Jesus Calms the Storm Cooking Workshop

Summary of Lesson Activities:
Children will create “Stormy Pudding.”

Scripture References:
Matthew 8:23-27, Mark 4:35-41, Luke 8:22-25
Jesus asleep at the back of the boat is awakened to still the storm

Memory Verse:
“When I am afraid, I will trust in you.”  Psalm 56:3

Theme:
We can trust that Jesus is with us always and helps us in times of trouble.

Objectives:

• Children will find the story in the Bible.
• Children will be able to retell the story in their own words.
• Children will locate the Sea of Galilee on the map.
• Children will be able to define miracle.
• Children will explore the concept of “storms” in their lives that they should reach out to God in.
• Children will recognize that Jesus is present with us always, even in difficult times and is able to help us.
• Children will memorize Psalm 56:3.

Preparation and Room Set Up:

• Review the Background Information, Teaching Tips and Lesson plan.
• Gather all necessary supplies and ingredients for activities.
• A map of Israel with the Sea of Galilee on it. (View/print attached topographical map)
• A large but shallow bowl full of water sitting on a towel.
• A small boat quickly made out of cardstock or a plastic water bottle to place in the bowl of water.
• Chill the bowl and beaters for the whipped cream recipe!

LESSON

Opening

Welcome the children and introduce yourself and the story. Explain that in this workshop they will make a snack that will look a little like the Sea of Galilee during a huge storm.

Opening Prayer:
Mighty, awesome God, thank you for this day and for the miraculous stories in the Bible that teach us about you. AMEN.

Introduce the Story:

Opening Questions: 

1. Where would we find stories about Jesus in the Bible?  (New Testament, Gospels)
2. The first four books of the New Testament are called the gospels. What does “gospel” mean?  (good news – these books tell us the good news about Jesus).
3. Today’s story is found in three of the four gospels in the New Testament, Matthew, Mark and Luke.

Share: Jesus traveled around the land of Galilee, healing and teaching the people about God.  It wasn’t long before great crowds followed him everywhere.  Now the Sea of Galilee is a LARGE but SHALLOW lake surrounded by STEEP hills. Because of this, when strong winds blow down from the mountains they can stir up fierce, violent storms that can make the water very rough.

Show the topographical map and ask students to locate the Sea of Galilee on it. Notice that high elevations of land around the lake that would send winds down to the much lower Sea.

Invite students to gather around the bowl of water and blow as hard as they can to make the boat rock. Let them wave paper to see if they can really create a storm. Let them carefully splash their hand in the water to help create a storm (this short activity will increase attention and memory).

Share that one evening, after spending the entire day teaching the people near the Sea of Galilee, Jesus and his disciples decided to get in a boat and sail to the other side of the lake to rest and have some quiet time away from the crowds. Can you guess what happened? 

Dramatically read Matthew 8:23-27 to your students, and when you get to the "storm" do a little more splashing in the bowl of water.

Discussion:

• Do you think the disciples knew a sudden storm might be a problem? (Yes, some were fisherman and even Jesus had spent time in the area.)
• Have you ever been in a fierce wind and thunderstorm? Were you scared?
• What other kinds of personal storms can people experience in their lives?  Storms like the death of a loved one or loss of a pet, or a health crisis, or feeling threatened by war or mean people, or feeling depressed or unloved, etc.
• Why were the disciples so afraid? (they feared drowning and apparently didn't yet realize how powerful Jesus was!)
• What do you think they thought when they saw that Jesus was asleep?
• Have you ever slept through a storm?
• Do you think it was possible that Jesus was really awake and just not afraid and was trying to stay calm or get some sleep?
• Why did Jesus say that the disciples had "LITTLE FAITH" ??  Was he mad at them? (Or was he reminding all of us that we sometimes don't have enough faith, but things will be okay.)
• What should BIG or STRONG FAITH have made them do or act differently during the storm?
• What do you think that Jesus said to "rebuke" the storm? (Invite students to act out various "rebukes.")

Share: "Storms" in a person's life can be of the weather kind, but they can also be of the personal kind, like having your life threatened by cancer, or your family knocked about by a death or a divorce. Does this story mean that Jesus will STOP ALL those storms if we ask him?

1. No, the story first suggests that we are SAFE with Jesus DURING the storms.
2. That we should have more faith that Jesus is with us.
3. That we should look at HIM who is not afraid and trust that he will be with us no matter what happens. 

Look up and read this memory verse

“When I am afraid, I will trust in you.”  Psalm 56:3

Stormy Pudding:

Supplies:

• Graham crackers (broken into fourths along the dividing lines)
• Vanilla pudding – prepared ahead of time or do this as the children arrive (pudding can be made by placing ingredients into quart-sized jars and shaken for several minutes until thickened)
• Blue food coloring
• 1 cup whipping cream, chilled
• 2 tablespoons sugar or sugar substitute
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• Large glass mixing bowl – chilled!
• Hand mixer – chill the beaters beforehand
• Spoons
• Small clear plastic cups

Directions:

1. Have children put on aprons and wash their hands.
2. Give each child a plastic cup and a spoon.          .
3. Put a few drops of blue food coloring in the pudding and let the children take turns stirring it up till the color is even.
4. Place a few spoonfuls of pudding in the children’s cups. Have children smooth the pudding surface with the back of their spoons.
5. Make the whipped cream by following the directions below.
6. Place a dollop or two of whipped cream on top of the pudding cups. Have children use their spoons to create waves.
7. Add a few cereal squares or graham cracker pieces for the boat.
8. Enjoy the stormy snack!

Whipping Cream
(makes 2 cups)

Ingredients:

• Whipping cream – 1 cup (keep chilled)
• Sugar – 2 teaspoons
• Vanilla 1/2 teaspoon

Directions:
In a chilled bowl combine whipping cream, sugar and vanilla. Beat with chilled beaters of an electric mixer on medium speed till soft peaks form. Talk to the children as you are beating the cream and have them watch and tell you when they see the “waves” (peaks) form. (or give children a turn using the mixer)

Reflection:

Invite students to spread their whipped cream waves on their graham cracker.

As they take a big bite, ask them each to try and read the memory verse, “When I am afraid, I will trust in you.”  Psalm 56:3   It won't be easy with a mouthful! But even during the storms in our lives, we should remember the word of God who is always with us and will never forsake us.

Close with prayer.

A lesson written by Jaymie Derden from: State Street UMC and updated by the Rotation.org Content Team

Jesus Calms the Storm
Bible Skills and "Calming the Storm Rain Stick" Workshop

Summary of Lesson Activities:
Children will learn the story and some Bible skills related to it, then create a "Calming the Storm Rain Stick"

Scripture References:
Matthew 8:23-27, Mark 4:35-41, Luke 8:22-25,

Memory Verse:
“When I am afraid, I will trust in you.”  Psalm 56:3

Theme:
We can trust that Jesus is with us always and helps us in times of trouble.

Objectives:

• Children will find the story in the Bible.
• Children will be able to retell the story in their own words.
• Children will locate the Sea of Galilee on the map.
• Children will define miracle.
• Children will explore the concept of “storms” in their lives and how God can calm them.
• Children will explore the idea of trusting God even when times are hard.
• Children will recognize that Jesus is present with us always, even in difficult times and is able to calm us even in the middle of storms
• Children will learn Psalm 56:3.

Preparation and Room Set Up:

• Review the Background Information
• Print color copies of the attached topographic map
• Prepare the rain stick supplies (cut the accordion cardboard in advance as well as the can if using poster tube)

LESSON

Opening:
Welcome the children and introduce yourself and explain what they'll be doing and learning about today.

Opening Prayer
Awesome and Mighty God, Thank you for this day and for the amazing stories in the Bible that teach us about you. Give us open minds and hearts today as we learn and play together. AMEN.

Study:

Introduce the story by showing the attached topographic map and asking students to find various important things on it (which are not marked):

The Sea of Galilee
The Dead Sea
The Capitol City of Israel where the Temple that Jesus visited once stood.
The Sinai Desert crossed by Moses and the Israelites during the Exodus
The Judean Wilderness where Jesus spent 40 days and was tempted.

Note the high elevations around the Sea of Galilee which causes wind to sweep down across the Sea.

Share as you trace the map:
Jesus traveled around the land of Galilee, healing and talking to the people he met. It wasn’t long before great crowds followed him everywhere. Jesus took time to sit with the crowds of people and talk to them, teaching them about the kingdom of God. One evening, after spending the entire day teaching the people near the Sea of Galilee, Jesus and his disciples decided to get in a boat and sail to the other side of the lake, to rest and have some quiet time away from the crowds.

Now the Sea of Galilee is a VERY large lake, meaning, you can go so far out that you can't see the shore. And notice that it is surrounded by high plateaus and mountains. Because of this, fierce, violent winds and storms can sweep down from the mountains and blow fiercely across the lake.

Let’s read what happens to Jesus and his friends when one such storm suddenly blew up at night.   

Read Matthew 8:23-27

Discuss:

Why were they afraid?

Why was Jesus asleep?  Why wasn't he worried?

Why did he say they had "little" faith?

Is it okay to have little faith, in other words, "be afraid"? (Yes, Jesus is not accusing them and doesn't tell them to HAVE more faith, rather, he is sympathetic to their fear and not grasping who he really was. And he STILL calms the storm for them!

"Storms" in a person's life can mean things like hurricanes, but "storms" can also be personal storms like the fear we have when someonewe love is dieing, or the fear of losing your parents to divorce, or being afraid when the doctor tells you that you or a loved one has cancer, or the fear of moving and losing your friends and school.

What other kinds of "storms" can someone your age experience?

Does our story promise that Jesus will STOP ALL STORMS?   Or simply that we should NOT BE AFRAID because JESUS IS WITH US?

Memory Verse
Help the children locate the memory verse in their Bibles, read it out loud, and then WRITE IT on a sheet of construction paper that they will then WRAP ON THEIR TUBE.

“When I am afraid, I will trust in you.”  Psalm 56:3

Making a Calm the Storm Rain Stick:

There are many different ways to create a craft rainstick in a can. If the following description doesn't make sense to you, visit some of the craft sites online to see how others have done it.  The following uses a piece of cardboard placed inside the tube to create the cascade effect.  See https://www.instructables.com/...Friendly-Rain-Stick/

Supplies:

• Empty small or medium sized “Pringles” cans or other small container with a removable lid like a poster tube – 1 per child.
• A bag of small red beans or rice, about 1/3 cup per student
• A funnel to load the rice/beans in the tube
• A piece of cardboard cut slightly narrower than the can and about half again as long as the can, then folded into an accordion shape (which the beans/rice will cascade over)
• Colored paper cut to size to fit around the can with a small overlap
• Tape to seal the lids on the tube and to fasten the colored paper to the tube.
• Markers to decorate the colored paper with the memory verse and story images.

First, decorate the construction paper "wrap" with the memory verse and images from our story of Jesus and the disciples on the Sea of Galilee. Then wrap the paper around the tube and tape it there.

Next, create and place the accordion cardboard into the tube, then pour about 1/3 of a cup of rice or small beans inside the tube.

Temporarily close the tube and TEST the sound of the rain. If needed, add more beans/rice, then seal the lid using tape.

Rainstorm Reflection:

This is a great cool-down and a powerful way to close your session.

Seat the students in a circle holding their rain sticks silently. Then as you SLOWLY read the story again, have them follow you in making the rain stick provide the sound effects to our story. It should go something like this....

Jesus Calms the Storm

²³ Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him.(It was a nice calm end of the day when they got in the boat, let's make the sound of calm water lapping against the side of our boat as we all take a rest from a day of teaching the crowds)

²⁴ Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. (Let's start with quiet rain and wind and then get louder and louder.)

But Jesus was sleeping. (Silence our rain sticks and storms as we remember that Jesus feared nothing because he knew his life was always in God's hands.  Now let's kick up the storm again!  LOUDER!!)

²⁵ The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”

²⁶ He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.  (Total silence for a few moments.)

²⁷ The disciples were amazed and asked, “WHO IS THIS GUY that even the winds and the waves obey him!”

So whenever you are afraid because life's storms are blowing in your life (Make those storm sounds!)

Remember... Jesus is with us (total quiet then start up the storm again),
and he is not afraid, (CALM THOSE RAINSTICKS to sound like gentle rain)
so no matter what storms in life are tossing us to and fro (LOUD storm again),
let's hold onto Jesus and trust in his saving and calming power (Hold sticks silent)

AMEN!

A lesson written by Jaymie Derden from: State Street UMC and improved by the Rotation.org Content Team

Jesus Calms the Storm ~ A Drama Workshop

Summary of Lesson Activities:
Children will dramatize a version of the story that adds some humor and insights about what might have been happening on the boat that day.

Scripture References:
Matthew 8:23-27, Mark 4:35-41, Luke 8:22-25,

Memory Verse:
Psalm 56:3

Theme:
We can trust that Jesus is with us always and helps us in times of trouble.

Advanced Preparations/Room Set Up:  

• Gather necessary props:
• Cardboard boat**
• A fan for wind
• Water squirt bottles
• Blue fabric or blue tarp for waves and water.
• "Rainmaker" sound effect shaker-makers (two pie tins taped together with a half a cup of hard beans or rice inside them.
• Swaths of blue, grey, or white cloth tied to two poles or broomsticks for stagehands to wave in the air as the "storms."
• A pillow for Jesus
• A fishing pole for a disciple (optional)
• A volunteer with a video camera or cellphone to make a recording of the skit.
• A TV or monitor that the video camera/cellphone can connect to for playback.
  
  **Boat: We created a cardboard boat prop in our art workshop for another Sea of Galilee story. You can simply cut the SIDE SHAPE of a boat and tape it to two boxes to look like a boat from the side of the audience.

The Script is a combination of the story itself with imagined actions and dialog to fill it in. The Leader(s) read the script and the actors listen for their parts and act them out when the leader pauses. If actors forget to "react" to the script, the leader reads the line again. The humor in the script helps create both attention and memory, and makes it fun to watch the recording.

Lesson

Opening:

Welcome the children and introduce yourself and today's lesson. Tell them what you hope they will remember most from the story.

Story:

Introduce the Story by Saying:
In a few minutes you're going to act out the story of Jesus Calming the Storm. This story was so important and memorable that Matthew, Mark, and Luke all remembered it! Today, our drama will help us remember it too.

Jesus grew up in Nazareth and began his ministry of teaching about a day's journey away in the towns and villages around the Sea of Galilee. It wasn’t long before great crowds followed him everywhere. Jesus took time to sit with the crowds of people and talk to them, teaching them about the kingdom of God. One evening, after spending the entire day teaching the people near the Sea of Galilee, Jesus and his disciples decided to get in a boat and sail to the other side of the lake, to rest and have some quiet time away from the crowds. Now the Sea of Galilee is a VERY large lake, and it is surrounded by tall mountains. Because of this, fierce winds and violent storms can blow up suddenly on the lake.  Let’s see what happens to Jesus and his friends when they go out on the lake one evening at the end of a very long day...

Jesus Calms the Storm Drama!

Directions:

1. Review and assign the different characters needed for the play. Give each a BIG NAME TAG.
2. Assign some students to the "tech crew" to create the wave and sound effects.
3. Have a volunteer make a video recording of the play.
4. Once you start, don't stop! Even the directorial prompts and flubs will be part of the fun.

Actors are to listen to the story and then quickly act out what they just heard. They are to repeat any dialog they heard. If needed, the director/reader can repeat key lines for the actors to hear again and repeat. The director/reader will also CUE the effects. This is loose and meant to be fun.

Note to Reader(s):
Announce each scene's title and then read slowly. Repeat key cues as needed. Action is to take place AS IT IS HEARD, so you will need to pause reading for action and dialog.

Scene 1: The Disciples and Jesus Get in the Boat

1. Oh look!  Here comes Jesus and his disciples walking along the shore.
2. It had been a long day of teaching people and everyone was walking slowly because they were really tired.
3. Jesus said, "Let's get in our boat and cross over to the other side of the lake so we can be in another town tomorrow. "       "In the meantime, we can get some rest out on the water." His disciples all said "OKAY" and followed Jesus into the boat.
4. And each of them found a spot on the boat, got comfortable, and started to relax.

Scene 2.  Jesus falls asleep in the boat

1. The trip started out real nice.
2. The water was calm and soothing.
3. The wind was blowing just enough to fill the sails.
4. A few disciples were fishing ....and talking quietly among themselves.
5. Some were looking very relaxed, after all, they were on a boat with the man they hoped was the Messiah! The one promised by God to save the world.
6. Wait, do I hear somebody snoring?  Is that Jesus snoring in the back of the boat?

Scene 3: The Storm Comes

1. Too bad the weather and water didn't stay so calm.
2. A fierce wind started to blow down from the highlands across the lake, and the waves started kicking up.
3. A few of the disciples started getting tossed back and forth as the waves grew bigger and bigger.
4. It got so bad that one of them almost fell out!   And then another almost fell out!
   
   

Scene 4: The Disciples Wake Jesus

1. As the storm grew stronger and stronger, and louder and louder, the disciples started to fear for their lives.
2. See the look of fear on their faces! 
3. Everyone but Jesus, that is. Jesus was fast asleep in the back of the boat.
4. Then they yelled back and forth to each other over the storm, "Should we wake the master?"  "WHAT?" some of them replied. "I SAID, SHOULD WE WAKE UP JESUS??"   "OH YEAH. MAYBE WE SHOULD."
5. And then they all shook Jesus awake.
6. And when Jesus opened his eyes and sat up, the disciples stood there with the look of terror in their eyes as they cried aloud all together:
7. “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”

Scene 6: Jesus tells them they have little faith.

1. Jesus sat up and looked at the raging storm.
2. And then Jesus looked at each of his terrified disciples.
3. And then Jesus looked back at the storm, and then back at the terrified disciples again,
4. and said, "What's wrong with you guys!!"
5. Wait, that's not what Jesus actually said. What he said was, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?”
6. And what he probably meant was, "Don't you know who I am? If you did, you would fear nothing."
7. And maybe he would have posed real strong like the King of Kings, or Superman, or Captain Marvel -- but he didn't because Jesus was not a poser. He was humble.
8. So then Jesus stood up and rebuked the storm. We don't know what he said, but he probably said something like, "BE STILL" and maybe stuck out his hand.
9. And suddenly, the wind died down, and the waves became calm.

Scene 7:  The Disciples are amazed and a bit confused about Jesus.

1. Well you can imagine how the disciples reacted to this miracle.
2. After they became very happy and relieved that they weren't going to drown,
3. They turned to look at Jesus standing there with a BIG SMILE on his face,
4. and looked at each other in amazement and said, "What kind of person is this that even the wind and waves obey him!"
5. Now we don't know what happened next, but you can bet that some of them were exhausted and fell asleep for the rest of the boat ride,
6. but a couple of the disciples likely crept over and sat down next to Jesus to ask him a few questions.
7. What would you have asked Jesus?
8. Who do you think he is?
9. And when you believe in him and knew you could trust him with your life, what in the world could ever make you afraid again?

Tip: If needed, do it again and create a second recording.

Reflection and Closing:

View the video and follow up by asking the last three question in the script. Close with prayer.

A lesson written by Jaymie Derden from: State Street UMC with updates from the Rotation.org Content Team