Playing in the Bible: Jesus Walks on Water

This morning my girls and I spent time on the Sea of Galilee with the disciples as Jesus walks on water. It was so simple and we all had lots of fun! The girls kept asking to read the Bible story over and over.

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The Bible Story

We played through the story where Jesus walks on water in Mark 6:45-53. This story falls right after one of the accounts of Jesus feeding the 5,000. Directly after this Sea of Galilee incident, Jesus heals many people in Gennesaret. Three incredible stories of miracles: two public and one just for His closest friends.

All of these miracles happen right after the death of John the Baptist. Can you imagine the rumors and fear going on among the followers of Jesus and the other Jews immediately after Jesus’ cousin, John the Baptist, was murdered? Yet, the public ministry of Jesus went on in big miraculous ways.

BONUS – Theological Thoughts for Mama’s Heart

During nap time I spent a little extra time in God’s Word with this story where Jesus walks on water. Did you know that Jesus originally wasn’t planning on getting into the boat with disciples? His intent was to “pass by,” which is the same language used twice in the OT when God passed by and revealed His glory to Moses and Elijah (see Exod 33:17–34:8 and 1 Kgs 19:11–13). Yet, because Jesus saw that His disciples were afraid and struggling, He stopped, called out to them, and joined them in the boat.

Two Thoughts:

• How incredible that Jesus would change plans when His friends needed Him!
• When I have I missed out on seeing Jesus’ Glory because I was afraid?

Back to playtime… 😁

Supplies We Used for Playing with Jesus as He Walks on Water

• Read and Share Early Reader Bible Stories – read more about this Storybook Bible in this post
• Couch pillows

That’s it! Those 2 things lead to 30 minutes of laughter, learning, play, prayers, fun, and an interactive time with Jesus. No prep. You literally grab the book, sit on your living room floor, and go.

Who Was Playing with Jesus as He Walks on Water

• 7 month old
• 2.5 year old twins
• 2.5 year old friend
• Mama

How We Played with Jesus as He Walks on Water

Storytelling

I started by reading the story using lots of intonation and feeling. You must tell the story with enthusiasm and conviction if you want your kids to get sucked into the Word.

Also, feel free to adjust the story as needed for your kids. Mark, the writer of this Gospel, using the word “immediately” quite often. In this story it has been rewritten as “Later that day.” Since we did not read the previous story first, “Later that day” doesn’t make since. So, I just said, “One day…”

I also prefer calling the disciples Jesus’ friends rather than helpers, as this book does. I am profoundly impacted by John 15:15 where Jesus calls us friends, and want to pass on that intimate personal relationship with Jesus to my girls.

There’s a Storm Brewing

The story tells us that during the night, a strong wind came. Wind is kind of a difficult and abstract concept. We can’t see wind, only the effects of the wind. It has been a bit windy here the last few days and it keeps knocking down things in our yard. So, we have talked a lot about wind recently.

We pause the reading again and decide to make some strong winds of our own. I gently blew on the kids’ faces and let them do the same to me and each other. Then, we demonstrated the winds getting stronger and stronger by blowing harder and harder. It was kind of difficult with all the laughing that was going on, but totally worth it.

This is also a good skill for 2s to practice doing without spitting. 😉

A Little Bit of Singing

When we got to the part about it being hard for the disciples to row the boat, we put down the book. It was time for a musical number! I bet you can guess what song we sang. Row, row, row your boat, full of lots of rowing arm movements.

I tried to spontaneously change the words to fit the story a little better, but it ended up mixing in the story of Jesus calming the other storm. So maybe I’ll save that rendition for that story. But, because I am sure you want to know my new lyrics, here you go:

Row, row, row your boat,
Struggling across the lake,
Don't be afraid as you go, 
For Jesus is awake.

I tried. Maybe, I should change “lake” to “sea” and try again.

Row, row, row your boat,
Struggling across the sea,
Won't be afraid as I go,
For Jesus walks with me!

That’s so much better! Next time, I guess.

Something Scary

Next in the story, the disciples see Jesus in the distance and are afraid. This version uses the word, “frightened.” It’s a great new vocabulary word for my 2s. So, I am sure to add in the comment, “that means, scared.” Here we pause to play with some social-emotional skills.

I ask the girls to show me what scared looks like. I make some silly scared faces back at them, too.

It’s a… Ghost!

My twins don’t really have any frame of reference for what a ghost is, so for this part of the story, I told it as if it was scary and added in some sound effects. Ooohs and such. Keeping it simple, yet fun!

It’s not a…Ghost!

Yay! It’s the hero there to save the day! It wasn’t a ghost. I enthusiastically proclaim, “It was Jesus!” and the girls start shouting, cheering, and clapping. They can tell this is the good stuff, when Jesus shows up. If they can’t tell, my storytelling gives it away and they join in emphatically.

Jesus’ Words to His Friends

One of the things I want my girls to learn is that they don’t have to be afraid. So, after I read what Jesus says to His friends, we all repeat it a couple of times. “Can you say that, ‘Don’t be afraid.’?” At 2, we are also still learning to talk well, and this activity helps with that, too.

Amen!

We finish the story and say a short prayer together thanking God for Jesus always helping His friends and being there so that we don’t have to be afraid. Amen! My Poppy twin often says amen when she finishes any book, so she said “Amen!” as we closed the book, too.

Gross Motor Play

We read through the story another time or two or three, before using the pillows that had been thrown on the floor earlier in the morning to “walk on water.” We tried walking from one pillow to the next and they jumped off the last pillow into the water!

These pillows are big and the girls really have to use their balance as they walk and step from one to the other.

Find the Story

Obviously at 2 my twins can’t read, but they did use the picture to play one more game with the story. They came up with this game themselves and took turns playing over and over. They called it, “Where’s Santa?”

Ok, so we have a little theological situation with our twins in which they refer to Jesus as Santa sometimes. Santa was the first character in a book that they recognized and called out repeatedly, so somehow, that name stuck to Jesus in books, too. I think the beard might also have something to do with it. We do have lots of time to correct it, however, they do mostly refer to Santa as “Ho, Ho.”

To play, “Where’s Santa (Jesus)?” they closed the Bible, called out “Where’s Santa?” and then opened the Bible to look for the picture of Jesus walking on water. Kinda like picture sword drills. They loved it! I loved that they were having fun opening the Bible.

Final Thoughts on Playing with Jesus as He Walks on Water

This is a great story for kids because they can learn that just because you are friends with Jesus there are still storms, that Jesus can do things that we can’t do, and that Jesus is with us, we don’t have to be afraid.

I had so much playing with my girls while reading this story. I’d love to hear ways you and your kids have played with this story in the comments below.

Are you interested in learning more about playful and developmentally appropriate discipleship that makes an eternal impact on your kids? I’d love to come alongside you with parent coaching. Book a free consult below.

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