Scripture:
Matthew 8:18-27
Memory Verse: “You, Lord, are the light that keeps me
safe. I am not afraid of anyone. You protect me, and I have no fears.” Psalms 27:1 CEV
Concept:
We
can trust Jesus to take care of us.
Objectives:
The objective of this
workshop is to teach the children the Matthew passage and to have them learn
that we can rely on Jesus to take care of us.
Procedure:
Welcome and Introductions:
1.
Greet the
children and introduce yourself. Wear
your nametag. Make sure the children are wearing nametags. If not, ask the
shepherd to supply a temporary badge. Remember you are interacting with a
different group of students each week that may not know you.
2.
Explain the
purpose of this workshop: Today we will
use puppets to learn about trusting Jesus to care for us. What is trust? Take several answers but
get across the concept of being sure of something or someone. Before we do puppets, we’re going to read the
Bible story for today.
Scripture/Bible Story:
Ask the children
to open their Bibles, if they have them, to Matthew 8:18.
Warm-Up
Discussion and Questions: This passage is from the book of
Matthew. Does anyone know in what part
of the Bible we would find the book of Matthew?
New Testament Matthew is one of four books that have a
special name--does anyone know what they are called? Gospel.
And what does Gospel mean? Good
News. Does anyone know what the
other three Gospels are? Mark, Luke
and John. Who and what are the
Gospels about? These books are about
the life of Jesus and the good news that he died so our sins would be
forgiven. What do we have to do to have our sins
forgiven? Just trust in Jesus.
Read the
Scripture Passage Matthew 8:18-27 from the CEV (see note about who should read
the Bible during class at the end of this lesson):
The Cost of
Following Jesus
18When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to
the other side of the lake. 19Then a teacher of the law came to him
and said, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go."
20Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have
nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."
21Another disciple said to him, "Lord, first let me go and bury
my father."
22But Jesus told him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their
own dead."
Jesus Calms the Storm
23Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. 24Without
warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the
boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25The disciples went and woke him,
saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!"
26He 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.
27The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this?
Even the winds and the waves obey him!"
Example of
Discussion after the Passage:
There are actually
two stories in the passage. Our puppet
lesson is going to focus on the second story about the boat. Who was in the boat with Jesus? The disciples. Who went to sleep in the boat? Jesus.
What happened while Jesus
was asleep? A storm came up. What kind of storm do you think this was
and how do you know that? Must have
been very bad because the disciples thought they were going to drown. Jesus seemed a little disappointed that the
disciples were afraid--I wonder why.
Jesus seems to think the disciples don’t have enough faith if they think
they are going to drown. Jesus knows
that God is in control and that it was not part of God’s plan to have everyone
die in the boat. I think he was hoping
the disciples had figured that out too.
How did Jesus “save” them? He
rebuked (scolded or disciplined) the waves and they calmed down. How did the disciples feel about
this? They were amazed. Do you think the disciples felt more safe
or less safe when they were with Jesus after this happened? Probably more safe. Does this story make you feel more safe or
less safe knowing that Jesus cares for us too?
Any answer is appropriate. Try
to get at least 2 or 3 children to answer.
“Even the winds and the waves
obey him!”—that means that Jesus is very powerful, and all things obey his
commands.
Puppet Application:
Note: There are 5
skits with differing numbers of characters in each. You may have to repeat one or more of the
skits to give everyone a chance to perform.
Skit 1 Discussion Questions:
Who fixes your dinner?
Get a couple children to answer.
How would you feel if you thought that person wasn’t going to be able to
fix dinner for you? Try to get a
couple of answers. Did the children
really need to worry about dinner—how did the Mom still provide dinner for
them? No because the mother called their father and told him to get dinner
for them. Do you think they will
trust their mother more in the future to always provide for their needs? Probably.
Skit 2 Discussion Questions:
Did the child that got left behind trust his father to
have a good reason to call him? No,
he just ignored his father because he wanted to play his game. What if the next time the father calls it is
to get the child to do a chore—is it still important to come? Yes, we must trust that the father has a
good reason for asking the child to do the chore. Why do trust and obey go together? Probably lots of appropriate answers—try to
get at if we trust someone then we know that what they ask us to do is
something we should do.
Skit 3 Discussion Questions:
Do you know why Faith Quest has memory verses? The verses that are picked are chosen to
help you—for example, to make good choices or to know something about God. Why do you think this memory verse was
chosen? Helps you know that you can
rely on God when you are afraid. Have
you ever prayed when you were afraid? What
kind of fears can you pray about? Try
to get some variety—bullies, tests, scary things, not doing well at
something. Did you know that the
Bible says that you can pray about all kinds of fears or really anything you
want to talk to God about? Did you know
that praying is one way we tell Jesus we trust him?
Skit 4 Discussion Questions:
Has a teacher ever asked you to learn or practice
something that seemed hard or useless to you?
What kinds of things? Try to
get three or four answers. Do you
trust teachers to do what is best for you?
Try to get a few responses. Do
you think you should? Try to get a
few responses. If you teachers care
about you, don’t you think Jesus, who is perfect, cares much, much more about
you?
Skit 5 Discussion Questions:
Who likes to get shots? I’m sure no one. Why do you think parents and doctors
make you get shots? See if someone
will admit that shots are good for you. Is
it hard to trust adults who tell you to do something hard or painful for a
reason? Sure. Is it hard to trust Jesus to take care of
us? Sometimes it is but we can trust
Jesus to always take care of us. How
do we trust Jesus? Just tell him you
are relying on him to care for you.
Reflection Time:
Usually at
At
Prayer: Write your own or use this
example. Thank you God for caring for
us. Thank you for teaching us to trust
you and other people in our lives.
Tidy and Dismissal: Ask children to help tidy up. Close/lock the door and turn off the
lights.
Teacher preparation in advance:
1.
Pray
that God will guide you to teach what He wants taught during this workshop and
scripture passage. Pray for a loving and
patient attitude toward the children.
Pray for time management during the workshop.
2.
Read the
scripture passages and attend the Faith Quest Leaders Bible Study.
3.
Please
practice reading the scripture passage out loud several times. See Who Should Read section of this
lesson for encouragement.
4.
Make at
least 6 or 7 copies of each script. You
can highlight one character in each skit.
5.
Make a
poster of the memory verse to hang on the wall.
This poster needs to be taken down each week and re-hung on Sunday.
6. If you decide to pre-record the scripts,
there is a tape recorder/boom box in the Praising Puppets cabinet.
7.
Prepare a
closing prayer.
8.
Journal
pages will be provided at the Bible Study or the first Sunday of the rotation.
As the writer of this lesson
and also as a Faith Quest teacher, I strongly encourage you, the workshop
leader, to read the Bible passage yourself and only after practicing it before
your first Sunday.
Suggested Supply List
Copies of the
script
Poster for memory
verse
References
Notes supplied by
TRUSTING
PEOPLE TO CARE FOR US
SKIT
1 (3 characters)
Karen: “Is
Mom still in bed?”
Dylan:
“Yes. I just opened the door to
her bedroom. The lights are all
off. And she said not to come near
her. She thinks she has the flu.”
Karen: “I’m
really hungry. It’s almost
dinnertime. She’s usually cooking dinner
by now. Do you think we’ll starve to
death?”
(Sound of door
opening)
Father:
“Karen…Dylan…” (can substitute
different names here)
Dylan:
“Dad, what are you doing home so early?
Father:
“Your mom called me at work and said she couldn’t get out of bed. I came home early.”
Karen:
“Dad, I’m really hungry.”
Father:
“Good, because I picked up a pizza on the way home.”
SKIT
2 (5 characters)
(Mother and 3
children should be scattered around the stage.)
Father:
(coming in, loudly)
“Children…please come down here….”
(All come running
to Father except one.)
Father: “OK,
let’s go quickly.” (Father and 1st
and 2nd children leave the stage.)
3rd
Child: (comes to where father was) “Where is everyone?”
Mother:
“They went to a fair. Why didn’t
you come when your father called?”
3rd Child: “I
was in the middle of a game. I didn’t
want to stop right then. Can you take me
to the fair now?”
Mother: “I
don’t know where it is. Your father saw
a traveling fair while he was out running errands and wanted to take everyone
before it closed. He was really in a
hurry.”
3rd
Child: “I can’t believe he left me.”
Mother: “He
didn’t leave you on purpose. You didn’t
come.”
Narrator (adult voice): “1 hour later”
(Father and 1st
and 2nd children come in)
1st
child: “That was fun. I can’t believe how fast those rides
were.”
2nd
child: “We don’t want dinner. We’re full of cotton candy.”
3rd
Child: “I can’t believe you didn’t take me.”
Father: “I
thought you must be at a friend’s house.
What if the house had been on fire, and I was trying to get everyone to
leave? Next time, you’ll have to trust
me that I have a good reason for calling you.
SKIT
3 (2 characters)
Child (lying down): “Mom, can you come in here?”
Mother: “Why
aren’t you asleep? You went to bed a
while ago.”
Child: “I
was reading a very scary book before I went to bed, and now I’m afraid and
can’t get to sleep. Can you stay here
awhile?”
Mother:
“Well, I’ll sit here with you for a few minutes, but I can’t stay with
you all night. You’re too old for that. Do you remember that memory verse you’re
learning in Faith Quest?”
Child: “The
one we’re learning now is, ‘You, Lord, are the light that keeps me safe. I am not afraid of anyone. You protect me, and I have no fears.’ ”
Mother:
“That’s Psalm 27:1, and you said it perfectly. Why don’t you pray about being afraid? That’s what I do when I’m afraid or worried
about something.”
Child:
“What if Jesus doesn’t hear my prayer?”
Mother: “The
Bible says that God hears every prayer.”
Child:
“What if my prayer isn’t answered?”
Mother: “You
have to trust Jesus. He will care for
you.”
SKIT
4 (3 characters)
Teacher:
“Class, your time is up now. Turn
in your tests now.”
Student 1:
“Finally we are done with that test.
It was hard.”
Student 2: “But
not impossible. I think I did OK.”
Student 1: “I
agree. I don’t think I missed more than
a few questions.”
Teacher: “How
was the test?”
Student 2: “I’m
glad you made us do all of that math. I
didn’t like doing it at the time, but I knew all my math facts when I needed
them on the test.”
Teacher: “I
knew the class would need to know those math facts. Maybe this will teach you to trust your
teachers more in the future.”
Student 1:
“Thanks for helping us do well.”
SKIT
5 (2 characters)
Child:
“Dad, I could run during recess today.
My foot feels normal.”
Father: “I
think you’re finally over that skin infection.”
Child: “I
guess that shot helped.”
Father: “I
thought it would. I knew you didn’t want
a shot, but sometimes that’s the only thing that will make you better.”
Child: “I’m
sorry I was so mad at you at the doctor’s that day. It seems worth it now that my foot doesn’t
hurt anymore.”
Father: “Try
to remember that next time. I don’t do
anything to harm you—you need to trust me to always take care of you the best
way I know how.”