Grades 1–3
Introductory Activity—Across the Water
Materials: plastic cups, water, table tennis balls, timer (optional)
Fill three cups with
water. Set one cup near the edge of a table and line up the other two cups
behind it. On your signal, a child places a table tennis ball at the edge of
the first cup and tries to move the ball to the third cup by blowing the ball.
Use a timer to set how long each child has to blow the ball into the third cup.
Tell the kids that today they will hear a story about someone moving on top of
the water.
(Tip: Set up several stations with cups and a ball so several kids can play at
a time.)
Live It Out
Game—Dodge the Waves
Materials: cones or plastic cups, two sets of cards with the words of the Life Point (one word per card)
Mix each set of cards and scatter at one end of the game area. Set up the cones in a line, spaced between the start line and the cards. Group the kids into two teams. Teams should line up at the start line. On your signal, the first player from each team will run to the cones, weave in and out between the cones, pick up a card, and weave back through the cones to the team. Then the next player from the team will repeat the course. Continue until all cards have been retrieved. Guide teams to put the Life Point in order. Talk about things Jesus did that show His power, things that no one else could do. Say the Life Point together.
Craft—Painting Steps
Materials: large pieces of construction paper, tempera paint in shallow pans, infant and toddler sandals, markers
Lead kids to press the sandals into the paint and make prints on paper. They can create different designs or make a track across the paper. Talk about the Bible story. Lead the kids to add the Life Point or Bible verse to their paintings.
Grades 4–6
Introductory Activity—Boat Factory
Materials: Styrofoam pieces, paper, foil, clay, craft sticks, glue, tape, straws, dishpan of water
Challenge kids to make boats. Tell them to create a boat that will float. How big of a boat can they construct that will float? They can use any combination of materials as they build. They may want to track successes and failures to inform their work. Tell kids that in today’s Bible story, the disciples were in a boat with Jesus.
Live It Out
Game—Bible Search
Materials: Bibles
Group kids into teams or play as a large group. Call out a miracle that Jesus did and guide kids to find it in the Gospels. Remind kids that some miracles are in more than one Gospel, so two kids could find different passages and both be correct. First call out the miracle. Then, if needed, call out the Bible book as a clue. (If kids are still struggling, call out the chapter.) If playing as teams, award points to first finders if you choose. Say the Life Point and pray, thanking God for Jesus and His power.
Some miracles of Jesus:
-Feeds the 5000 (Matthew 14, Mark 6, Luke 9, John 6)
-Calms the Storm (Matthew 8, Mark 4, Luke 8)
-Turns Water to Wine (John 2)
-Heals Man Born Blind (John 9)
-Heals Official’s Son (John 4)
-Heals Paralyzed Man (Mark 2)
-Walks on Water (Matthew 14, Mark 6, John 6)
-Heals Ten Lepers (Luke 17)
-Raises Lazarus (John 11)
-Drove Out Demons (Matthew 8, Mark 5, Luke 8)
-Helps Disciples Catch Fish (Luke 8, John 21)
Craft—Powerful Scenes
Materials: heavyweight paper, chenille stems, paper scraps, tape, markers, other art materials
Talk about the Bible story and other times that Jesus showed His power. Invite preteens to make scenes, of the Bible story or other stories, using the art materials. They can use heavyweight paper as the base for their scenes. They can bend and twist chenille stems into people figures and tape them onto the base. They can add other items or details with paper, chenille stems, and tape. Say the Life Point and suggest kids write the Point on their scenes.
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