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Lesson 3

Jesus Walks on Water Matthew 14:22-33; Mark 6:45-51; John 6:15-21 Memory Block “You do great and wonderful things, Lord God Almighty. Everything the Lord does is right and true, King of the nations” (Revelation 15:3).

Lesson Goals • Tell what Jesus did that shows He is powerful.

• Tell what people in the boat did and said after the wind was calm.

• Continue memorizing Revelation 15:3.

• Tell the difference between worshiping and not worshiping Jesus.

• Worship Jesus.

BIBLE SEARCH Supplies Bibles, Bible Search (p. 6), tub of water, small objects (rock, small ball, leaf, penny, quarter, plastic block, spoon, plastic lid, crayon), pencils Before class, make copies of page 6, one per child, and gather the supplies. Fill a tub with a couple inches of water.

In our story today, Jesus does another miracle to help His followers. We’re going to do an experiment with water and then discover what Jesus did that shows how powerful He is.

Distribute copies of page 6. Give each child a turn to experiment to see which objects sink or float. Then ask children to turn to Matthew 14:25 in their Bibles and find out what Jesus did that shows how powerful He is. Distribute pencils and ask children to write their response at the bottom of the page.

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• What did Jesus do to help His followers? (walked on water) • What is so unusual about what Jesus did? (People can’t walk on water.)

• What would happen if you stepped out on some water? (sink) • What does that tell us about Jesus? (He’s powerful. He’s different than I am.)

BIBLE STORY Supplies Bible, 10 lids (from water bottles or milk jugs) numbered 1 to 10, tub of water You said you would sink if you tried to step onto some water. That’s right. I would sink too! Listen to what the Bible tells us happened when Jesus stepped out on some water.

Have your Bible open to Matthew 14. Whew! Jesus’ followers were tired. They had just finished passing out food to a crowd of 5,000 men, plus women and children. It was getting late, so Jesus asked them to go ahead to Bethsaida on the other side of Lake Galilee. Then Jesus dismissed the crowd and slipped away into the hills to pray by himself. Meanwhile, in the dark, the followers began to row their boat across the lake.

Later in the night, the boat was far out onto the lake, but it was getting hard to go any further. The waves were splashing higher and higher against the boat. The force of the blowing wind made it nearly impossible to row. Between three and six in the early morning, Jesus’ followers were still trying to get across the lake. They had only rowed between three and four miles. After a long day with Jesus and a long night without sleep, they were so tired. Their eyes wanted to fall shut and their feet wanted to step onto solid ground, but they were still far from land.

As Jesus’ followers struggled and strained against the oars, they saw something coming toward them on the water. They were afraid. What was that thing on the water? Then a voice they knew called, “Have courage! It is I! Don’t be afraid.” It was Jesus! He had seen them struggling to row the boat across the lake. So He came to help them. But He wasn’t in a boat. He was walking on top of the water!

When Peter saw Jesus walking on the water, he spoke up quickly. “Lord, if that is really You, then tell me to come to You on the water.”

Jesus wanted to help Peter believe in His power. Jesus said, “Come, Peter.” The other followers watched with wide eyes as Peter stepped over the side of the boat.

Lesson 3: Jesus Walks on Water Permission is granted to reproduce this lesson for ministry purposes only—not for resale.

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Their eyes got wider when they saw Peter start taking steps toward Jesus, on top of the water!

But then Peter must have felt the sting of lake water and the force of the waves crashing around him. As Peter’s fear began to grow, his feet began to sink. “Lord, save me!” he cried. That’s when Jesus reached out His strong hand and caught Peter.

As soon as Jesus and Peter stepped into the boat, the wind immediately became calm and the waves stopped. Jesus’ followers were amazed again. They spoke words of worship to Jesus, “Truly You are the Son of God!” Suddenly the boat was across the lake where they wanted to go. Jesus’ power had helped Him to walk on the water, calm the storm, and get the boat across the lake. Jesus truly is the Son of God! For a fun way to review the story, float 10 numbered lids, numbered side down, in the tub of water. Let the children take turns choosing lids. The child who finds lid #1 can answer question #1. Do the same for numbers 2–10.

1. Where did Jesus send His followers? (to the other side of Lake Galilee) 2. What did Jesus plan to do in the hills? (pray) 3. What trouble did the followers have in the boat? (Waves were getting big and the wind was blowing hard.)

4. When did Jesus come to help the followers? (between three and six in the morning) 5. How did the followers feel when they first saw Jesus? (afraid) 6. What did Jesus say to the followers? (don’t be afraid, have courage, told them who He was) 7. What did Peter want to do? (go to Jesus) 8. What happened when Peter got out of the boat? (He walked on the water.)

9. What did the followers say to Jesus when Jesus got into the boat? (You are the Son of God.) 10. How much longer did it take to cross the lake? (none, they were there)

Lesson 3: Jesus Walks on Water Permission is granted to reproduce this lesson for ministry purposes only—not for resale.

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BIBLE VERSE Supplies Bibles, index cards (1 per child), blue and red marker Note: If the children are memorizing verses 3 and 4, have them read both verses.

Before class, put a large blue dot on one card and large red dots on the rest of the cards.

The words of our Bible memory verse tell Jesus how special He is. Tell the children to turn to Revelation 15:3. Ask for a volunteer to read it aloud. John, a follower of Jesus, wrote these words. We can use these same words to worship Jesus.

Give each child a card. Ask the children to pass the cards around the circle behind their backs while everyone says the verse together. At the end of the verse, whoever has the card with the blue dot will name something great and wonderful Jesus has done. Continue playing as time permits. If a child isn’t sure what to say, let him ask a friend for help or you can whisper a possible response to the child.

BIBLE AND ME Supplies Bible and Me (p. 7), scissors Before class, cut apart the Bible and Me cards.

In our story, Jesus’ followers worshiped Him after He used His power to walk on water. Our Bible verse, Revelation 15:3, also worships Jesus because it tells how special Jesus is. Let’s see if we can tell what is worship and what isn’t.

Have each child select a card. One at a time, ask each child to look at and read what’s on his card. Then ask, Is this worship? How can you tell?

• What does it mean to worship Jesus? (tell Jesus how special He is) • Why do we worship Jesus? (He’s powerful. He’s God’s Son.) • What are some ways to tell Jesus how special He is? (sing, draw, write, pray)

BIBLE PROJECT Supplies materials to complete making rhythm instruments, paper, pencils See the Unit Overview and Lessons 1 and 2 for details about this project.

Lesson 3: Jesus Walks on Water Permission is granted to reproduce this lesson for ministry purposes only—not for resale.

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When we tell Jesus how special He is, that’s called worship. We’ve been learning to worship Jesus in lots of ways. Remind children of the project to write a song that praises and worships Jesus. Children should complete making the rhythm instruments or writing the words of the song and composing the tune or rhythm. Help children as needed to complete their part of the project.

BIBLE SHARING Supplies vanilla ice cream, soft drinks, cups, spoons, napkins, tub of water and lids used in the Bible Story (be aware of food allergies) Let the children have fun making their own ice-cream floats. After snack time, allow the children to take turns tossing lids into the tub of water. For every lid they get in the water, they should tell something about Jesus that makes Him special. They can tell things Jesus did or tell names that describe Jesus.

Close by asking each child to say a sentence prayer that worships Jesus by telling Him how special He is.

Lesson 3: Jesus Walks on Water Permission is granted to reproduce this lesson for ministry purposes only—not for resale.

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Bible Search Find out what Jesus did that shows He is special.

Experiment You will need Tub of water Several small objects: rock, small ball, leaf, penny, quarter, plastic block, spoon, plastic lid, crayon

You will do 1. Choose one object to put into the tub of water.

2. Decide: Will it sink or will it float?

3. Put the object in the water and see what happens.

Find and read Matthew 14:25. What did Jesus do that shows He is powerful?

Lesson 3: Jesus Walks on Water Permission is granted to reproduce this lesson for ministry purposes only窶馬ot for resale.

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Bible and Me Cut apart the cards.

Lesson 3: Jesus Walks on Water Permission is granted to reproduce this lesson for ministry purposes only窶馬ot for resale.

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