Before starting your youth lesson on Lazarus, pick an appropriate location for it. If you have access to a cemetery, this will help emphasize the idea of Lazarus being raised from the dead. If not, you can begin the lesson in your classroom. Have each one of your students dress up in costumes that would be appropriate for the different characters in the story. You can leave out minor characters if you do not have enough students.
After getting your students prepared, assign roles to each one of your students. Have them read and act out the entire Lazarus scene from the Gospel of John. If a student is having trouble reading a portion, assist him in accurately conveying the text to the other students in the class. Emphasize the movement in the text as well as the dialogue, having the kids interact with each other to further clarify what is happening in the section.
After acting out the entire section, have your kids sit down and discuss what just took place in this section of the Gospel. To get the conversation going, you should ask several key questions. For example, ask your students what the relationship between Jesus and Lazarus was like. Also ask how close Lazarus was to Jesus and, specifically, what Jesus did for Lazarus that we would consider to be a miracle. Spend 15 to 20 minutes focusing on analyzing the text.
If your students are too young to read or comprehend all of the older text, you can have them create paper dolls of Lazarus to give them a visual concept of death and what Jesus did for Lazarus. Using scissors, colored pencils, card stock and paper glue, have your students cut out and design their own figures. Have them wrap up Lazarus, explaining that when individuals died at this time they would be covered with fabric. You can also craft a tomb in which the students can place their paper dolls.