Hi everyone, its Aunt Frenita
Today's story is "The Day Jesus Cried"
The memory verse is Galatians 6:2
It says, "Carry each other's burdens."
Today's message is "God wants me to care about others"
Has someone you loved died?
Have you lost a friend or a pet?
One day, Jesus visited a friend who shared some bad news with him
What do you think he did thetn?
Mary, Martha and Lazarus lived in Bethany
Not far from Jerusalem
These two sisters and their brother were close friends of Jesus
He often stayed with them when he was in Bethany
They knew his power
So when Lazarus became sick,
Mary and Martha sent word to Jesus
But Jesus did not hurry
He stayed where he was for two more days
Then, he started for Bethany
By the time he got there
Lazarus had been dead for four days
Jesus knew Lazarus would die
He planned to raise Lazarus from the dead
to prove once and for all
That He, Jesus, was the Son of God
But Lazarus' poor sisters
didn't know about Jesus' plan
All they knew was that Lazarus had been sick
And they had sent for Jesus and he hadn't come
When Martha heard that Jesus was nearing the village
She went out to meet him
"If you had been here, my brother would not have died," she said
But there was still a glimmer of hope in her
"I know that even now,
God will give you whatever you ask," she added
"I am the Resurrection and the Life" said Jesus
"Whoever lives and believes in me will never die.
Do you believe this?
"Yes," said Martha
"I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God"
She had new hope in her heart, and she ran and got her sister
"The Teacher is here!" she told Mary
"He is asking for you!"
Mary jumped up and hurried outside the village to meet Jesus
When she saw him, she fell at his feet and cried the same thing Martha had
"Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died!"
Jesus knew what was going to happen next
He would ask for the stone to be rolled away from Lazarus' tomb
He would pray to his Father in heaven
And then call Lazarus out of the tomb!
Lazarus would come walking out
Still wrapped in burial cloths
In just a few minutes, these sisters would have their brother back
And they would be happier then
But right now, two of his best friends was heartbroken
And one of them was weeping at his feet
His own tender heart was moved
And Jesus cried
He shared Mary and Martha's loss
He felt the sorrow they were feeling
And he cried with them
Here, Jesus gave us an example
of bearing one another's burdens
He shows us how to treat others
He wants us to put ourselves in the place of others
To feel what they are feeling
Just as Jesus shared his friend's loss
We are to share one another's joys and sorrows.