Taking a deep breath
Children's sermon
Object:
a deep breath
Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you have ever been afraid? (let them answer) Tell me about a time recently when you were afraid. (let them answer)
Fear is not a bad thing. Sometimes it keeps us from getting into trouble. For instance, I am afraid of fire and when I am around a fire I am very careful. All of us have fears.
How do you handle your fear? (let them answer) When I am afraid, I take a very deep breath. (take a deep breath) Let me hear you take a deep breath. (let them take several deep breaths) We feel a lot better after we have breathed deeply.
One night, the disciples were in a boat and they thought they saw someone walking on the water. It looked like a ghost and they were paralyzed with fear. On top of that, it was storming and the waves were coming into the boat. That's pretty scary, isn't it? (let them answer) The Bible says the disciples screamed because they were afraid.
Then they heard a soft but strong voice. The voice said, "Calm down. It's me. Don't be afraid." Peter thought this was Jesus and he called out to him to give him courage. The other disciples were still afraid but they were taking deep breaths. (have them all interact with deep breaths) Peter was afraid so he asked Jesus to command him to get out of the boat and walk toward him.
Jesus invited him to do so with a simple invitation, "Come!" Peter stepped over the side of the boat and began to walk toward Jesus. Just then a wave smacked Peter right in the face and he became afraid again and immediately sank into the water. Then the disciples saw Jesus reach out and save Peter from the deep sea. All of the disciples, including Peter, took a deep breath and calmed down.
Within moments they were all back in the boat and the wind stopped blowing. It was time for another deep breath. (take deep breaths) Now everything was calm and they finished their trip across the sea. It was a scary night, and it was filled with deep breaths.
The next time you are afraid, perhaps you will remember the night Jesus walked on the water and saved Peter from his fear. Then you will think about taking a big, deep, breath and you will calm down.
We all have fears, some of them are for good reasons but when it is over we need to calm down by taking a deep breath and asking Jesus to come and be with us through our fears and our calm.
Fear is not a bad thing. Sometimes it keeps us from getting into trouble. For instance, I am afraid of fire and when I am around a fire I am very careful. All of us have fears.
How do you handle your fear? (let them answer) When I am afraid, I take a very deep breath. (take a deep breath) Let me hear you take a deep breath. (let them take several deep breaths) We feel a lot better after we have breathed deeply.
One night, the disciples were in a boat and they thought they saw someone walking on the water. It looked like a ghost and they were paralyzed with fear. On top of that, it was storming and the waves were coming into the boat. That's pretty scary, isn't it? (let them answer) The Bible says the disciples screamed because they were afraid.
Then they heard a soft but strong voice. The voice said, "Calm down. It's me. Don't be afraid." Peter thought this was Jesus and he called out to him to give him courage. The other disciples were still afraid but they were taking deep breaths. (have them all interact with deep breaths) Peter was afraid so he asked Jesus to command him to get out of the boat and walk toward him.
Jesus invited him to do so with a simple invitation, "Come!" Peter stepped over the side of the boat and began to walk toward Jesus. Just then a wave smacked Peter right in the face and he became afraid again and immediately sank into the water. Then the disciples saw Jesus reach out and save Peter from the deep sea. All of the disciples, including Peter, took a deep breath and calmed down.
Within moments they were all back in the boat and the wind stopped blowing. It was time for another deep breath. (take deep breaths) Now everything was calm and they finished their trip across the sea. It was a scary night, and it was filled with deep breaths.
The next time you are afraid, perhaps you will remember the night Jesus walked on the water and saved Peter from his fear. Then you will think about taking a big, deep, breath and you will calm down.
We all have fears, some of them are for good reasons but when it is over we need to calm down by taking a deep breath and asking Jesus to come and be with us through our fears and our calm.
