Celebrate God’s Power
Items Needed: Party horns, blowers, special foods, board game
Explain to your children that you are having a Power Party. You can enjoy special foods and time together playing a board game. Remind the children that winning a game can make us feel good, and even powerful. But the power you are celebrating tonight is Jesus’ power.
Remind everyone of how Jesus raised His dear friend Lazarus from the dead. No one else has power over death. This is something to celebrate!
Pray and ask God to help each one of you to trust in His power every day. Jesus’ power helps us make good choices and live a godly life.
Walk a Mile…
Run a shoe relay to introduce the idea of “walking a mile” in someone else’s shoes. Ask everyone to put their shoes in a pile on one side of the room. Then line everyone up on the other side of the room. Get a timer ready. See how quickly everyone can run (one at a time) to the shoes, put on a pair (not their own), run back and tag the next person who will do the same. You may want to do it twice to see if you can beat your original time.
Talk about it:
What was the hardest part of the relay?
Have you ever heard the saying, “Walk a mile in my shoes”?
What do you think that saying means? (Try to understand others because we haven’t “walked” or lived in their situation.; Don’t criticize someone until you have lived in their situation.; We don’t know how someone feels if we haven’t been in their circumstances.)
We all need compassion! What is compassion? Compassion is noticing someone else’s suffering and doing something about it.
Why did Mary and Martha need compassion? (Their brother, Lazarus had died.)
We can’t always know exactly how or what others feel, but we can show them compassion. Jesus showed compassion to Mary and Martha, and He showed His power as well when He raised Lazarus from the dead. Jesus shows compassion and has power over death!
I’m Hurting. Can You Help?
Try to understand how others might feel and talk about compassion. For one hour after dinner, put an arm in a sling, bandage a hand, put a blindfold on, put in ear plugs, etc. Give each family member a handicap (using scarves, bandages, crutches, etc.).
People who are sad, hurt, sick, and lonely need compassion.
How did Jesus show compassion to Mary and Martha? (He went to be with them.; He spoke comforting words.; He wept with them.; He helped them.)
Jesus is a great example of someone showing compassion. As we see how He loved others, we can find ways to show love to others.
The first part of compassion is noticing when others are hurting or need something. The second part is doing what you can to help them. We can follow Jesus’ example and care about others. Jesus also showed His power when He raised Lazarus from the dead. Let’s do our best to show compassion to others and tell others about the power of Jesus!