Peter Walks on Water

The child will be able to describe how Peter displayed faith.

Bible Story Reference: Matthew 14:22-33

Memory Verse: 

Psalm 55:22 (NIV)

Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.

Introduction

In the last lesson, we learned about what it means to be a real neighbour and the importance of having compassion towards everyone. What is one specific way that you can be kind to others?
Today, we will learn about one of Jesus’ disciples named Peter and how Jesus taught him about the importance of faith.

Bible Story

It was the middle of the night. Jesus’ disciples were in a boat on a lake. The wind was blowing,and waves were tossing their boat all around.
Jesus had been up on a mountain praying alone. But a little before morning, Jesus came walking on the water towards the disciples. When they saw him, they thought he was a ghost. They were scared and started screaming.
“It is me, Jesus,” he said. “Do not worry. Do not be afraid.”
His disciple, Peter, called out to him.
“Lord, if it is really you, tell me to come to you on the water,” he said.
“Come on!” Jesus replied. So, Peter got out of the boat and started walking on the water towards him. But then Peter saw how strong the wind was. He became scared and started to sink.
“Save me, Lord!” Peter cried out. Right away, Jesus reached out his hand and helped Peter up.
“You do not have much faith,” Jesus said. “Why do you doubt?”
After Jesus and Peter were back in the boat, the wind died down. Then, all the disciples in the boat worshipped Jesus. They knew that Jesus was truly the Son of God.

Review

Peter allowed the wind that was blowing all around him to distract him. He became more focused on his fear than his faith in Jesus. Faith means believing in and trusting in someone or something.
There may be difficulties in our lives that feel like storms, too. We might not know how to escape them or how we will manage to survive them. But Jesus is always with us—just like he was with Peter—even when it does not feel like it.

  1. How did Peter show faith? (He got out of the boat and onto the water with Jesus.)
  2. What happened when Peter became afraid? (He started to sink.)
  3. What did Peter do when he started to sink? How did Jesus respond? (He called out to Jesus for help. Jesus reached out his hand and helped Peter.)
  4. What does this tell you about Jesus? (Jesus will help us when we ask him.)
  5. We all experience difficult times that can feel like storms in our lives. What can you do when you feel like Peter did? (Ask Jesus for help and have faith that he will help us like he helped Peter.)
  6. How does this story help you have faith? (It shows that Jesus can be trusted to help us, even when we become scared, afraid, or lose faith like Peter did.)

Prayer

Dear God,
Thank you for your love that never fails. Help me grow my faith in Jesus every day. Amen.

Crafts

Jesus Walks On The Water

What You Need

  • Hard paper (blue,black,brown) or colour white paper into different colours
  • Glue
  • Scissor
  • Coloured pencils

  • Note: If you only have white paper you can colour it into black, brown and blue.

Steps 

  1. Tear blue paper about 2 inches from one edge.
    Glue a larger piece of blue paper on the bottom of the black paper.
  2. Place glue at the bottom of the smaller blue paper.
  3. Cut dark brown paper into a boat.
  4. Draw lines on the boat like wood.
  5. Draw, cut out and color Jesus and Peter, facing each other with at least one arm reaching for each other.
  6. Glue Peter in between blue papers like he is sinking.
  7. Glue Jesus catching Peter’s hand on the outside of the smaller wave of water. Make sure he has shoes on, so it looks like He is walking on the water.
  8. Draw, cut out, and color a few small disciples.
  9. Glue small disciples in the boat.
  10. Write “Jesus Walks On The Water” and “Matthew 14:22-55” and “John 6:16-21” on the blue paper