This Sunday school sermon about the story of Jesus calming the storm is a good one for 12-14 year olds. It teaches them to think about what they hear or read and how to determine if it is believable or not. In other words it teaches good judgment.
Discussion and Activity:
Tell the students that you just talked to the Queen of England on the phone. Then ask them if they believe you. Explain that they have doubted you. Explain what doubt is. Then have the students get into small groups of two to four. Have them come up with three stories, two false stories and one true one.
Give them a few minutes to come up with their stories, and then have each group share their stories with everyone else. If the students think the story is true, have them give a thumbs up sign, if they believe it is false, have them give a thumbs down sign. After the class has shown what they think on the three stories have the group tell which story was true.
Now talk about how hard it is sometimes to know what to doubt and what not to doubt when you don’t know people very well. Explain that it is easier to [tag]trust[/tag] someone when you know that they love you. Tell the students that they are going to learn about a time when the disciples doubted Jesus, even though there was no reason to doubt him.
Bible Reading:
Have several students alternate reading Mark 4: 35-41, which is the story of Jesus calming the storm.
Discussion:
Ask the students if they can bring too many worries or concerns to Jesus, why or why not. Ask them why Jesus is able to understand their fears and worries. Ask them if we can always depend on Jesus.
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