A Walk on Water

Cooking Workshop

Summary of Lesson Activities:

Make Baked Alaska (baked ice cream).

Note: This lesson has been improved after reviewer comments made during the 2013 Miracles Forum Renovation project!

Scripture Reference & Key Bible Verse & Objectives:

Refer to the first post in this lesson set.

Leader Preparation:

• Read the scripture for this lesson.
• Read and reflect on the overview material provided for this lesson.
• Gather the materials.
  
  

Supplies List:

• 10.75-ounce frozen pound cake
• 1-quart ice cream (in a kid-friendly flavor & in a rectangular container) – cut in half
• An alternate snack for those with allergies
• Two oranges
• Cookie sheet
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Rubber spatula
• Table knives & spoons & a fork
• A large bowl
• Knife to cut Baked Alaska and a Spatula to serve
• Napkins, Small plates, or bowls
• Mixer, beaters, and mixer bowl
• Bibles; For younger students: The Beginner’s Bible
• Just Whites™ Powder (For classes with egg allergies)
• Vanilla
• Cream of Tarter
• Powdered Sugar
• Kitchen timer
  
  

Before Start of Class:

Presentation

Opening – Welcome & Lesson Introduction:

Gather everyone standing in a circle in the center of the Social Hall. Greet your students warmly, welcoming them to the Cooking Workshop. Introduce yourself and any other adults.

Say: Today we are going to be doing some cooking and a little bit of movement with our bodies. First, let’s start with prayer.

Ask for any prayer requests. Ask if anyone would like to lead the group in prayer. Be prepared to say a prayer yourself, working in prayer requests. Use the Lord’s Prayer as the ending. A suggestion: “Faithful God, We are thankful to be here today. We are thankful for the chance to share with each other and in the process, to build our faith in you. Help us to remember, especially when we face troubles, to keep our focus on you. (End with everyone joining in on the Lord’s Prayer.) Amen.”

Dig - Main Content and Reflection:

Balance Focus Activity

Say: Now for a bit of movement…

Have everyone step back 2 steps.
Have everyone pick up one foot and try to hold their balance without wobbling or falling. [It is ok if someone can’t do this, including the workshop leader!]

Then suggest a yoga pose such as the Eagle or the Tree Pose (shown at right).

Say: Be thinking about what is helping you to keep your balance.

Ask:

• What are your ideas about what helped you to keep your balance? (accept a few replies)
  
  

Say: There are two things that help when we try to balance. One is if we keep our abdominal muscles tight (show where these are), and the other thing is focus. It can really make a difference in your ability to balance when you concentrate or focus on an object. Try it again.

After everyone has tried to balance have everyone sit down around the table.

Say:  So focus was important. Let’s hear a Bible story about someone who lost their focus.

Bible Story

For those who have completed 1st through 3rd grade:

Refer to the Bibles distributed.

Say: For those of you who have just finished 1st or 2nd grade we don’t normally look at the Bible in class, but summer is a good time to try something different.

Ask someone who just completed 1st or 2nd grade… Where in the Bible would we read a story about Jesus, in the New Testament or the Old Testament? (in the New Testament)
Ask anyone…

• What do we call the first four books of the New Testament? (the Gospels)
• Does anyone know what the word “Gospel” means?

Say: The word Gospel means “good news.” Jesus teaches us good news about his love for us, and how he is always with us. Our story can be found in the gospel of Matthew.

Have the 3rd graders help show the 1st and 2nd graders about the quick way to find the New Testament... dividing the Bible in half gets them near Psalms. Dividing the back half in half again gets them near the Gospels in the New Testament. Then once they have found the story have them close the Bibles.

Read to them the story on pages 380 – 385 in The Beginner’s Bible.

For those who have completed 4th grade and up:

• Ask: Where in the Bible would we read about Jesus? (in the New Testament)
• What are the first four books of the New Testament? (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John)
• What do we call those first four books? (the Gospels)
  
  

Say: The word Gospel means “good news.” Jesus teaches us good news about his love for us, and how he is always with us.

Have everyone find Matthew 14:22-33 in the Bible.

Since these students visit in a later week of the Rotation, ask them if they can tell you the story. Have them check their Bibles for accuracy. Read portions as necessary.

For all students: Discussion
Ask:

• Who lost focus in this story? (Peter)
• What was Peter focusing on when he started his walk on water?

(Possible answers: whether he could do it. Point this out if the kids don’t say it: whom was he walking towards? His focus was on Jesus.)

Ask:

• When did Peter begin to sink? (when he began to notice the storm around him)

[If necessary review page 384 of The Beginner’s Bible or have someone read Matthew 14:30].

Say: Peter began to sink when he took his focus off of Jesus.

Ask: Everyone put on their thinking caps...their "remember-when" caps. Have you ever been stuck in one of the storms that life brings, because we can all have bad times? And during that time was your focus on Jesus? [Don’t require a response if none is given.]

Do: Share a hard time when you suddenly realized you needed to focus on Jesus.

Ask:

• What did Jesus do when Peter called out for help? (Jesus saved Peter)
• What did Jesus say? (accept something similar to: why were you scared)
  
  

Say: Jesus said, “What little faith you have! Why did you doubt?”
Ask:  What is faith? (accept a few responses)

Say: When we trust God and know that God will always be there with us, it is called “faith.” Faith is believing in Jesus and God; when we focus on God, our faith is stronger.
Say: Now we are going to prepare a special treat that will show us the importance of faith. First, everyone needs to head for the kitchen and wash their hands.

In the Kitchen:
Wash your hands first and then have everyone wash their hands. Offer aprons if kids want to wear one. As the kids wash their hands, start making the meringue.

Say: Our first step is to make what is called “meringue.” It has to sit for a couple of minutes so I am going to start.

Add the water to the powdered egg whites. Break up the mixture slightly with a fork. Don’t worry if it doesn’t all mix together. Let stand for at least 2 minutes.

Ask:

• Have you ever eaten baked ice cream?
• What do you suppose baked ice cream will look like?
• What do you suppose it will taste like?
  
  

Ask about allergies to milk and eggs. Tell those with dairy allergies that an alternate snack is available.

Start the mixer. Beat on medium speed until the Just Whites™ have dissolved and the mixture is frothy. Stop and have a child add 1 tsp vanilla and another child add ¼ tsp cream of tartar.
Increase speed to high and beat.

Pick children to gradually spoon in portions of the powdered sugar (a total of ½ cup).
Beat until very stiff peaks form.

Remove cake and ice cream slices from the freezer. Place the cake on the cookie sheet. Add the ice cream slice on top of the cake slice. Mound meringue over ice cream/cake slice. Pick other children (who haven’t done a task yet) to help spread the meringue. (Use table knives.) Make sure to completely cover the crack between the cookie sheet and cake to seal the ice cream/cake. [Notes about this process: it needs to happen fairly quickly so choose older kids to help or do it all yourself and say that this part is a demonstration. You may not need all of the meringue.]

Have the children stay away from the hot oven, but they can watch an adult verify that the oven is very hot. Then an adult should put the ice cream/cake in the oven. Set a timer for 5 minutes. (It may be done sooner).

Do:  While waiting for the Baked Alaska to cook, show the bowl of water and an orange.

Say:  While we wait, I’d like to do a science experiment.

Ask:  Do you think that this orange will float in this bowl of water? (probably not)

Do:  Show them that it does float!

Ask:  What about a peeled orange, would it still float?

Do:  Remove the peel from one of the oranges. Place the orange in the water. It sinks!

Say:  This orange is like Peter in our Bible story. The peel is like Peter’s faith. When he had his faith (the peel) he was protected and could walk on water. When he lost his faith – the peel – he sank. Today we’re learning lots of lessons about faith!

Ask:  We can say, "I am going to have faith!" But what are ways to grow our faith?

(Possible answers: pray to God, read the Bible, learn Bible verses so that we can remember them later when we need them, act like Jesus would want us to act, worship God with other people in the church, etc.)

If there is more time have children help clean up. [Dirty dishes can go over by the dishwasher but you could have the kids wash the metal table.]

Back to the Social Hall – Eating, with more discussion:
At this point use the lesson at http://www.kirkofkildaire.org/...rBreadOfLifeCafe.htm
under the portion called “Suggested Discussion.”

Closing:
Say: Unfortunately, in our lives we do not have something we can see, like meringue or an orange peel, to cover ourselves. We can cover ourselves with faith in Jesus, and that is MORE powerful than the meringue, even though it is invisible.

Do:  Form the Eagle or the Tree Yoga pose.

Say: It helps us to balance when we focus on an object. To have strong faith, focus on God and Jesus!

Resources:

• “A Walk on Water: Bread of Life Café.” Faith Quest Lesson Sets at Kirk of Kildaire Presbyterian Church. 2004. http://www.kirkofkildaire.org/...rBreadOfLifeCafe.htm
• “A Walk on Water: Apostle’s Playhouse.” Faith Quest Lesson Sets at Kirk of Kildaire Presbyterian Church. 2004. http://www.kirkofkildaire.org/...postlesPlayhouse.htm (movement)
• “A Walk on Water: Good News.” Faith Quest Lesson Sets at Kirk of Kildaire Presbyterian Church. 2004. http://www.kirkofkildaire.org/...kOnWaterGoodNews.htm (orange experiment)
• Pizer, Ann. “Yoga: About.com Yoga: Standing Balances Sequence.” 2008. http://yoga.about.com/od/yogap...alances-Sequence.htm

A lesson written by Carol Hulbert from: First United Methodist Church, Ann Arbor, MI
Copyright 2008, 2013, 2021 First United Methodist Church, Ann Arbor, MI. Permission to copy materials granted for non-commercial use provided credit is given and all cited references remain with this material.

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