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Love

Teaching Text: Mark 4: 35-41

That day when evening came, He said to His disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took Him along, just as He was, in the boat. There were also other boats with Him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, don’t You care if we drown?”

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

He said to His disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey Him!”

Themes

Consider these themes and ask your group what else they see in the passage:

Friends of God | The Kingdom of God Moving Along Lines of Friendship in the Life of Jesus
Napping God - The Miracle of Jesus’ Presence and Peace Speaking in the Midst of a Storm

Formation

Thoughts and notes you can use for discussion:

Read the text a couple of times.
What stands out to you about the account of Jesus in the storm?

Here, crossing the sea of Galilee. This was their territory, their area of expertise. They know storms could come up quickly on the water.
Squalls were part of life on the Sea of Galilee. But one comes up that is more than they can handle.
- They were fishermen... this was their territor

Jesus was asleep.
God in this case was napping.
But God not acting as they hoped or expected in this situation as understandable as it might have been to think that was not a sign that He didn’t care.
- It was just a sign that He saw the moment from a different perspective. He knew more than they knew. He wasn’t worried in the same way.
And as much as we may have moments where we want God to be freaking out with us, aren’t you ultimately glad that He doesn’t.

He rebukes the storm and His disciples - it wasn’t a kind word.
And He says to them - “Where is your faith?”
It’s a very raw moment. We can empathize with their fear. But Jesus is like “Hey don’t forget what story we are in here.”
- “Don’t forget who I am.”
And the wild thing is, the disciples are more terrified once Jesus has calmed the storm than they were when they thought they were going to drown.

What do you think they wanted Jesus to do when they woke him?
Why are they more afraid after Jesus calms the storm?

You will need resources beyond you momentary interpretation of what’s happening. You will need faith in who God is and the larger story He is telling.

Mark is using language that is very similar and parallel to the story of Jonah...
- Both Jesus and Jonah are out on the sea in a boat.
- Both Jesus and Jonah's boat are overtaken by a storm - the description of the storm is almost identical
- Both Jesus and Jonah are asleep in the storm
- The sailors come to the sleeper and they say “we are perishing” - its the exact same word in the Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures and what we find in Mark. - The Sailors say do somethin
- There is a miraculous intervention by God and the seas is calmed
- In both stories the sailors are even more terrified than they were before the storm is calmed

So we have these almost identical stories except the obvious one major difference – Jonah in the midst of the storm, says to the sailors, "there is only one thing to do, throw me in."
- If I die, you will live.

In Matthew 12, there is this rather cryptic moment where some authorities are demanding Jesus give them a sign, and Jesus says no sign will be given except the sign of Jonah.

There is more than one thing to take from this story.
- One is... YOU WILL GO THROUGH STORMS - YOU WILL NOT BE ABANDONED IN THE STORMS
  - We often don't know how the storm fits into the timeline of our lives
  - We are invited to an ultimate trust of Christ that goes beyond how we can interpret a given moment out of our resources.
  - The storms of life sometimes cause people to say I don't want God anymore. But the reality is even if you don't believe, you still have the storms. You may just be ignoring that there is someone who loves you in the middle of the storm with you.

"I don't believe in God, but I miss him" - Julian Barnes
- Two..CHRIST HAS GONE INTO THE STORM TO BRING US PEACE
  - If God is not acting how you hoped God would act in a storm in your life. Take heart.
  - You are not alone.

Ask your children