Halloween Kids Message

Rev. Jeanne McIntosh October 2011

Scripture: Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You Psalm 56:3

Warmup Cut out large leaves using the colors red, green, yellow, and orange. Make eyes on the leaves and laminate to keep well. Give these out to 4 kids. Tell them we are pretending that we are leaves falling as the wind blows. As you call out the color of leaf the child who has it is to make a Whoooo sound as if the leaf is falling. The kids are to

imitate the same sound that was made. Tell them to make long sounds not shout sounds like boo. Call on another color and repeat the same thing until you have called all 4 colors of leaves. Then ask these kids who are holding the leaves to give to a friend. Do the same thing all over again. Repeat this activity several times.

Music Time Teach the kids the words to this familiar tune: Do You Hear What I Hear?

DO you hear what I hear? (Repeat) DO you hear what I hear? Clap, clap (Clap hands), (finger in lips) Sh! Sh! (whisper) Listen! (Put hand to ear) DO you hear what I hear? (Repeat) Do you hear what I hear? The leaves are falling all upon the ground And the wind is blowing so hard! And the wind is blowing so hard!

Whoooooo!

Have you ever been afraid of the wind? Did it seem like it was making weird sounds that were scary? What did you do? Maybe you went to your mom and dads bedroom and told them you were afraid. Maybe you hid your head under the covers or your pillow. The wind does make some scary noised at times, but God is in control of the wind. He made the wind and understands all about it and why it makes such sounds. During this time of year, people celebrate Halloween. We call our celebration Harvest Days here at the church. Halloween means a time to celebrate the Christians or saint from the past. At least, this is how the Catholic Church began celebrating this holiday. Many years before that, some people used Halloween to pay tribute to the dead. Today, kids celebrate it by dressing up in a costume and going from house to house asking for candy. Here at our church we love to give candy away also. You will all get a bag today before you leave. It is fun to get lots of candy; my favorite is chocolate. Today in our Bible lesson, we will hear about the Ghost the Disciples saw.

Jesus Walk on the Water Bible Lesson Instructions: Provide a large piece of blue material on the floor. Have the kids sit around this water. How many of you have been in a boat before on the water? (You can share a personal story of yourself here). One time, my family decided to go canoeing. It was not very fun at all! I was afraid we were going to turn over and was quite miserable. Because of my misery, I did not make it much fun for my family. Maybe, if we had taken time to pray, we would have had a nicer time. What do you think? (Allow them to share) One day, Jesus decided to take some time to pray. He told his disciples to get into a boat and go out in to the water and cross to the others side of the lake. Then, Jesus went to pray. (Fold hands in prayer) While Jesus was praying, the disciples rowed and tried very hard to get the boat to the other side, but they were having a difficult time. The wind was so hard and fierce. The waves were hugh and scary. The disciples did not know what to do. No matter what they did, the boat would not row to the other side fast enough. The wind prevented this, working against their rowing. Jesus had finished praying and went to see his friend. Now, we know that Jesus knew all along what was happening, and now he came to help them out. Jesus started walking on

the water. That is right! He walked right on top of the water, and did not even sink. When the disciples saw him, they cried out Its a ghost! Jesus saw their fear and knew they were really frightened so he told them in a calm voice Dont be afraid! It is me Jesus. Now Peter found it difficult to believe that it was really Jesus walking on the water. So he said, Jesus if it is really you, then tell me to walk on the water, too. Jesus said to Peter, Come on out, Peter and walk on the water. Peter very carefully and cautiously stepped out of the boat and started walking toward Jesus. Now remember the wind was fierce, and the waves were high. When Peter took his eyes off Jesus and began looking around him, he became afraid and began to sink. Help, Jesus save me! he cried. Jesus simply held out his hand and took Peter bringing him safely inside the boat. When they go into the boat, the wind and waves became calm. All the disciples were amazed at all this and said, This must be Jesus, the Son of God. Jesus is an amazing person in our lives. When we pray and trust Him, he will help us in everything we do no matter how big it may seem to us. He will hold our hands and walk with us through whatever we face in life. We are not alone. He will give us peace through all the storms of life that we may face. We do not have to be afraid, when Jesus is in our hearts. Retell the story having the kids act out the parts. Assign the parts of Jesus, Peter, and a few disciples if you have

enough kids to do this. If not, assign only a part for Jesus and Peter. Read the story as they act out the parts. Provide costumes if available. Questions for Discussion 1. Have you ever been afraid of something? Give time to share. 2. What did you do about it? 3. Did you take time to pray to God about your fear? 4. How can God help us when we are afraid of something? 5. Are you glad the Peter did not really see a ghost? 6. When you are ever afraid, how can you trust in God? Our Memory Verse says: Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You. Psalm 56:3. Lets all say that together. Put the memory verse on a leaf for each child to take home. Cut out several large leaves and place one word of the memory verse on each leaf. Scramble the leaves all up and have the kids put them in order. They can stand in correct sequence up front. Then, have everyone say the memory verse together. Repeat this activity. Close in prayer and ask God to protect every child this week. Jeanne McIntosh October 2011