Use this lesson to teach children that they can trust God with their fears. Help them understand that He is stronger than any fear that we could have. Download the full lesson and all of its resources here.
1. Connecting: Talking about my fears and worries.
2. Teaching: God is with me when I am afraid (Mark 6; John 14:27; 16:33b; Deuteronomy 33:27a).
3. Responding: Trusting God when I am afraid.
Supplies
Note:
You will see both bold and regular type. Bold type indicates things to read out loud to your children. Regular type indicates information for you, the leader/parent.
This activity teaches children that God is bigger than their fears. You will need to choose an indoor or outdoor option for the activity in the Responding section. Read through the entire activity ahead of time, so you can prepare the supplies you need.
As you discuss this hard topic, you may not have all the answers to your children’s questions. You may also have fears and questions too. That is okay! Together you and your children can learn to trust God with your fears—no matter how big or small they are.
Leader/Parent Devotion
Turn to me and help me. I am lonely and hurting. Take away the troubles of my heart. Set me free from my great pain. Look at how I’m hurting! See how much I suffer! Take away all my sins. Look at how many enemies I have! See how terrible their hatred is for me! Guard my life. Save me. Don’t let me be put to shame. I go to you for safety.
Psalm 25:16–20, NIRV
In these verses, David openly expresses his thoughts and feelings about all of the things that are going wrong in his life. Instead of letting his feelings of loneliness and suffering overwhelm him, David chose to put his trust in God.
In the midst of his fear, David recognized that only God could save him. So he called out to the source of true peace and strength and trusted Him for safety.
Do you sometimes feel like everything is going wrong? Everyone goes through difficult times in their lives. Some situations—including some of the changes caused by COVID-19—can cause us to experience unexpected anxiety and fear. But just like David, we can call out to God for help and safety.
Read the verses from Psalm 25 again. What about David’s lament resonates with you right now? What are the fears and worries that surround you like enemies?
Give your fears and worries to God. Ask Him to take away the troubles of your heart and allow you to rest in His protection. He is your safe place—no matter what challenges you face.
LESSON TIME
1. Connecting: Talking about my fears and worries.
Have your children stand up. You will read several statements. If a statement is true for them, the children should jump up and down. Have fun and participate in this activity with your children.
Before reading each new statement, have the children stop jumping to listen to the new statement.
- I love to sing.
- I have a brother or sister.
- I have ridden a bicycle.
- I have waved at someone I do not know.
- I have helped my family with chores around the house.
- I have seen someone I love feeling sad.
- I have been sick before.
- I have worried that I will not get to see my friends anymore because of COVID-19.
- I have worried about getting sick with this virus.
- I have been afraid that someone I love will get sick.
Sit down with your kids and point out the responses they had in common. Then, talk about the last few statements about things that worry them.
Let your kids know that while the virus is making lots of people sick, God is with us and cares for us when we’re afraid. Remind them that God is bigger than your worries and fears—even worries and fears about COVID-19!
2. Teaching: God is with me when I am afraid (Mark 6; John 14:27; 16:33b; Deuteronomy 33:27a).
Tell your kids this Bible story from the book of Mark. To bring the story to life, use motions and different voices for the people in the story. Invite your kids to act as though they are in the story too!
One day, Jesus’ disciples were going across the lake in a boat. Jesus did not go with them because He was spending time praying to God.
Late that night the disciples were in the boat in the middle of the lake. They were in serious trouble. They were rowing hard and struggling against the wind and high waves.
Even though these men were used to being in boats, they may have been afraid of the waves and wind. The boat was probably rocking violently. The disciples may have even worried about falling out.
Now here comes the amazing part. Right in the middle of the night, they saw someone coming toward them, walking on the water. They were very scared. They thought it was a ghost!
Ask Children:
Ask your children how they would have felt if they were one of the disciples.
The person wasn’t a ghost. It was Jesus! He is so powerful that He could walk on water! Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Do not be afraid. Take courage. I am here.”
Then Jesus climbed into the boat, and the wind stopped. Jesus is more powerful than the wind!
If you have a copy of The Action Bible, you can read pages 571–572 aloud to your children.
While the Bible doesn’t specifically tell us, we can imagine that the disciples probably felt afraid of the big storm in the middle of the night. But Jesus calmed their fears. The disciples learned that Jesus was more powerful than anything that was causing them fear.
And we can learn a powerful lesson from the disciples: Even when we’re afraid of big things, such as COVID-19, Jesus can help calm our fears. He is in control and, He is always with us!
Read this verse from your Bible:
I leave my peace with you. I give my peace to you. I do not give it to you as the world does. Do not let your hearts be troubled. And do not be afraid.
John 14:27, NIRV
Explain that this verse is a message from Jesus telling the disciples and us that we do not have to be afraid. We can trust His peace to help us in our times of fear.
Tell your children you are going to ask a hard question, but they can think about it for a moment before responding.
Allow the children to share their thoughts.
When they have finished, add to what they have said by putting the following information into your own words: The Bible tells us we will have troubles in this life, but Jesus is greater than this world.
The Bible tells us that when God first created the world, everything was perfect. There were no diseases or deaths. But when sin entered the world, everything changed.
Now sickness and death are part of our world. And in times like this, when a disease is spreading all over the world, it may seem like disease and death are in control of our world. But listen to what the Bible tells us about this:
Read the following verses aloud to your children:
In this world you will have trouble. But take heart!
I have overcome the world.
John 16:33b
God lives forever! You can run to him for safety.
His powerful arms are always there to carry you.
Deuteronomy 33:27a, NIRV
Even when it feels like disease and death are in control, we can trust that Jesus is more powerful. He has overcome the world!
Discuss this question with your children. Then fill in ideas they have missed with the suggested answers.
Suggested answers:
- Verses we have memorized from the Bible come into our minds and give us comfort.
- Other people surround us with love and care, and we know God is using them to help us.
- Sometimes when we are quiet, we can hear Jesus’ words in our hearts.
- A pastor’s sermon might contain exactly the words we need to hear.
- Maybe God will use this lesson to calm our fears.
In our Bible story, Jesus calmed the wind that was like a storm. Sometimes the hard things in our lives can feel like storms. They may make us afraid of what will happen next. Storms can be things in our lives that scare us like COVID-19.
When we go through these storms, Jesus will be with us. He told the disciples, “Do not be afraid. Take courage. I am here.” We can trust that He will be with us and help us to have courage, too!
3. Responding: Trusting God when I am afraid.
Note:
The next section can be done inside or outside.
Outside Option:
Allow the children a few minutes to walk around outside as they think about their fears. For this option, you can use small stones or leaves as the objects.
Inside Option:
Allow the children to walk in circles around a room as they as they think about their fears. For this option, you can use small items like blocks or paperclips from your home as the objects.
Ask the children to think about what they are afraid of. If you are comfortable, it might help if you give some examples of things you have been scared of in the past.
For every fear they think of, ask them to pick up an object. Once they all have at least two objects, ask them to share what storm each object represents to them. After they have shared, they should lay that object on the ground in front of them to show that they are trusting Jesus with that fear.
If it’s safe, have the children run as they put the items away to remind them that they can run to God when they are afraid. Then finish the activity by saying this prayer together three times: “Jesus, I will trust You when I am afraid.”
If you want, give your children time to complete the Kid’s Page, drawing or writing something that scares them and then giving their fear to God.
You can close by listening to “Firm Foundation” as a reminder that God is bigger and stronger than our fear.
End this time by praying this blessing based on John 14:27 over your children:
May you be filled with God’s perfect peace. You do not have to be afraid. God is bigger and stronger than all your fears!
God Is Stronger Than My Fear: COVID-19 Lesson and Resources for Kids
God Is Stronger Than My Fear: COVID-19 Lesson and Resources for Kids
God Is Stronger Than My Fear: COVID-19 Lesson and Resources for Kids
More Lessons
If you need more lessons during this time, check these pages:
