Walking on Water and Calming the Storm
WALKING ON WATER AND CALMING OF STORM
Objectives:
- Children should be able to tell the story of the two miracles in their own words.
- Children should be able to identify Peter as the disciple who walked on water.
Possible Lesson Plan:
- Open with prayer.
- Read the stories of the miracles in the Beginner’s Bible, pages 334-339 and 364-370, the Children’s Bible Reader, pages 193-197, or Read with Me Bible, pages 304-307 and 318-323. Supplement, if desired, with the Golden Children’s Bible, page 404. What was Jesus doing in the boat when the storm came? How did the disciples feel? How did Jesus respond? Who came walking across the water? Who wanted to walk with Jesus? What happened when Peter looked down? How did Jesus respond?
- Feed the Elephant True/False Questions:
True False
Jesus was sleeping thru the storm. Jesus was afraid of the storm.
The disciples were afraid of the storm. The disciples loved storms at sea.
Jesus told the wind to be quiet. The boat sank.
Peter walked with Jesus on the water. John walked with Jesus on the water.
Snack today? Try Stormy Seas Jello – Make blue jello ahead of time in individual cups. Spray with whipped cream for clouds. Add piece of chocolate bar for boat, with whipped cream sail. Sprinkle with Swedish fish.
- Talk a bit about storms: What are storms like? Lightning? Thunder? Wind? Bring some library books with pictures of storms or try making a storm in the room by turning out the lights, blinking them, and beating on a pot. Make a “storm dish”: Fill pie pan (or other shallow pan) with water. Add some blue food coloring and a tablespoon of vinegar. Float a small plastic boat in the water. Sprinkle a small amount of baking soda into the water like rain. Watch the “storm” of bubbling waves and the boat. Or take a blue tablecloth or tarp and have children hold it all around. They can make waves by shaking the cloth; see what happens to a toy boat in the middle. Have the children imagine they are in a storm. Are you afraid of the thunder or lightning? Why or why not? Is God in charge of the world even in a storm? Can we trust God? What is water like? Think about swimming a bit. How do we keep from sinking? Can we breathe under water? Do you like to swim? Play-act swimming on the classroom floor. Now stand up and walk. Can we walk on water usually? Why could Jesus walk on the water? (He trusted God.) Did Peter trust Jesus? Completely? Is God in charge even of the water? Can we trust God?
- Make a Sailing Ship. Take a piece of blue construction paper. Color the upper half black, or use black fingerpaint, for the night storm. Clear-drying glue can be rain and gold glitter glue can draw lightning. Cut a slit about 5 inches long in the center. Cut boat bottom from brown construction paper and sail from white. Glue together and glue Popsicle stick behind. Now stick the ship thru the slit and make it sail the storm.
- Another option for craft: Make a rocking paper plate sea by folding a blue paper plate into three equal sections
and glue on a sailing ship. Now you can rock the sea! 
- Close with prayer, asking God to help us trust Him even in a storm.
