Goals for Each Child 1. DISCOVER that when the disciples were afraid in the storm, Jesus responded to their call for help and rescued them; 2. DESCRIBE what it means to say Jesus gives peace; Bible Story 3. ASK Jesus for help and peace for a situation in my life; Mark 4:35-41 4. CHOOSE to rely on the true peace Jesus offers by becoming a member of God s family, as the Holy Spirit leads. Bible Verse Daily Animal Eagle God is our refuge and strength, an everpresent help in trouble. Psalm 46:1 God made eagles to sense when a storm is coming. They fly to a high spot and wait for the storm. When the storm comes, the eagle peacefully and safely rides the winds above the storm. Eagles remind us that God can give us peace through all the storms in life. Lesson Focus Jesus gives us peace, no matter what problems we face. 10 Session 1 Grades 3 and 4
Heart Prep Welcome to SonRise National Park VBS! Sometimes the first day of VBS can feel out of control almost like a big storm is brewing. Kids are getting used to the schedule, leaders are figuring out their responsibilities and everyone is trying to get to know each other. Everyone can have a case of the jitters! But have no fear! Jesus offers True Peace in the midst of ALL types of storms even the first day of VBS. Today s Bible story reminds us that even though the disciples panicked during a terrible storm, Jesus never panicked! He calmed the storm with His voice. Wow! In this story we not only see the power of Jesus, but also that because of His power, we can trust Him, the Son of God, to give us True Peace in the middle of whatever situation comes our way. It may not always turn out the way we want or expect, but we can trust that He is in control. What is worrying you today? Tell Jesus about it and don t worry! He isn t sleeping. He is ready to show His power in whatever storm you feel brewing. Ask Him to open your eyes to see how He is at work. Ask Him to pour His peace into you and through you so that you can share it with the children and other volunteers at VBS today and all week. And don t forget to be thankful, even in the storms. That s when we get to see Jesus up close! Daily Recap At the end of each lesson, take time to reflect on what happened. Use these questions as a guide: What worked well today? Did you experience any first-day storms? As you prepare for Session 2, ask God to give you His peace in the midst of a busy VBS schedule. Read aloud the name of each child in your group. Pray for each one, inviting God to help that child understand His love and salvation this week. Materials Bibles Session 1 Bible Story Poster from Bible Teaching Poster Pack or Go Big! Assemblies DVD Session 1 Trek Guides large sheet of paper marker ballpoint pens Optional Bible Story materials listed on pages 12 and 13.
Tell the Story s) te (15-20 minu Preparation: Display Session 1 Bible Story Poster. Tab Mark 4 in children s Bibles. (Optional: Use Post-it Notes to mark Bibles.) If Bibles are not available for all children, mark your Bible and ask volunteers to read verses as indicated in the story. Story Starter ing things like making sick people well and giving sight to people who were blind. Jesus was kind and loving, and people loved to be with Him. There were 12 friends who traveled with Jesus and helped Him as He taught others about God. Jesus friends were with Him one day near the Sea of Galilee when a huge crowd of people came to see Jesus. After a long day of teaching and healing, Jesus and His friends were REALLY tired. But even as the day slipped into evening, the people weren t going anywhere! Read Mark 4:35 to find out what Jesus decided to do then. Jesus turned to His friends and said, Let s get in the boat and travel to the other side of the sea. Point off to one side. This was a good idea. It would give Jesus and His friends a chance to rest before another crowd of people gathered to see Him. Hey, everyone! I m the ranger here at the SonRise National Park Adventure Center and I want to welcome each of you here. Every day when you visit me, we ll talk about amazing true stories from the Bible. But before we do that today, I thought we d spend a little time getting to know each other. Instruct children to hold up a fist. I m going to say some sentences. If that sentence is true for you, put up one finger. Let s see who is the first to wave at me with all five fingers. Make several statements: I have no brothers or sistaking a Nap Hands-On Nature ters. I ve been to the Grand Canmdiu me The boat the men traveled in wasn t a Provide two or thr yon. I was once in a very big storm, e vid Pro. ter big cruise ship. It wasn t a fancy boat wa of rs with thunder and lightning and lots sized containe s, ck (ro ts with motors or comfy chairs to sit of rain. I ve been on a boat. I am a variety of nature objec.). on. The boat was small and wooden. homeschooled. Continue with statesticks, flowers, leaves, etc ter But they got in the boat and started wa in ments that describe kids or describe Children place objects across the Sea of Galilee. Jesus was k. the Bible story situation until at least to s if they float or sin so tired! Stretch and yawn. Jesus one child has all of their fingers up. to Consider l king online grabbed a soft cushion, put His head I saw a lot of you put a finger king a find instructions for ma down on it and snuggled down on a up when I talked about being in nstruct Tornado in a Bo le. Co bench in the back of the boat. Jesus a very big storm. In today s Bible ture e or more to place in na on quickly fell asleep. story, we re going to hear about a ine. am ex to en ildr ch for r cente Many of Jesus friends were big time Jesus and His friends were on strong fishermen. It didn t bother a boat in a big storm. them at all to be sailing in the evening as the sun was setting. In fact, they often fished at night because it s Mark 4:35-41 a good time to catch fish! But this boat trip turned out to be a LOT more than they expected. Teaching People At first everything seemed fine. Then they must Today s story is about a man named Jesus. But Jehave noticed that the wind began to pick up. The boat sus is not just any man. Jesus is God s Son! That s began to sway from side to side. Sway from side to the reason we celebrate His birthday every year at side. The Sea of Galilee is between some very steep Christmas! When Jesus was here on Earth, He travmountains, and if the wind comes from the right dieled from town to town, telling people about God rection... SWOOSH! It can be very powerful and and how much God loved them. Jesus also did amazdangerous! Peace, Be Still 12 Session 1 Grades 3 and 4
The wind became stronger and stronger. It knocked the boat around in the water like a little cork. But it wasn t just the boat that was knocked around. The wind whipped the waves into fierce walls of water that slammed into the small wooden boat. SMASH! BOOM! BAM! Fighting the Storm Jesus friends were bounced right off their seats! Bounce in seat. Read about the storm in Mark 4:37. But the men had been in storms before and knew what to do. They pulled on the ropes, lowered the sail, tied down everything that they could. Pretend to pull on ropes, lower sail, etc. But the storm didn t let up! If anything, things got worse! Jesus friends continued to battle the wind and the waves. Cup hands to mouth as if calling out. Look out, Andrew! Peter may have called out to his brother as the wind whipped a rope at Andrew s head. As the waves continued to beat on the boat, water sloshed everywhere. Watch your step! Be careful! Thomas shouted. Soon, so much water got on the boat that it began to sink down into the water Grab that bucket! John yelled. Everyone, start to bail water! Jesus friends grabbed whatever they could to bail water out of the boat. Pretend to bail water out of boat. Throughout all the noise and commotion and craziness and water and wind and shouting... What do you think Jesus was doing? Jesus was still ASLEEP! Pretend to sleep. Can you believe it? Jesus was happily, blissfully, calmly SLEEPING on a nice comfy cushion as His friends struggled to keep the boat afloat and stay alive. Finally, one of Jesus friends saw Him sleeping. He yelled to the others as they continued to bail water as fast as they could. Jesus is ASLEEP! Well, wake Him up! one of the disciples may have said. We need all the help we can get! Then one of Jesus friends, went to Jesus, woke Him and asked, Teacher, don t You care if we drown? Taking Control Jesus looked around, but instead of jumping up, grabbing a bucket and starting to bail water out of the boat as His friends must have expected, Jesus looked at the wild wind and waves and simply commanded, Peace! Be still! Before His friends could even gasp in surprise, the wind stopped blowing. The waves stopped crashing. Everything was calm and peaceful on the Sea of Bring the Bible Story to Life! Place a blue tarp (or bedspread, tablecloth, etc.) on the fl r to represent the sea. Place towels, tablecloths or masking-tape shapes on the tarp to represent boats. When children enter the r m, instruct them to take a seat in one of the boats. As you tell the story, have one or more helpers with spray bottles of water lightly mist children as you describe the storm. Lead children to act out the actions of the disciples as you describe their swaying from side to side, throwing things overboard, bailing water, etc. Encourage children s involvement by exa erating your motions and by toßing crumpled-up paper ball s to represent throwing things overboard. Galilee. The only sound was water dripping off the hair and noses of Jesus friends as they stood and stared, mouths open, shocked and amazed at what Jesus had just done. Read what Jesus said to His friends in Mark 4:40. Jesus looked at His friends and asked, Why are you so afraid? Don t you have faith in Me?
Amazed, Jesus friends could only look at each other and wonder aloud, Who is this man? Even the wind and the waves obey Him! Jesus friends had seen Him make sick people well. They d seen Jesus make blind people see. People who d never walked a step in their lives met Jesus and WALKED, jumped and skipped away, completely healed. But they d NEVER seen Him do something like this. Jesus proved that He is so powerful, He can control nature and He can do the impossible! Conclusion Jesus friends did everything they could to rescue themselves. They didn t think about turning to Jesus for help until it was almost too late! Instead of worrying and fighting the storm on their own, Jesus friends could have had PEACE by trusting that Jesus would take care of them. Jesus will take care of us, also. We don t have to try to take care of difficult situations on our own. Whatever problems we face, we can go to Jesus FIRST for help. Jesus loves all of us and wants to help us so that we can have True Peace. The Bible verse for today, Psalm 46:1, says, God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. The word refuge means a safe place. Because we are followers of Jesus, this verse promises us that whatever our problems are, Jesus is with us. We can trust Him to keep us safe and give us the strength we need. That s great news! Today we re talking about how D, Jesus gives us True Peace. This is a promise! At VBS this week, we re going to keep talking about different promises Jesus gives us as members of God s family. We can experience True Peace by becoming a member of God s family. (Invite children interested in knowing more about becoming members of God s family to talk with you or another teacher after class. See Leading a Child to Christ, p. 9.) Skit Option: A fun alternative or su lement to this or any Bible story is to ask teachers, youth helpers or other volunt rs to perform the Peace be Still Bible Story skit found in the Go Big! Aßemblies. es. Prayer Ask children to name situations in which kids their age might need Jesus help and peace. Write situations on a large sheet of paper. Jesus promises us He will use His power to help us whenever we need help. Instruct children to choose a situation from the list or a personal one that wasn t mentioned. Let s take a few moments to pray. Each of you can pray about the situation you chose. Pray silently, asking Jesus for His help and peace. Allow a few moments for silent prayer. End the prayer time by asking Jesus to give children True Peace. Apply the Story (10-15 minutes) Bible Story Review To review the Bible story, lead children to complete Looky Lookie activity in the Trek Guide. As children work, ask the questions below to guide conversation. What did Jesus friends do when the storm threatened to sink the boat? (They bailed out water. They tried to control the boat. They woke up Jesus.) When Jesus friends woke Him up, what do you think they expected Him to do? (Help them control the boat. Help them bail water from the boat.) What did Jesus do to help His friends? (Jesus said, Peace! Be still! Jesus stopped the storm.) What does it tell you about Jesus that He was able to tell the wind and waves to stop and they did? (Jesus is powerful. Jesus can control nature. No one is more powerful than Jesus.) 14 Session 1 Grades 3 and 4
Active Re view: Play a game of Simon Says, giving instructions quickly so tha t most children are out in a short amount of time. Inc lude story-related actio ns: Bail water, Get in the boat, Get out of the bo at, Swim, etc. When there are thr or four children remaining in the game, ask one of the discu ion questions from the Bible Story Review for them to answer. Repeat, asking a different question each time. Life Application Children read Psalm 46:1 aloud from Bible and/or Trek Guide. A refuge is a place of safety. Where are some safe places you know? (Home. School. Church. Police Station.) Who are some of the people God gives to help you when you have problems? (Parents. Teachers. Police officers.) Of all the people who can help us, Jesus is the best! Jesus is always with us an ever-present help in trouble. Jesus promises us He will use His amazing power to help us whenever and wherever we have a problem. Knowing Jesus is on our side gives us True Peace! Children complete Waves of Peace activity in Trek Guide. Ask questions such as: When are some times kids your age need Jesus help? (Losing something that was borrowed. Having to take a difficult test. Making best friend mad. Losing first five soccer games.) We re not often in really scary situations like a dangerous storm, but there are always times when we need help. Sometimes you might worry about problems at school or in your family. Jesus will always be with us and will help us no matter what problems we face. Because He helps us, we can have peace no matter what! We know that when we pray to Jesus for help, He ll answer our prayers in the ways that are best for us. And that gives us True Peace. What are some ways Jesus could help a kid with a problem? (Helping you do your best on a test. Giving you courage to do what s right. Giving you peace when you remember Jesus always cares for you.) When are some times Jesus has helped you? Tell your own answer before asking volunteers to respond. How does it make you feel to know you can ask Jesus for help in any situation? (Happy. Peaceful.) What is today s Daily Promise? Pause for children to respond, True Peace! True Peace isn t the same as ignoring problems or pretending things aren t difficult. Having True Peace means that when we feel scared or worried, we can remember Jesus is ALWAYS with us. Jesus is bigger than any problem we have, and He loves and helps us. Knowing Jesus will ALWAYS help us gives us True Peace! We are never alone!