Jesus calms the storm
key words
biblical reference
Mark 4:35-41
memory verse
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37b, NIV*).
lesson objective
To guide your children to learn to trust God when they feel afraid.
prepare yourself to teach
This Bible story is set in the Sea of Galilee, a lake of fresh water measuring 26 kilometers long and 14 kilometers wide. It is located in the Jordan Valley at 200 meters below sea level. It is surrounded by hills. When the wind blows, the hills create a funnel that reaches the water and the wind breaks out in full force. The sea of Galilee is famous for its violent and unforeseen storms; even experienced fishermen can be surprised by them.
The majority of Jesus’ ministry on earth happened near this lake. Some of his disciples, such as Simon Peter, were experienced fishermen and understood the danger of being in the lake during an intense storm. This knowledge increased their fear, and they could not understand how Jesus could be sleeping during the storm.
Mark 4:35-41 asks us two questions:
Who is Jesus?
Do you trust him?
The firmness and brevity of Jesus’ command to the wind and the sea shows the sureness that he had everything under his control. Jesus’ control over the forces of nature displays his divine authority. The words “Peace! Be still!” give us great hope. In the worst of problems, from worrying about our day, to facing death, these same words can comfort all those who listen to the voice of the Son of God.
adaptation
During this stage of life, children have many fears. This lesson will help them to work constructively with those fears and learn to trust in God. It is important to recognize that fear is not inherently bad. It is a good emotion given by God that can protect us from many types of danger. But when fear paralyzes us or threatens our trust in God, it can become very dangerous.
The miracle of calming the storm shows us the authority of Jesus over all creation. This authority should inspire our confidence in him. This does not mean that children who trust in God are invincible and are protected from all danger, but that it is God who has authority over everything that exists, and he is with them regardless of what they face.
introduce the lesson
For the introduction, you will need sheets of paper and colored pencils or crayons.
Ask your children if they ever experience fear. Allow some time for them to respond, and then give them the sheets of paper to draw on. Ask them to draw a situation that has made them afraid in the past. Ask some volunteers to share their drawings with the rest of their classmates and explain what they drew.
Say, “Today we will learn about a time when Jesus’ disciples felt afraid. Let’s see what he told them about fear.”
teach the lesson
Before the session carefully read Mark 4:35-41 and be ready to tell it in your own words.
Provide used or recycled sheets of paper to the children, paper cones, newspaper, paper bags, or cellophane that will not be used for other purposes. Tell the children they can use these materials to make noises that sound like the storm from the Bible story. Crumpling up paper and bags can make sounds similar to thunder, and blowing through paper cones can mimic the sound of the wind.
As you tell the story, let the children make these sounds when the part with the storm comes, and ask them how they would feel in a similar situation.
Encourage them to enjoy the silence and calm that the disciples felt when Jesus commanded the storm to stop. Invite your children to participate as actors. These activities are enjoyable for the children and can reinforce the lesson.
Prepare a row of chairs and tape some newspaper around it to simulate the walls of the boat. Some children can play the disciples and can use brooms as oars, while one can play Jesus, sleeping under a blanket. The rest of the children can continue making the sounds of the wind and thunder. Meanwhile, narrate the story as your children act it out.
connect the lesson
The storm is calmed
Give your children Student Activity Sheet #147-A and #147-B, plus scissors and glue. Assist the children in cutting out the strip that says “Trust” from Student Activity Sheet #147-B.
Read together the paragraph found on activity sheet #147-A and fold the page on the solid line. Afterwards, help your children to carefully cut along the dashed lines to make ten openings, then unfold the page and weave the “Trust” strip through the openings, starting from the right side. Show them how to move the strip from side to side to simulate ocean waves.
Trust reminder: hidden message
Have your Bible opened to Psalm 56:3 and ask your children to find this verse.
Look at the activity sheet and tell them, “We should all exercise our trust in God daily so that it can grow. King David, whom we studied in the last unit, was a man who put his trust in God, and he spoke of this trust when he wrote this beautiful psalm that we will now read.”
Let a volunteer read the verse and then ask the following questions:
Did David say, “I’m never afraid?” (No, he said, “When I am afraid.”)
What can we learn from what David said about fear? (We all feel fear and that’s natural. However, it is wrong to let ourselves be overcome by fear.)
What did David do when he was afraid? (He trusted in God.)
What do you think God wants us to do when we are afraid? (Put our trust in Him.)
Give your children time to choose their favorite color and to color the spaces that have a dot. This way they will discover the hidden message.
practice the memory verse
To review the memory verse, have your children sit facing forward and ask them to keep their eyes closed. Write the memory verse on the board. When you finish, ask your children to open their eyes and read it. Have them close their eyes and when they do, erase some of the key words. Ask them what happened and see if they can repeat the complete verse. Continue in this manner until the verse is completely erased. Give your children the opportunity to repeat the verse individually and in small groups.
wrap-up
Pray
Ask the group to express prayer concerns, and pray for the needs of your children.
Encourage
Before dismissing the class, give your children appreciation for all the work they’ve done.
Invite
Mention the topic for the next session and invite the children to attend. Tell them that their friends are also welcome.
* Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™