Week 975 · about 45 minutes
Matthew 14
Matthew 14 · Memory verse Matthew 14:30
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Matthew 14), the matching word search and answer key (Matthew 14 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a piece of bread
Hold a piece of bread. Read Matthew 14 in about four minutes, stopping at Matthew 14:30: “But when he saw that the wind was strong, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Matthew 14?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Matthew 14 is a real chapter from the New Testament. It starts, “At that time, Herod the tetrarch heard the report concerning Jesus,” That is not a motto invented for a poster. It is the first sentence a family hears when this page is opened at night.
Keep going a little further. The chapter also says, “He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass; and he took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, broke and gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples gave to the multitudes.” Matthew 14 opens with these words: “At that time, Herod the tetrarch heard the report concerning Jesus,” The line to keep is Matthew 14:30: “But when he saw that the wind was strong, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”” Carry the word “wind” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Matthew 14:30: “But when he saw that the wind was strong, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Matthew 14? Then try this: Read “But when he saw that the wind was strong, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, “Lord,…” once more. What does it show you about God? You do not have to finish every verse. You can close the book after the memory verse and still have read the Bible together.
Group game
Walk the room as if you are moving through Matthew 14. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Matthew 14:30. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Matthew 14 and write Matthew 14:30 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Matthew 14:30
“But when he saw that the wind was strong, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!””
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Matthew 14. Help us remember Matthew 14:30 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.