Children’s Sermon

Mark 4:35-41

Jesus Calms the Storm

By Dell Smith Klein

Have you ever been afraid in a storm? (Allow the children to respond.) Yes, I have too. The twins, Kelly and Kyle were with their grandfather on the lake near his house. The wind started to blow, and it started to rain. The twins were scared. When grandfather tied the boat to the dock, they hurried to the house in the pouring rain. Their grandfather made hot chocolate and soon they were warm. They sat at the table sipping hot chocolate and listening to this story from the Holy Bible.

Jesus and his friends climbed into a boat one day. Jesus said, “Let’s go to the other side.” (vs. 35) He was tired though and decided to take a nap as they traveled across the Sea of Galilee. The wind started to blow, and waves got higher and higher. Some of Jesus’ friends were fishermen who knew about storms and high waves, but this time even they were afraid.

Where was Jesus? (Allow children to answer.) Jesus was in the back of the boat sleeping. I can just picture Jesus friends trying to dip the water out of the boat, holding on, as the storm grew worse and waves washed over the sides of the boat.

They thought they were going to drown, so one of the men ran to Jesus and woke him up. “Teacher, don’t you care that we are dying?” (vs. 38) Jesus was so kind. He woke right up and looked out at the storm and the water splashing everywhere and said, “Peace! Be still!” (vs. 39)

What do you think happened when Jesus said that? (Allow the children to answer.) Yes, the storm calmed down immediately and the water grew calm. Can you imagine Jesus’ friends standing there all soaking wet, with water dripping off their beards as the fear of the storm slowly faded away? Jesus had calmed the storm and even the waves disappeared and the sea became still.

Jesus looked at his friends. “Why are you so afraid? How is it that you have no faith?” (vs. 40)

You would think Jesus’ disciples would be calm inside, too, since Jesus had just calmed the storm outside. Remember, they had been traveling with Jesus for a while. They had seen other miracles that Jesus had done, but they didn’t know that Jesus could calm a storm. “Who is this,” they asked, “that even the wind and sea obey Him?” (vs. 41)

Jesus wants us to know that we don’t have to be afraid. Sometimes things happen, like a car accident, slipping on an icy sidewalk, or being bullied that cause us to be afraid. We can know that Jesus loves us and is always with us, so even in scary times that feel like storms inside of us, he can keep us calm. We can have faith that he will help us.

PRAYER: God, thank you for the calm that you give us. We are glad that you give us calm on the inside even in a big storm, or when things happen that make us feel afraid. We trust you. Amen.

Scripture quotations from the World English Bible

Copyright 2014, Richard Niell Donovan