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The Day The Winds Came

Children's sermon
Mark 4:35-41
Wesley T. Runk
The Giant Book Of Children's Sermons
Matthew To Revelation
Object: 
a large electric fan
Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you have ever been caught in a big wind? (let them answer) It can be kind of scary, can't it? I'm going to turn on a big fan, an electric fan, and we are going to pretend that this wind that is caused by the fan is one of God's own winds.

Pretend that you are on a big lake and the wind is blowing you in the face and on your arms, but pretty soon the waves are filling up the boat with water. If you have a bucket, you can try to bail out some of the water before the boat sinks, but you will have to bail very fast because now the waves are getting bigger and bigger and the boat is being filled with more and more water. You wish the wind would stop, but have you ever tried to stop the wind?

Can you push the wind? (let them answer) Can you yell at the wind and make it stop? (let them answer) If you have a lot of friends and you all work hard together, can you make the wind stop blowing? (let them answer) Of course not. The wind just keeps blowing and moving and getting bigger and bigger. Once in a while it turns another way, but then it comes back and now seems stronger than ever. Just imagine being in a boat on a big lake and having a wind blow like that. It's kind of scary, isn't it? (let them answer) It scares me.

Maybe if you know how frightened you would be, you can appreciate how the disciples felt one night when they were on the sea of Galilee. Jesus was riding in the boat but he was asleep. Everyone knew how hard Jesus had worked that day and many days before that. They did not want to wake him, but they were so afraid. The water in the boat was getting higher and higher and the winds were getting stronger and stronger and soon they thought they would sink. Finally, Peter shook Jesus by the shoulder and told him how afraid he was.

When Jesus opened his eyes and looked around and saw how frightened all the disciples were, he raised his hand and told the wind to stop. Can you imagine that! Jesus made the wind stop blowing. No one else could ever make the wind stop blowing just by talking to it, but Jesus did. That's what makes Jesus such a special person. He has such great power. He can even make the wind stop blowing when he wants it to.

The next time you are standing on a hill or just playing outside in your backyard or maybe watching the waves on a lake, you can think about the day that Jesus made the wind stop blowing and the sea to become very calm. Jesus was really something special. He could do things that no one else could do. Jesus could even make the rain stop raining, the sun stop shining, and the wind to stop blowing as he did in today's Gospel story. Jesus is really someone special, and I hope that you never forget it as long as you live. God bless you very much.
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* * * * * * * *


The Way to God
by Peter Andrew Smith
Isaiah 58:1-9a (9b-12)

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Good morning, boys and girls. I brought some salt with me this morning. (Show the salt.) What do we use salt for? (Let them answer.) We use it for flavoring food. How many of you put salt on your popcorn? (Let them answer.) What else do we use salt for? (Let them answer.) We put salt on the sidewalks in winter to keep us from slipping. We put salt in water softeners to soften our water.

In this morning's lesson Jesus said that we are the salt of the earth. What do you think he meant by that? (Let them answer.) In Jesus' time salt was very important. It was used to keep food
Good morning! Once Jesus told a whole crowd of people who
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answer.)
Good morning! How many of you own your own Bible? (Let them
answer.) When you read the Bible, do you find some things that
are hard to understand? (Let them answer.) Yes, I think there are
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Bible is God's Word, and it's not always easy to understand God.
He is so much greater than we are and much more complex.

Now, I brought a New Testament with me this morning and I
want someone to read a verse for us. Can I have a volunteer? (Let
Teachers and Parents: The most common false doctrine, even
among some who consider themselves strong Christians, is that we
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learn the basic Christian truth that Heaven is a gift of God and
that there is no way to be righteous enough to deserve it. We
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* Make white paper ponchos with the name JESUS written in
large letters on each one. (A large hole for the head in a big

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