Jesus Calms the Storm

How many of you have ever been out in a boat on the water? Since our Bible lesson today is about Jesus and his disciples in a boat, I thought it might be fun if we listened to our lesson today while sitting in a boat. Would you like to do that? OK, climb in. Now that you are all in the boat, it would probably be a good idea if I got in the boat with you. It wouldn't be a very good idea to send a bunch of children out in a boat by themselves. What if they got out in the middle of the lake and something bad happened? What if a storm came up? Have you ever been out in a boat when a storm came up? First the wind started to blow, then came the rain, thunder, and lightening. Oh my, that is quite frightening, isn't it?

Well, that is exactly what happened in today's Bible lesson. Jesus and his disciples had been traveling all around the countryside and Jesus had been teaching and performing many miracles. When evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, "Let's cross over to the other side of the lake." So they climbed into a boat and set sail to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus was very tired, so he was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a pillow. Suddenly, a fierce storm came up. High waves came up and the boat began to fill with water. The disciples were afraid and went and woke Jesus. "Teacher," they shouted, "don't you care that we are going to drown?"

When Jesus woke up, he spoke to the winds and the waves, "Silence! Be still!" Suddenly, the wind stopped blowing and the sea became calm. He turned to the disciples and said, "Why are you afraid? Do you not have faith?"

The disciples were absolutely terrified. "Who is this man?" they asked each other. "Even the wind and waves obey him!"

At the beginning of the lesson, I climbed in the boat with you so that I could help you if something happened. As we sail through life, things are going to happen. We will face many storms in our life. They may not be the kind of storms that we talked about in today's lesson. Perhaps we may face a serious illness or a family problem. We might make a wrong decision or fall in with the wrong crowd at school. When you face these problems on the sea of life, who do you want to have in the boat with you? I know who I want! I want Jesus. He can calm every storm. If you take Jesus with you day by day, he will be there with you in the storm.

Our Father, we know that each day we will face difficult situations. We are thankful that as we sail through life, you are always there to calm the storms. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.