Jesus Calms the Storm
Matthew 8: 23-27 And when He (Jesus) got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. And behold, there arose a great storm in the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves; but He Himself was asleep. And they came to Him, and awoke Him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing!” And He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and it became perfectly calm. And the men marveled saying, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”
You may have never been in a boat during a dangerous storm, but at some time in your life you will encounter a trouble so big you know you can’t handle it on your own. Jesus asks us, “Why are you afraid?” Essentially, “Do you trust me?”
This passage is such a great real-life example of what salvation is. The disciples say, “Save us Lord; we are perishing!” And we are! Without Christ we will live an eternity of literal agony. But when we look to Jesus and put our faith in Him, death cannot defeat us. (John 3:16) When you are confused and afraid, cry out to Jesus!
Activity: Make a boat from aluminum foil or paper:
Step 1: Take a plain piece of paper, fold in half
2.Fold in half again like you’re making a card. Open your “card” up and fold down corners to make perfect triangles on each side of the crease, meeting in the middle (much like making a paper airplane.) There will be a little margin of paper left at the bottom of your triangles.
3. Fold one side of the bottom up over the triangles and then the other, like a paper hat.
4. You will have two small overhangs from the bottom, fold over each corner, one section, then the other, to make a perfect triangle.
5. Fold the triangle tip one way then the other, creating a crease.
6. Open up your triangle and keep opening until it collapses into a square.
7. Fold the bottom of each side upward to make a triangle. Then bring back down. You’re creating a crease. Once you have your creases, you should be able to set the paper on the table with triangle coming off a square base by opening the two bottom sections and leaving the top two together.
8. This is where you kindof have to man-handle your paper to make it into a boat. Widen the bottom section while pushing in on the sides of the top section. You want to make a little rim around your hat triangle to keep the water out.
9. The paper absorbs the water a little so will only float for a little while. While paper is easier not to rip, aluminum foil will float longer. Have fun!
