1. Tech Que: “Emoji Madness” title graphic

2. Hello everybody and welcome back to another week of “Emoji Madness
Hello everybody and welcome back to another week of “Emoji Madness!” As you know, each week during “Emoji Madness,” we’re exploring different emotions from the Book of Psalms.

3. Before we discover today’s emotion, though, I have a fun fact for you
Before we discover today’s emotion, though, I have a fun fact for you. Do you know how long it took to write the Book of Psalms? (Allow kids to guess.) Good guesses! Get this—it took about 1,000 years to write. Whoa—that is a long time! Obviously, it wasn’t just one person who wrote the Book of Psalms, because nobody lives that long.

4. About half of the psalms were written by David, but there were at least 6 other people, including Moses, who wrote some of the other psalms.

5. But no matter who wrote the psalm or when they wrote it, the psalms are filled with all kinds of emotions. Happy, sad, scared or mad—the Book of Psalms has them all. Are you ready to see which emotion we’re going to look at today? (Kids respond.) Drum roll please! (Prompt kids to create a drumroll along with the “Emoji Reveal” video.) Tech Que: “Play “Emoji Reveal: Sadness” video

7. This week we’ll be looking at sadness
This week we’ll be looking at sadness! Sadness can be a real bummer, but there’s nothing wrong with feeling sad. That’s just how people naturally feel when something bad happens. The important thing to remember is that when you feel sad, you’re not alone. Everybody feels sad sometimes, including the guy who wrote our psalm for today. Let’s take a look at it.

8. Tech Que: “My tears have been my food day and night
Tech Que: “My tears have been my food day and night. All day long people say to me, ‘Where is your God?’ When I remember what has happened, I tell God all of my troubles.” Psalm 42:3-4a (NIrV) Let’s dive deeper into that Psalm by looking at a story from another book of the Bible—the Book of John from the New Testament. I’m going to need some help, though.

9. Choose 4 kids to play the following Bible story characters: Lazarus, Martha, Mary and Jesus. Place the appropriate emoji box over each kid’s head with side #1 facing forward.

10. (Stand behind Lazarus.) In the Book of John, there’s a story about a man named Lazarus. (Turn Lazarus box to side #2: sick.) One day, Lazarus got sick! Not just a little bit sick, like a cold or headache. No way! He was so sick that he couldn’t get out of bed. He was so sick that it looked like he was going to die.

11. Lazarus had two sisters named Martha and Mary
Lazarus had two sisters named Martha and Mary. (Turn Martha and Mary boxes to side #2: worried.) His sisters started to get worried about Lazarus, so they sent a message to Jesus. “Lord,” they said, “we need your help! The one you love is sick.”

12. (Turn Jesus box to side #2: cool
(Turn Jesus box to side #2: cool.) When Jesus got the message, He stayed calm and cool. He said, “This sickness will not end in death. No way! This is all happening so that people can see how great God is.”

13. A while later, Jesus arrived at Lazarus’ house, but Lazarus wasn’t there anymore. You see, his condition had gone from bad to worse. (Turn Lazarus box to side #3: dead.) Much worse! Lazarus was DEAD! In fact, his body had already been buried in a tomb. (Turn Martha box to side #3: sad.) When Martha saw Jesus, she was crying.

14. She said to Jesus, “I wish you had been here, you could have kept Lazarus from dying!” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even if they die. Do you believe this, Martha?” Martha replied, “Yes, Lord! I believe that you are the Son of God, the One who was sent to save us from sin and death.”

15. (Turn Mary box to side #3: sad. ) Mary found Jesus next
(Turn Mary box to side #3: sad.) Mary found Jesus next. She too was crying and she fell down at Jesus’ feet. She said the same thing as her sister, “Jesus, I wish you had been here, you could have kept Lazarus from dying!” (Turn Jesus box to side #3: sad.)

16. When Jesus saw how sad the sisters were, He couldn’t help it—He too began feeling sad. And not just a little bit sad. The Bible says that He was so sad that He began to weep. When they reached the tomb, Jesus told some people to open it up. Martha couldn’t believe it, though. She said, “But, Lord, he’s been dead for four days. He’s going to stink really bad!” But Jesus knew better.

17. He said to Martha, “Didn’t I tell you that God would be glorified today?” When the people opened up the tomb, Jesus prayed out to God. Then He shouted into the tomb with a loud voice (instruct “Jesus” to repeat,) “Lazarus, come out!” (Turn Lazarus box to side #4: alive.) And just like that, Lazarus stood up and walked out of the tomb with strips of burial cloth still wrapped around his body.

18. He wasn’t a mummy, he wasn’t a zombie—he was ALIVE
He wasn’t a mummy, he wasn’t a zombie—he was ALIVE! (Turn Martha, Mary, and Jesus boxes to side #4: happy.) Instantly, the tears were replaced with smiles. And many of the people who saw what had happened believed in Jesus for the first time. Tech Que: “Big Bible Story Questions” graphic

19. At the end of the Bible story have the kids turn briefly to their small groups and discuss the following questions: For Younger Kids: What was your favorite part of this story? Are you surprised to hear that Jesus cried? Why or why not? After a few minutes, draw their attention back to the teaching area.

20. Tech Que: “Emoji Madness” Title Graphic That story we just heard has the shortest verse in the Bible. John 11:35 has just 2 words—it says, “Jesus wept.” Isn’t that so cool! Sometimes people think, “I’m too old to cry,” (hold up driver’s license) or “I’m too tough to cry,” (place tennis balls in shirt sleeves and flex like a muscle man) or “I’m too cool to cry” (put on cool shades.)

21. But it’s not true. There’s nothing wrong with being sad or crying
But it’s not true. There’s nothing wrong with being sad or crying. Jesus was a grown man (set down license) and no one is as tough (remove balls) or as cool (remove shades) as He is, yet he cried! But why do you think He cried? What made Him so sad? (Take answers.) Wow—great thinking!

22. The Bible doesn’t say for sure why Jesus cried, but it gives us some pretty good clues. Jesus knew that Lazarus would come back to life, so He probably wasn’t too sad that he was dead. Instead, Jesus started crying when He

23. Have you ever seen how sad everyone else was
Have you ever seen how sad everyone else was. Has that ever happened to you? Have you ever started crying just because someone you love started crying? (Kids respond.) That’s what happened to Jesus. Isn’t that amazing? Jesus feels compassion for us when we’re sad.

24. Sometimes when you feel sad, it’s easy to think that you’re all alone, but you’re not! When you feel sad, Jesus feels sad with you. He’s there for you and He wants to hear from you. The writer of today’s psalm knew that.

25. That’s what He wrote about in our Psalm for today
That’s what He wrote about in our Psalm for today. Let’s take a look at it again. (Encourage kids to open their Bibles to Psalm 42:3-4. When ready, choose a kid to read the verse aloud or read it aloud yourself.) Tech Que: “My tears have been my food day and night. All day long people say to me, ‘Where is your God?’ When I remember what has happened, I tell God all of my troubles.” Psalm 42:3-4a (NIrV)

26. When the writer of this psalms says, “My tears have been my food day and night,” he’s saying that he’s been crying all day long. He’s incredibly sad about something! So what did he do about it? (Take answer.) That’s right—he told God about all of his troubles.

27. (Sit or kneel near kids.) Sometimes when you’re sad, it’s tempting to keep it to yourself, but you need to do what the writer did. Talk to a friend, talk to your parents, but especially talk to God! He wants to hear from you. Jesus has compassion for you when you’re sad, so you can cry out to Him.

28. You can tell Him about all of your troubles and let Him know what’s making you sad. And if you’re looking for a way to get your joy back, think about this: Jesus is the resurrection and the life. That means that Jesus has power over sin and death.

29. And if you believe in Him, when you die, you get to live with Him forever in Heaven where there is no more sickness, no more death, and NO MORE sadness! Tech Que: “Emoji Madness” title graphic