Faith can be a challenging concept to understand, but it’s important to discuss with young children. Students should be taught that solid faith does not rely on our own strength, but on what we put our faith in—a God who is powerful and capable of anything. This message uses a simple “blind bag” illustration to point out how faith involves belief without sight. The story element features acts of healing that Jesus did, reminding us that He is capable of amazing things.
Law/Gospel Theme: Stories of healing and “rewarded” faith are exciting and wonderful to read about. We know that Jesus can and will do anything. However, it is also important to note for children that God does not always provide physical healing in this lifetime. Prayers might be answered with “no” or “wait”, despite hope and faith. Yet we know that Jesus heals our hearts by providing redemption from sin. No matter what happens this side of Heaven, we can be confident that He has saved us and that we will one day be with Him forever.
Optional Materials: Paper bags, small objects, (optional) medicine or band-aids.
Bible Passage: Mark 5:21-43
More Teaching Ideas:
- Watch the video demonstration of this lesson and related Bible craft ideas
- Compare our full Sunday School Lesson on Mark 5:21-43
- Compare another Bible Lesson on Jesus raising Jairus’ Daughter
- Find even more ideas from Mission Bible Class on Mark 5:21-43
Message Note: As with most messages, the details of how you choose to communicate this are adaptable and should cater to timing as well as to your audience and student needs. Use your judgment and ideas to best serve students.
Children’s Sermon Lesson (Mark 5:21-43) Jesus Raises Jairus’ Daughter
Greet the children, and begin with a “touching” activity…
Hello, children of God! I have a challenge for you today…I have some items here in these bags, and I want to see if you can identify what they are. Do you think you can do that? Let me have a volunteer. (Select volunteer.) Okay, I want you to tell me what’s in this bag, BUT you can’t look inside it. You can feel it with your hand, but no peeking in the bag. Okay? Give it a try, put your hand in… (Allow the volunteer to place their hand in and try to guess what’s in the bag. Then let them know if they are correct or not, and show the group what was inside the bag.) Okay, nice work! Let’s try one or two more… Repeat the guessing game process with a couple of other volunteers.
Now, it might have been hard to think of what was in those bags, based only on touching the items. It can be hard to know what something is without first seeing it, right? Well, that’s what we are talking about today. We are talking about faith. Do you know what faith means? It has to do with believing things before you see them. After you touched and guessed what was in the bags, you got to see the items. But it kind of took faith to believe what they might be without seeing them. The Bible says that faith is the assurance of things hoped for, and believing what we don’t see. Sometimes you might eventually see…and sometimes not!
We are talking about faith today because Jesus talked about faith. Actually, our Gospel lesson has to do with faith and with touching things. Jesus did a lot of amazing miracles while He was on Earth, and many of them had to do with healing people. There was one woman in the story today who believed that Jesus could heal her, even though she didn’t know Him yet. She looked for Jesus and reached out to touch Him, trusting that He could help her. And it worked! Jesus knew that she had amazing faith to believe that He could heal her.
Another story within this Gospel deals with a man who wanted Jesus to help his daughter, who was sick. The man was a ruler in the synagogue (who usually were against Jesus), but He knew that Jesus could help him. By the time Jesus arrived at this man’s house, his daughter had died and people were already crying for her. But nothing is too hard for God! Jesus went to this girl and said “oh, she’s only sleeping. Get up, little girl!” and she got up and was alive again! All it took was a word from Jesus.
You know, these are some amazing stories, and they remind us of the power of Jesus Christ. But it’s important to recognize something else as well: sometimes we have to trust in God and have faith, even when we don’t understand what He is doing, and even when He doesn’t give us what we want in our time frame. We might desire a physical healing, and not get it right away. Maybe we don’t get it at all. God is still in control. Jesus has already given us a greater healing than we can imagine, because He has healed our hearts. He cleanses us from sin and grants new life in Him! We can have faith in His promises, believing without seeing because we know the remarkable things He does. Jesus might not heal in this life, but we are guaranteed a new life with Him one day in the resurrection.
So even though it can be difficult, and even though we don’t always get immediate healing like the people in today’s stories, we have faith that Jesus is still with us, and He will provide for us day by day!
Let’s say a prayer to thank God for being faithful, and ask Him to help us trust in His power for healing in our lives:
Children’s Prayer Moment
(Have kids repeat each line)
Dear God,
Thank you for your power
You keep your promises
And you can heal anything
Help me to trust in you for all things
Even when it’s really hard
Thank you for your love
I love you, God!
In Jesus name, Amen!
Bible Verses/story to Reference:
And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about him, and he was beside the sea. 22 Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet 23 and implored him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.” 24 And he went with him.
And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him. 25 And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, 26 and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. 27 She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. 28 For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” 29 And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. 30 And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” 31 And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’” 32 And he looked around to see who had done it. 33 But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. 34 And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”
35 While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler’s house some who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” 36 But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” 37 And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John the brother of James. 38 They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. 39 And when he had entered, he said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping.” 40 And they laughed at him. But he put them all outside and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was. 41 Taking her by the hand he said to her, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” 42 And immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement. 43 And he strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.-Mark 5:21-43