A Savior Who Weeps
Group Activities

Sermon Title: "A Savior Who Weeps"

Scripture Reading: John 11:1-45

WATER RUN:

Divide children into teams or just let all children take turns at how long it will take them to fill a little dixie cup half full with water drops from a medicine dropper. Children will have to learn how to suck up the water from a bowl into the medicine dropper and then squeeze into a mini dixie cup.

TEAR DROP HUNT:

Before classtime, the teacher can cut out large tear drop drawings with a word on each tear drop of things that make us cry or words from today's lesson. The children can be sent out to find some tear drops and bring back to the classroom table and discuss the words on the tear drops and then tape to a poster that will have a large title - JESUS WEEPS WITH HIS CHILDREN.

TEAR DROP BOTTLES:

Provide each child with a small baby food jar (or similar small bottle) and give children supplies to write words from today's lesson or Bible verse on a strip of colored paper to tape onto the small bottle. Let children place a few drops of water in their jar to take home and to remember today's lesson and to encourage the children that JESUS WEEPS with them when they cry.

ROCK PAINTING:

Let each child choose a rock from a pile of rocks, to paint or to use bright color markers on the rock, to paint a large tear drop on the rock and write in marker that JESUS CRIES WITH US, or that JESUS HAS POWER OVER DEATH AND THE GRAVE.

NO MORE TEARS ART:

Give children a piece of paper for each child that has several tracings of tear drops on the paper. At the top, children can write NO MORE TEARS IN HEAVEN, and encourage children to turn each drawing of a tear drop into a picture of a happy face, or the grave stone rolled away or a bottle of tears, etc. Children will enjoy turning the "tears" into some positive from our lesson today.

JESUS WEPT CARD:

Children can each be given a colorful piece of construction paper and markers and stickers to make this card. Tell children to fold their paper into 3 sections and to draw on each section one of the things that made Jesus cry, from our lesson today. Either words or pictures could be done on their tri fold paper. On the other side of the paper for the 3 sides, encourage children to draw or write and decorate 3 things that make THE CHILD cry and to remember that JESUS CARES and that HE CRIED TOO!

ROCK COLLAGE:

Give children construction paper to cut out a large rock and glue onto another piece of paper. Have tiny pieces of tissue paper for children to "wad" up and to glue onto the rock. Tell children that every little tissue paper "wad" can stand for the times that we cry and that JESUS understands and the ROCK will stand for the large stone across the grave entrance and that JESUS HAS POWER OVER DEATH AND THE GRAVE and that one day we will be in heaven with no more tears!!

HEAVENLY CLOUDS:

Provide children with paper and cotton balls to draw several clouds and glue little pieces of the cotton balls around the edges of the clouds. Let children color and decorate the clouds with pictures and words to show there will be no more tears in heaven.

BIBLE ART:

Children can draw a Bible and cut it out. Then trace that Bible onto a larger paper and glue the two Bible tracings together. In various colored markers, children can decorate and write JESUS WEPT. With pencil or pen, children can write some of the reasons that Jesus wept. Encourage children to take their "Bibles" home this week and to remember that JESUS cried and HE cries with us and understands!

SING A SONG:

JESUS LOVES ME; THE B-I-B-L-E

SNACK TIME:

M&M treats! As children nibble on their small treats, tell them to name things that make them cry and also the children can then go over the GOSPEL story of what each color stands for to remind them of GOD's LOVE for them and "NO MORE TEARS in Heaven... the YELLOW M&M! Brown candy is for dirty sins, red for Jesus' blood that washed our sins away, green for Christian growth, blue for baptism and the YELLOW M&M for heaven!!

Song: "Jesus Is My Best Friend"

Words and Music (pdf)

MP3 Piano accompaniment Track (right click to save to your computer)

This song is provided courtesy of Cindy Jordan. Our thanks to Cindy for allowing Sermons4Kids to use her music.

Song: "What a Friend We Have in Jesus"

Words and Music (pdf)

MP3 Piano accompaniment Track (right click to save to your computer)

This song is in the public domain and may be freely downloaded and reproduced for religious or educational use by churches, schools, home schoolers, and other non-profit organizations.