The Trust Test
LESSON AIM
To help kids understand that God will always take care of us.
YOU'LL NEED
- blindfolds
- soft foam balls
- small pillows
- marshmallows
- rolled-up newspapers
- coins
- a mop or broom
- a spray bottle filled with water
- photocopies of the "In God's Hands" picture
- scissors
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OBJECTIVES
Kids will
- catch unknown objects while blindfolded,
- learn how Jesus helped in Peter's moment of need,
- identify life events that are scary, and
- make a commitment to trust God during life's storms.
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BIBLE BASIS
Matthew 14:22-33
After feeding the 5,000, Jesus ordered his disciples to get into a boat
and cross the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up into the hills to pray.
Sometime in the wee hours of the night, a fierce storm struck the
disciples' boat. When Jesus came to them, walking on the water, the
disciples were frightened, fearing he was a ghost. Immediately Jesus
reassured them, saying, "Have courage! It is I. Do not be
afraid,"
Peter jumped at the chance to do something extraordinary: He asked
permission to walk to Jesus on the water. Jesus said, "Come."
The venture began successfully, but soon the wind and waves distracted
Peter, and he began to sink. Matthew's description of Jesus' reaction is
one of the most beautiful lines in Scripture. "Immediately Jesus
reached out his hand and caught Peter."
Jesus will always come to us in the storms of life. He offers his
loving hand and catches us before the wind and waves completely overwhelm
us. Peter began to sink but didn't drown because he trusted the one who
offered to save him.
John 14:1
Chapters 13-17 of John paint an intimate picture of Jesus' interaction
with his disciples just before his arrest and crucifixion. In this
passage, Jesus prepares his followers for the trauma ahead. Listen
carefully to what he says: "Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust
in God, and trust in me."
Choice is clearly implied. We can let ourselves be troubled, or we can
choose to trust.
UNDERSTANDING YOUR KIDS
Because of the mixed messages kids hear, it's difficult for them to
know where to put their trust. Humanistic thinkers say, "You can do
anything you set your mind to," which is really another way of
saying, "Trust in yourself." Gangs have great appeal to kids.
Their message is "Trust in the group we'll take care of
everything." You'd like to tell your students that they can always
trust in their parents and friends, but that's not always the case because
there's no such thing as a perfect parent or a perfect friend. But Jesus
is a friend who never fails. He is all-knowing, all-loving, and
all-powerful.
As much as you'd like to protect your students, they will be battered
by life's storms. Some will be caught in divorce; some will move and lose
their base of friends; some will experience learning disabilities; some
will face hostile cliques at school. How wonderful to be able to reassure
kids that Jesus will always be there, always ready to stretch his hand
through the storm and bring them safely through.
Lesson
ATTENTION GRABBER
Coming Your Way
Help kids form pairs. If s a good idea to pair older children with
younger ones. Distribute blindfolds and have one partner in each pair
blindfold the other. Have each seeing partner guide his or her blindfolded
partner to stand against a wall of the classroom. Then ask the seeing
partners to stand five or six feet away.
Put a pile of tossable objects on the floor near the seeing partners.
Include items such as soft foam balls, small pillows, marshmallows,
rolled-up newspapers, and coins.
Say: We're going to play a game called Coming Your Way. Here's how
it works. Partners who can see will choose any of the items in this pile
on the floor to toss very gently to their blindfolded partners. They won't
give any clues about what they're tossing. Just before they toss, they'll
say, "Coming your way!" and their partner's name. Toss
carefully-you want your partner to catch as many items as possible. Ready?
Go!
After each toss, have the seeing partners retrieve the items and place
them in the pile for other students to toss. After four or five tosses,
have partners change roles. After four or five more tosses, call time.
Have kids place all the items and the blindfolds in a corner of the room
where they won't be a distraction. Then call everyone together and ask:
- Who was able to catch one item? two items? three items? four
items?
- What was it like to try to catch something that you couldn't see?
(Scary; hard; fun.)
- What would've made it easier? (Being able to see; knowing
what was coming.)
- How was this game like what happens in real life when problems
and scary things come our way? (We can't see what's coming; we
never know what's going to happen.)
- When you were the tosser, what did you do to help your
blindfolded partner? (Tried to warn her; tossed carefully so he
could catch it.)
- How is that like what Jesus does for us when scary things come
our way? Jesus takes care of us; Jesus tries to help us.)
Say: Today we're going to learn that * God will always take care of
us. Let's see how Jesus took care of his disciples in a really scary
situation.
| TEACHER TIP
Let the size of your class
determine how many students
you appoint to be disciples and parts of the boat. If you have a
very large class, you might want to have several kids be waves
that surround the boat.
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BIBLE STUDY
The Water Walker (Matthew 14:22-33)
Say: The first thing we need to do is get in position for our Bible
story. First, I need some people to be disciples and sit close together in
the middle of the floor. Select a few students and place them together
as if they are in a boat. Then hold up
a mop or broom, handle down. Say: This represents Peter. You
disciples hold up Peter right here in the center of the boat. Good.
Now I need people to be the boat. Let's make the pointed ends of the
boat be here and here. Put children in position at the points. Now
the rest of the boat people join hands and surround Peter and the
disciples. Great! Now we're ready for the story. This story took place
right after Jesus fed more than 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and
two fish. Jesus and his disciples were tired, and they wanted to rest.
listen carefully and act out what happens as I tell this story front
Matthew 14:22-33.
As you read the Bible passage, pause to coach students with appropriate
actions.
Jesus told his followers to get into the boat and go ahead of him
across the lake. He stayed there to send the people home. Have the
disciples and the boat rock gently as the journey across the lake begins. After
he had sent them away, he went by himself up into the hills to pray. It
was late, and Jesus was there alone. By this time, the boat was already
far away from land. Have the disciples shield their eyes and peer into
the distance. It was being hit by waves, because the wind was blowing
against it. Have everyone rock from side to side in unison as the boat
lurches in the storm. Gently squirt the students with water from a spray
bottle.
Between 3 and 6 o'clock in the morning, Jesus came to them, walking
on the water. Have the disciples peer into the distance. When his
followers saw him walking on the water, they were afraid. They said,
"It's a ghost!" and cried out in fear. Have the disciples
gasp.
But Jesus quickly spoke to them, "Have courage! It is I. Do not
be afraid." Have the disciples give a deep sigh of relief.
Peter said, "Lord, if it is really you, then command me to come
to you on the water."
Jesus said, "Come."
Peter left the boat and walked on the water to Jesus.
Have the disciples and boat people move the mop toward you. Remind
everyone to keep rocking with the storm. But when Peter saw the wind
and the waves, he became afraid and began to sink. Have the person
holding the mop let it tilt over. He shouted, "Lord, save
me!" Have the person holding the mop bounce it up and down.
Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught Peter. Pick up
the mop. Jesus said, "Your faith is small. Why did you
doubt?"
After they got into the boat, the mind became calm. Pass the mop
back into the boat. Have everyone stop rocking. Then those who were in
the boat worshiped Jesus and said, "Truly you are the Son of
God!" Have all the disciples and the mop bow.
Have kids give themselves a round of applause and gather in a circle.
Ask:
- What's surprising to you about this
story? (Mat Jesus could walk on the water; that
Peter wanted to get out of the boat.)
- Why do you think Peter wanted to walk on the water to Jesus? (Because
he was a showoff-, because he wanted to see if he could do it; because
he knew Jesus would save him if he got in trouble.)
- Why do you think Peter started to sink? (Because he got
scared; because he looked at the storm instead of looking at Jesus.)
- How did the disciples feel about Jesus when he saved Peter and
calmed the storm? (They wanted to worship him; they knew he was
God's Son.)
- How do you feel about Jesus after hearing this story? (I'm
glad he's my friend; I believe Jesus can do anything; I'm not sure
what I think.)
Say: Peter knew he could count on Jesus' help. We can trust Jesus,
too. When we face scary things in our lives, it's important to remember
that * God will always take care of us.
LIFE APPLICATION
Waves
Say: The wind and the waves frightened the disciples in our story.
Now we're going to make some waves of our own and tell about things that
frighten us.
Arrange chairs in a circle.
Say: I'm going to start by telling about a really scary thing that
happened to me and how God took care of me. Then I'll start a wave by
standing up, throwing my arms up in the air, then sitting down. The next
person will stand up, then the next person, and so on 'til the wave comes
all the way back to me. Then (name of person on your left) will
tell about a scary situation and how God took care of (him or her) and
start another wave.
Begin with your own story and have kids share their stories around the
circle, with a wave after each story. If kids are unsure about what to
share, invite them to tell about something they were scared about when
they were really little.
Then say: God will always take care of us. We'll have storms in our
lives, that's for sure. And we may not know when they're coming or what
they'll be. But when we see how God has taken care of us in the past and
how he's taken care of all our friends, we can trust him to take care of
us in the future.
COMMITMENT
| Scare Shares
Have kids find their partners from the opening activity.
Distribute scissors and photocopies of the "In God's
Hands" picture (shown below). Show kids how to cut and fold the
handout to create a paper sculpture of hands holding a sailboat.
It's help- to a have a finished model of the paper sculpture so kids
can see how it works. Remind older kids to help their young partners
who may have difficulty cutting and folding the sculpture.
Say: After you've finished your paper sculpture, sit knee to
knee with your partner and tell about a scary situation you're
facing now or may face in the future. You might tell about a class
in school that's hard for you, about a bully in your neighborhood,
or about a big ballgame that's coming up.
After you've both shared, tell how you'll trust God in those
scary situations. Then shake hands and say, "God will always
take care of you."
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CLOSING
In God's Hands
After partners have shared, have everyone stand in a circle, linking
elbows and holding the paper sculptures. Rock the circle from side to side
a bit and say: We've all talked about scary things we're facing right
now or that we'll face in the future. Talking about those things can make
us feel a little unsteady. Stop the rocking motion. The good news
is that God will always take care of us. Let's read together the words of
Jesus printed on our paper sculptures.
Read the verse more than once so that nonreaders have a chance to learn
to "read" it. Then close in prayer.
Pray: Lord Jesus, thank you for the way you rescued Peter and calmed
the storm. Help us to trust you to be with us in the storms we face in our
lives. We put ourselves in your hands. In Jesus' name, amen.
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The Trust Test 
