Jesus Calmed a Storm (Matthew 8; Mark 4; Luke 8)

Big Picture Question:

“Is Jesus God or human? As the Son of God, Jesus is both fully God and fully human.”

Welcome:

“Have you ever experienced a strong storm, hurricane, or blizzard?

What was it like?

How did you feel during the storm?

If you were scared, did anything make you feel better?”

Introduce the Bible Story:

Big Picture Question:

“We will be learning a new big picture question and answer to help us remember truth from God’s Word. The big picture question is, Is Jesus God or human? The answer is, “As the Son of God, Jesus is both fully God and fully human.”

“While Jesus became a man and lived on earth, He is and has always been God. The Bible teaches us that Jesus was present at creation and that all things were created by Him and for Him. Jesus became a man when God the Father sent Him to earth to save us from our sin. Let’s say the big picture question and answer together:

Is Jesus God or human? As the Son of God, Jesus is both fully God and fully human.

Review the Timeline:

“We will continue to learn about Jesus's time on Earth over the next several weeks. As we do, it is important to remember that Jesus came to Earth to save people from their sins. Jesus taught people to repent of their sins and believe in him. He read from the scrolls of the Old Testament and explained that he was the Messiah God had promised long ago.

One of the ways Jesus helped people understand He is God's son was by performing miracles. Jesus’ miracles pointed people to the truth that he is God. Can you think of a miracle Jesus performed?

In today's Bible story, we will learn about a miracle Jesus performed while on the Sea of Galilee.

Learn the Bible Story

Background:

Jesus has been teaching the crowds of people all day long and he was tired. So Jesus gets away from the people, finds a boat, gets on it, and his disciples follow him. They took the boat a little ways out into the water so that the people couldn’t get to him and that’s where our story picks up.

Think about the Big Picture Question:

Is Jesus God or human? As the Son of God, Jesus is both fully God and fully human.

Does God get tired?

No.

Was Jesus God?

Yes.

Jesus was one person with 2 natures

Human

Divine

Did his human nature get tired?

Yes

Did his divine nature get tired?

No.

We could do this with hunger, sweat, blood…

Question:

Matthew 8:23-24

Matthew 8:23–24 “23 And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep.”

Question:

Would you be scared if a storm came up on a boat you were on and the waves were crashing all around you?

Were the disciples scared?

What about Jesus?

Matthew 8:25-26a

Matthew 8:25–26 “25 And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” 26 And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” // Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.”

Question:

What did the disciples do?

What did Jesus say to them?

Why do you think Jesus said they had little faith?

Because they were with the one who made and controls the winds and the waves - and he was asleep.

Matthew 8:26b-27

Matthew 8:26–27 “26 And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?””

Question:

What did Jesus do?

What did the sea do?

What did the disciples do?

Christ Connection:

Jesus’ disciples knew Jesus was a good man and teacher. When Jesus calmed the wind and the waves, He showed His disciples that He is also God. God rules the sea and stills its waves.

Question:

If Jesus can calm the storms, can we trust Him to have power over all things?

to have power over our lives?

We can trust Jesus to still be in control when everything feels chaotic and crazy, but we can also trust Him to calm the craziness. Just like the disciples, we should call out to Jesus, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.”

Do you think Jesus will answer?

Absolutely!

What is the Gospel (Good News)?

God

God created all things

God created us

God tells us how we are to live

Man

Man rebelled, disobeyed God

Wages of sin is death (What we earned)

Jesus

Jesus came and lived a perfect life

Obeying all of God’s laws

Jesus paid the penalty for sin by dying on the cross

Jesus defeated death by rising again from the dead

Response

Jesus calls all men everywhere to repent and believe the good news

Repent and Believe

Repent of what? (Our sins)

Believe what? (The good news of Jesus)

God tells us to have faith in him (to trust him)

Christ Connection:

Key Passage:

John 1:18 “18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.”

No one has ever ________ God; the ________ only God, who is at the __________ side, he has made him _________.”

Pray