A Family Devotional for Halloween

The Man Who Came Back to Life

As Christian parents, we may feel torn wondering do we celebrate Halloween or not? Whatever you decide, I know children will see Halloween decor in stores (sometimes the spookiest things in the un-spookiest places like home improvement stores). Children will also be excited for candy and the concept of trick-or-treating in the neighborhood or trunk-or-treating in your community.

We sing about pumpkins sitting on a gate and suck on candy apple suckers, and right before I take a seat in a rocking chair on the porch, I see a spider tucked under the armrest of the chair. A "spooky" one, and I'll admit, that's about as much spook as I want to invite into my day. But, did you know the Bible talks about mummies? Well, a mummy of sorts! I want to offer one way you can help your child or a child in your circle understand the light of God's love in a tangible way this Halloween season.

Before sharing today's devotional about the man who came back to life, I like to start with an opening question. This helps the child prepare to connect their own experiences with the story. This is an important step if the application of the story, usually the moral/lesson, is going to “stick.” Consider asking questions like:

·      Why does a mummy walk so funny? Let's do a "mummy walk" together! Who can do it best? Remember, your legs are tied up and so are your arms!

·      That's a great mummy impression! It's fun to be silly together! Now, think of a time when you had to say bye to a friend you love. How did you feel? What happened?

Devotional:

Now, start the bridge to the devotional by saying something like:

Did you know there was a man who actually did the "mummy walk"? It was silly and playful for us, but it was shocking and amazing for his family to see. His name was Lazarus and he didn't start out as a mummy. Actually, he started out as a friend. One of his close friends was Jesus. But one day, Lazarus became sick. More than his tummy hurting and more than needing to rest. He was very, very sick.

What happens today when someone is very, very sick?

One thing we have today that they didn't have back then are ambulances. The sirens are loud so cars can get out of the way so they can hurry and help the one who is hurt or sick. They didn't have ambulances back then so they sent a messenger. A messenger was a man who could run fast and be trustworthy to deliver a message to someone in another place. Guess who Lazarus' family sent the messenger to?

Yes, to Lazarus' close friend, Jesus. To them, Jesus wasn't just a really good, caring friend, He was Lord. They knew Jesus could heal people and they hoped Jesus would rush and heal Lazarus before he died.

Jesus was deeply moved and sad to hear of his friend, Lazarus, being so sick, but he didn't rush off like an ambulance. Instead, he waited and came four days later.

What would you think if you called an ambulance to come help you and they came four days later?

That's how Lazarus' family felt when Jesus arrived. They were confused and disappointed, probably hurt and angry too. Grief is a big word for sad. And sometimes when we're grieving, we're a mix of sad and mad, hurt and confused. It's a spider web of emotions to sort through!

This is why Lazarus' sister, Martha, said to Jesus, "Master if you had been here, my brother wouldn't have died."

You see, Lazarus had become so sick, his body didn't have the strength to fight it anymore and he passed away. Jesus knew this, but he also knew something else, something He wants you and I to know and believe with everything in us:

Jesus is the Light of the world. The Light shines in the darkness and the Light is always stronger than the darkness.

You see, when things get really dark in our lives - when our friends get sick or we get sick or even the people we care about are hurting or pass away, God's Light will lead us forward.

Jesus wanted them to understand this Light and the power of believing in Him as the Son of God, so He said, "Lazarus will rise again." They tried, but they didn't really understand what He meant. Jesus explained, "I am the resurrection and the life!" What He meant was the grave is not the end of this life. We don't have to be sad. For everyone who believes in Jesus, we aren't just mummies, laying still and wrapped in cloth. We are raised to new life, life in heaven with God and Jesus and all the believers forever! The fullness of this life is for today, too!

To show them these weren't just empty words but true words they could believe and build their lives around, Jesus went to Lazarus' tomb. There was a large stone across the entrance. Everyone was crying and so sad. Jesus, too, was sad. He burst into tears too because His friend Lazarus had been so dear to Him. Then, Jesus did what no one has ever done. He said, "Take the stone away!" People were afraid. They knew Lazarus had died four days ago and they worried there would be a bad smell. (You know how a banana peel smells bad in the trash the next day? It's like that but much, much worse!) Jesus calmed them, saying, "If you believe, you will see God's glory!"

They rolled the stone away. Nothing happened.

That is, nothing happened until Jesus spoke. Now, this is important, because do you remember when God created the world and everything in it? He spoke, "Let there be light!" and there was light! Do you remember that? Well, that was Jesus speaking back at the very beginning! Here He is speaking again!! And, His words are different, but they mean the same. He first prays to God His Father in heaven saying, "Thank you, Father, for listening to me." Then, Jesus shouted.

Let me hear your loudest shout!

Jesus shouted towards the tomb where Lazarus' body lay. He yelled with full confidence and authority, "LAZARUS!!! COME OUTTTTTT!!!!"

Guess what?!

Lazarus came out, wrapped in strips of cloth, looking a lot like a mummy. Jesus said, "Unwrap him" for his friend was alive! ALIVE!!!!

Who won? Light or darkness?

LIGHT! God won!

And guess what? That's not the end of the story... You see, Jesus came to teach about the kingdom of God and He also performed miracles. Some of these miracles were what we call "wonders" which left us in amazement of His power and some of these miracles were what we call "signs" which point us to a deeper truth about Him.

This miracle Jesus did for Lazarus was amazing and left everyone completely speechless, but it was a sign, pointing to Jesus' own resurrection from death. And ours, too, if we choose to believe in Him as the Son of God.

In the same way Jesus shouted for Lazarus to come out of the grave into the new life He had given him, Jesus is shouting for us today. He's calling my name and your name, too. Let's shout it together, I'll go first:

[CANDACE!!!] COME OUTTTTTT!!!!

Your turn! [YOUR NAME]!!! COME OUTTTTT!!!!

Because of Jesus, the spooky things on earth -- the spooky things we imagine that aren't real like monsters, the spooky things we hear like lies that are not true, indeed the spookiest thing of all - death, does not have any power over us. We are FREE and are made to live forever with our Creator because God loves us so very much! The light of Christ is in us! Isn't that good news? We can help others experience the light of Christ through us when we share and speak good, true things from our mouths and care for our family, friends, and even those who aren't very friendly. Did you know no one wants to be hurtful or unfriendly? It happens when we don't walk in the light. In the darkness, we all can trip and stumble.

Let's practice walking in the light together, not as mummies but as free, children of Light!

Family Memory Verse Challenge:

John 1:5 (The Message) tells us:

The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness; the darkness couldn’t put it out.

Tips to make it "stick" -

• Save this as your phone wallpaper or home screen as a reminder to say this together in all your comings and goings this week.

• Print or copy this verse to a post-it note to put on the fridge or a family memo board.

• Write it on a napkin to add to your child's lunchbox.

• Write it together with chalk on the sidewalk one afternoon or draw pictures of the "light."

Then ask your child(ren): How can we practice living as children of Light this week?

Options to build upon throughout the week:

Help this truth "stick" by coming back to it each day or as you are able throughout the week or month. I'll include details for each idea below.

• Read the Story

• Watch the Story

• Outside: Play Mummy Tag

• Kitchen: Make a Mummy treat

• Car Sing-a-Long

• Pray together
  

Read the Story

I recommend reading the story to your child or if your child is able, read together. Reading together can take on many forms, such as:

·      The child reads independently only pausing when help sounding out/context clues from illustration is needed

·      Help build stamina – child reads one page, adult reads the next, so on.

·      Adult primarily reads but child reads the page(s) they know (especially true if this is a book which has been read before and is familiar to the child)

·      Adult primarily reads and points to each word as he/she reads and allows the child to read certain sight words known, such as “the” or “cat” etc.

·      Adult reads the words while the child enjoys (and “reads”) the pictures.

See John 11:1-44. (Text provided below from The Message version as this language is often the most inviting for young minds to comprehend. Depending on how much time you have, you may choose to read this scripture aloud together or provide a summary of this story now and read it during the next story time read aloud you share.)

The Death of Lazarus 11 1-3 A man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. This was the same Mary who massaged the Lord’s feet with aromatic oils and then wiped them with her hair. It was her brother Lazarus who was sick. So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Master, the one you love so very much is sick.”

4 When Jesus got the message, he said, “This sickness is not fatal. It will become an occasion to show God’s glory by glorifying God’s Son.”

5-7 Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, but oddly, when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed on where he was for two more days. After the two days, he said to his disciples, “Let’s go back to Judea.”

8 They said, “Rabbi, you can’t do that. The Jews are out to kill you, and you’re going back?”

9-10 Jesus replied, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in daylight doesn’t stumble because there’s plenty of light from the sun. Walking at night, he might very well stumble because he can’t see where he’s going.”

11 He said these things, and then announced, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep. I’m going to wake him up.”

12-13 The disciples said, “Master, if he’s gone to sleep, he’ll get a good rest and wake up feeling fine.” Jesus was talking about death, while his disciples thought he was talking about taking a nap.

14-15 Then Jesus became explicit: “Lazarus died. And I am glad for your sakes that I wasn’t there. You’re about to be given new grounds for believing. Now let’s go to him.”

16 That’s when Thomas, the one called the Twin, said to his companions, “Come along. We might as well die with him.”

17-20 When Jesus finally got there, he found Lazarus already four days dead. Bethany was near Jerusalem, only a couple of miles away, and many of the Jews were visiting Martha and Mary, sympathizing with them over their brother. Martha heard Jesus was coming and went out to meet him. Mary remained in the house.

21-22 Martha said, “Master, if you’d been here, my brother wouldn’t have died. Even now, I know that whatever you ask God he will give you.”

23 Jesus said, “Your brother will be raised up.”

24 Martha replied, “I know that he will be raised up in the resurrection at the end of time.”

25-26 “You don’t have to wait for the End. I am, right now, Resurrection and Life. The one who believes in me, even though he or she dies, will live. And everyone who lives believing in me does not ultimately die at all. Do you believe this?”

27 “Yes, Master. All along I have believed that you are the Messiah, the Son of God who comes into the world.”

28 After saying this, she went to her sister Mary and whispered in her ear, “The Teacher is here and is asking for you.”

29-32 The moment she heard that, she jumped up and ran out to him. Jesus had not yet entered the town but was still at the place where Martha had met him. When her sympathizing Jewish friends saw Mary run off, they followed her, thinking she was on her way to the tomb to weep there. Mary came to where Jesus was waiting and fell at his feet, saying, “Master, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

33-34 When Jesus saw her sobbing and the Jews with her sobbing, a deep anger welled up within him. He said, “Where did you put him?”

34-35 “Master, come and see,” they said. Now Jesus wept.

36 The Jews said, “Look how deeply he loved him.”

37 Others among them said, “Well, if he loved him so much, why didn’t he do something to keep him from dying? After all, he opened the eyes of a blind man.”

38-39 Then Jesus, the anger again welling up within him, arrived at the tomb. It was a simple cave in the hillside with a slab of stone laid against it. Jesus said, “Remove the stone.”

The sister of the dead man, Martha, said, “Master, by this time there’s a stench. He’s been dead four days!”

40 Jesus looked her in the eye. “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”

41-42 Then, to the others, “Go ahead, take away the stone.”

They removed the stone. Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and prayed, “Father, I’m grateful that you have listened to me. I know you always do listen, but on account of this crowd standing here I’ve spoken so that they might believe that you sent me.”

43-44 Then he shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” And he came out, a cadaver, wrapped from head to toe, and with a kerchief over his face.

Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him loose.”

Watch the Story

If you'd like to watch the digital version together afterwards, you can watch it here:

Outside: Play Mummy Tag

It's like the classic game of "Tag!" but with a twist. When someone has tagged you, you have to walk around slowly like a mummy. When someone else tags you to set you free, they have to shout your name and yell:[YOUR NAME]!!! COME OUTTTT!!!

We also like to play this on the trampoline together. In this version, the mummy is laying down in the center. Everyone else bounces and walks around, singing, "Dead man, Dead man, 1, 2, 3, 4!!! [YOUR NAME]!!! COME OUTTTT!!!" Then, the mummy stands up but keeping his eyes closed and tries to tag someone. That person becomes "it" and is the next mummy to lay down.

Kitchen: Make a Mummy Treat

Depending on your family's dietary needs, you can make a mummy treat a couple different ways. Be creative and let these ideas inspire you for what your child likes best! Mainly, let them help you in the kitchen. This is a hands-on activity and a great opportunity to teach kitchen safety.

• Corn Dog Mummies: Cut crescent rolls into strips to wrap around hot dogs. Bake until golden brown. Dip in condiment of your choice!

• Veggie Mummies: Choose a vegetable (or a fruit would work) like celery, carrots, apple, even grapes. Then pull apart string cheese to wrap around the snack of choice.

Car Sing-a-Long

Make the most of those errands and all of your comings and goings. Here are a few songs which can easily relate to this and help bring this truth to front of mind for all the passengers!

For the wee ones:

Pray Together

Let’s pray together.

God, thank you for your resurrection power. Thank you for fun and silly games like mummy walking and how your Holy Spirit can use even these to remind us of stories of people like Lazarus and the way you spoke and raised him into new life with you. Thank you for speaking over me and raising me to new life! Help us to live in your great, powerful light as we go about our week doing: ______________. We love you and we honor you with our words and our actions. In Jesus’ name, amen.

May we be strengthened as we soak our minds in the truth of scripture and joy as we remember God's presence is always with us and His light is shining, no matter what darkness may be in the world around us. May we experience peace in all circumstances as we practice trusting God and may we rest in His great, unfathomable love for us.

For more examples of children's stories and how to connect "the Sunday stuff" to "the Monday stuff" for your family, check out the children's section at www.CandaceCofer.com

The good life, well it starts with a good day. Then another. Then another. Let's choose to live #TheGoodDay one day at a time.