Christian Crafts for the Story of Lazarus

For a simple project with few required supplies, make a mini picture book from paper dinner and dessert plates. Children paint or color the larger plate to look like a cave tomb, with the figure of Lazarus in the opening. After coloring the smaller plate to look like a large rock, join the two plates with a brad, so that Lazarus appears when the stone rolls away from the front of the tomb. Add a challenge by using tissue paper and glue to embellish the project.

A bathroom paper cup, craft stick and figure of Lazarus combine to create a puppet for retelling the story. After coloring two pictures of Lazarus to make the front and back views, cut them out and glue them to each side of the craft stick. Children can use their puppet to share the story after they wrap the character in gauze bandages or fabric strips and insert the other end of the stick through a slit in the bottom of the paper cup, which they’ve decorated to look like a tomb.

This project takes a little more time and drawing talent than others do, but the fun is worth the effort. Children draw a series of pictures on small squares of paper, beginning with Mary and Martha looking sad as they mourn their dead brother, Jesus comforting the two sisters, Jesus calling Lazarus to come out of the grave and then Lazarus appearing to the gathered crowd. Each picture should be slightly different than the one before so that the figures appear to move when the reader flips through the stacked and bound pages quickly.

For those who find drawing a little too challenging, thumbprints are an easy alternative for making figures to share the story of Lazarus, Mary and Martha. Using stamp pad ink or tempera paint, crafters make fingerprints for each character, using pencils or pens to add features, arms and legs. For a traditional comic strip, use a grid of boxes or, as an alternative, make an accordion-fold book with a scene on each page.