? (See John 11:4,17.) Four days.

What do you think Jesus’ disciples thought at this point? They must have been disappointed and confused. They may have wondered if Jesus made a mistake. Should they have come right away?

Jesus hadn’t made a mistake. He was in complete control. Let’s say our SuperTruth together: “Jesus is the source of life.”

Lazarus had died and was in the tomb, yet that was about to change. What did Jesus tell the people to do with the tombstone? Roll it aside.

What did Jesus do next? He prayed to God, and then shouted for Lazarus to come out.

What happened then? Lazarus walked out of the tomb.

Lazarus was alive again because Jesus is the source of life! Lazarus was in and out of the tomb, and that is the name of our game.

Have the children line up single file behind one another down the center of the room, facing the leader. Leave as much room as possible between the children. Tell the children that the right side of the line is “In the Tomb” and the left side of the line is “Out of the Tomb.” Explain that for our game, we are just having fun doing certain activities either in or out of the tomb. (It’s not “bad” to be in the tomb.)

The leader shouts a command and ends it with either “In the Tomb” or “Out of the Tomb.” Upon hearing the command, the children jump from one side to the other and do the command. If the children stay on or jump to the wrong side, they must sit out of the game for one command and then may return. Have another leader control when children may return to the game.

Use the commands below or create your own.

Sit at Jesus’ feet—out of the tomb.

Stand up—out of the tomb.

Jump up and down three times—in the tomb.

Shout “Jesus is the source of life!”—out of the tomb.

Hop on one foot—in the tomb.

Wave hello—out of the tomb.

Clap your hands as fast as you can—in the tomb.

Clap your hands as fast as you can—in the tomb. This is a duplicate command to trick!

Touch your toes—out of the tomb.

Hum a tune—in the tomb.

Pat your back with both hands—out of the tomb.

Shout “Jesus is the resurrection!”—in the tomb.

Do five jumping jacks—in the tomb.

Spin around two times—out of the tomb.

Roll away the stone—out of the tomb.

Shout “I will wait upon the Lord!”—in the tomb.

Run in place to share that Lazarus is alive!—out of the tomb.

Game options: Play just for fun—no one is removed from play when an error is made. Or, play as two teams; each team loses a point for an error.

Conclusion: Jesus called Himself the resurrection and the life. Let’s learn more about that now.