Key Concept. We can tell others [cup hands around mouth] about Jesus [point up] love [hug self].

Transcription

1 In the Beginning... Jumping into God s Story UNIT 4: LESSON 9: Saul s Conversion Bible Summary Key Concept We can tell others about Jesus love. Acts 9, 13:49, 14:21 Saul received permission to persecute men and women who followed Jesus. On his way to Damascus, a bright light appeared in the sky and blinded him. He heard Jesus voice say, Saul, why are you persecuting me? Get up and go to the city of Damascus. His friends led him to the city. There, Jesus told a man named Ananias to talk to Saul about Jesus. When Ananias touched Saul s eyes, Saul could see again and chose to love and follow Jesus. He changed his name to Paul and told others about Jesus for the rest of his life. Bible Verse... Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation... Mark 16:15 Objectives KNOW WHAT: Children will hear the story of Saul s conversion when he was blinded by a light and heard the voice of Jesus on the road to Damascus. SO WHAT: Children will learn Jesus wants us to tell others about Him so they can love and follow Him. NOW WHAT: Children will participate in an activity identifying ways they can tell others about following Jesus. Spiritual Formation Telling Others and Following Jesus People Needed Teacher, Helper KEY CONCEPT MOTIONS: We can tell others [cup hands around mouth] about Jesus [point up] love [hug self]. Supplies (Labeled items can be found in the Lesson 9 Visual folder on the Spring Quarter CDs.) CD player Music for singing Sound effects CD #2 The Beginner s Bible Flashlight Buccaneer Bunny puppet (see Unit Overview) Saul puppet (any puppet with a robe or tunic) 3 Large flags (or pillowcases) Application pictures (Lesson 9 LG 1 Lesson 9 LG 3) Crayons For each child: Tell Others activity sheet (Lesson 9 SG 4) Key Concept sticker (Lesson 9 SG 5) Take-home coloring sheet (Lesson 9 SG 6, Lesson 9 SG 7) Snack 1 Spring Quarter 2008 Willow Creek Community Church / Sunday School Teacher s Guidebook / Lesson 9

2 Notes: In Advance Recruit a Helper to operate the music and sound effects CDs and to help you with crowd control. Determine which songs you will use and be prepared to lead the children in singing. Song suggestions: Upbeat song for transition from Activity Stations to the Creative Bible Teaching Jesus Is the Best, Oh Yes (Touch the Sky CD) Gather the supplies listed above and arrange your classroom as follows: Set up your Treasure Chest on a fabric-covered card table for props and find a puppet to serve as Buccaneer Bunny, as per the Unit Overview. Create three flags for the application game by printing the three application pictures and attaching each one to a flag (or pillow case). Hide them in the Treasure Chest. During the game, pull out the flags and hold them up one at a time for the kids to see. Print the Tell Others activity sheet and make one copy per child. Make an additional copy for yourself and cut apart the six pictures to show to the kids during the activity. Prepare the materials that will be given to each child. To prepare the stickers, print or copy the pages onto Avery label sheets #5294. Consider cutting the stickers apart for easier distribution. Print the lesson and practice the teaching time. Teacher s Prep READ ACTS 9, 13:49, and 14:21. April-Sky is a young Navajo Indian girl living in New Mexico. A friend told her about Jesus. The more April-Sky learned about Jesus, the more she fell in love with Him and wanted to live her life for Him. She asked Jesus to come into her life and told many others about the wonderful love of Christ. She gave up many of her Navajo Indian rituals, like dancing to the sun, moon, or wind, because she knows where hope and love really come from Jesus. For her, there is no turning back. What does it mean for you to follow Jesus? Are you willing to make sacrifices and give up things, relationships, or power for your faith? Ask God for courage to be bold in sharing what you believe, no matter the cost. Activity Stations (20 MINUTES) Choose which Activity Stations you will use from the list included in the Activity Stations folder. 2 Spring Quarter 2008 Willow Creek Community Church / Sunday School Teacher s Guidebook / Lesson 9

3 Creative Bible Teaching (15 MINUTES) [Play upbeat music as children transition to the teaching area. Encourage kids to clap their hands along with you. Clap in a variety of styles, like overhead, on your knees, on your belly, etc.] Ahoy, mateys, and welcome to Treasure Island! My name is, and I m so happy to see you here! As you can see, Treasure Island is... an island. But it s not just any island. It s a pretend pirate island! And we all get to be pretend pirates. We ll look for buried treasure, play pirate games, sing some sea chanteys [aside] those are songs and hear great stories from the Bible! Note to Teacher: If your Helper is comfortable with memorizing lines (or reading them from behind the table/puppet stage), your Helper can operate the Buccaneer Bunny puppet. Just make sure to practice in advance. Now, to be good pirates, we have to follow the pirate code. The first part of the code says to... [Pull out Buccaneer Bunny puppet from behind treasure chest and put it on. Use the Treasure Chest and table as a puppet stage, if you wish. Use a gravelly pirate voice for Buccaneer Bunny s lines. Have fun with the character.] Avast there! Who be trespassing on me island? [Surprised.] Oh! I didn t know anyone was here! Who are you? The name s Buccaneer Bunny, and I ve been living on this island ever since me ship ran aground. So this is your home? Aye. [Misunderstand.] You have something in your eye? No, no, no! Don t you know how to talk like a pirate? Aye means yes! Oh! So you re a pirate bunny who lives on Treasure Island. Aye! Now what are you doing here? 3 Spring Quarter 2008 Willow Creek Community Church / Sunday School Teacher s Guidebook / Lesson 9

4 Well, we re all pretending to be pirates today! And I was just going to teach my friends here the pirate code. Arrr, good on ye, mate. Ye can t be proper pirates if ye don t know the code. Since you re a pirate, would you like to teach our friends the code, Buccaneer Bunny? Aye, aye, cap n! All right, ye land lubbers. The first part of the pirate code says t be kind. That means sit flat on yer bottoms and listen when the cap n speaks. If all you pirates can follow the code by being kind, say, Aye, aye, sir! [Kids respond.] Yar! The second part of the pirate code says t be safe. All pirates like to have fun and adventures, but ye need t keep yer hands to yerselves. If all you pirates can follow the code by being safe, say, Aye, aye, sir! [Kids respond.] Arrr, that be music to me ears. Thanks, Buccaneer Bunny! Now we re all pretend pirates, and pirates love to hear stories. So I think we should hear a story about Jesus from the Bible. Shiver me timbers. I ve heard of Jesus! And the Bible is one o me favorite books! I keep it right over there in me Treasure Chest, so s I know where tis when I want t read it! Could we borrow your Bible to tell today s story? Of course ye may! Ye ll find some costumes and other things for the story in me Treasure Chest. [Set Buccaneer Bunny behind the Treasure Chest and pull Bible and Saul puppet out of the chest. Put on the Saul puppet. ] Perfect! This puppet can be Saul. Our story is called A Man Named Saul. [Check Bible.] I ll read the story. Let s get ready to hear the Bible story by putting on our pirate listening ears. Click them on, friends. Click! Click! [Tug on each earlobe.] Let s not forget to put on our pirate eyes so we can watch the Bible story. [Hold hands to eyes, one at a time, shaping glasses.] Blub, blub, blub. Blub, blub, blub. [Open Bible.] This Bible story begins with a man named Saul. [Hold up Saul puppet. Use a grouchy voice for Saul.] [Mean.] My name is Saul. I m not a very nice man. I don t like anyone who loves Jesus. Whenever I meet someone who loves Jesus, I put them in jail! I ll search near [puppet looks to the left], and I ll search far. [Puppet looks to the right.] I ll find people who love Jesus no matter where they are. [Puppet looks in all directions. Put Saul down at your side.] 4 Spring Quarter 2008 Willow Creek Community Church / Sunday School Teacher s Guidebook / Lesson 9

5 No matter where Saul went, he was mean to anyone who loved Jesus! One day, Saul went to the city of Damascus. [Move Saul as if he s walking.] [Sing song.] I m walking to Damascus, Damascus, Damascus. I m walking to Damascus, I m walking there today. [Helper shines the powerful flashlight directly at the Saul puppet.] Ah! [Puppet falls down.] That light! It s so bright. The light was so bright Saul couldn t see! Then Saul heard someone say: [SFX 25: Jesus voiceover: Saul, Saul, why are you mean to the people who love Me?] What? Who are you? It was Jesus! Jesus said to Saul: [SFX 26: Jesus voiceover: Go into the city of Damascus. When you get there, you ll know what to do.] [Helper turns off flashlight.] [Saul puppet stands.] But, wait! How will I know what to do? I can t see. I m blind! That light it blinded me! [Make puppet stumble around, as if it can t see.] The Bible says since Saul couldn t see, one of his friends had to help him walk to the city of Damascus. [Walk puppet across the table. Then put the puppet behind your back.] There was a good man who lived in the city of Damascus named Ananias. The Bible says Jesus also spoke to Ananias and told him to go find a man named Saul. Ananias was scared. He knew Saul was putting people who loved Jesus in jail. But Ananias obeyed Jesus and went to find Saul. [Hold up Saul puppet again.] Ananias found Saul. He told Saul that Jesus loved him, and Jesus sent Ananias to make Saul see again. [Place hand over the Saul puppet s eyes.] [Puppet jumps up and down for joy.] I can see, I can see! It s a miracle. Jesus made me see! I ll do anything for Jesus! I love Jesus. And I love people who follow Jesus! I won t be mean to people who love Jesus anymore. And guess what! Jesus gave me a new name. My new name will be Paul. Jesus wants me to tell others about Him, and that s what I m going to do! 5 Spring Quarter 2008 Willow Creek Community Church / Sunday School Teacher s Guidebook / Lesson 9

6 Paul went on three different trips to far away places. He told everyone He saw about Jesus. [Puppet jumps up and down.] I ve got to tell you about my friend, Jesus. Jesus loves you! [Puppet to the right.] I ve got to tell you about my friend, Jesus. Jesus loves you! [Puppet runs to the left.] I ve got to tell you about my friend, Jesus. Jesus loves you! No matter where I go, no matter who I see, I ll tell them about Jesus and what He did for me! [Take off puppet and puts it back into the Treasure Chest.] What a great story. What did Paul do at the end? [Kids respond, Told others about Jesus! ] Paul told everyone about Jesus. Jesus wants us to tell everyone about His love, too! Today we re learning that we can tell others [cup hands around mouth] about Jesus [point up] love [hug self]. Let s say that together. Ready? We can tell others [cup hands around mouth] about Jesus [point up] love [hug self]. Let s have the girls say what we learned. Ready? We can tell others [cup hands around mouth] about Jesus [point up] love [hug self]. Now the boys. We can tell others [cup hands around mouth] about Jesus [point up] love [hug self]. Let s all say it. We can tell others [cup hands around mouth] about Jesus [point up] love [hug self]. Good job, everyone! Let s stand up and sing. MUSIC Song suggestion: Jesus Is the Best, Oh Yes [Invite kids to sit on the count of three.] Life Application Activity (10 MINUTES) Let s say what we learned today on the count of three. One, two, three: we can tell others [cup hands around mouth] about Jesus [point up] love [hug self]. [SFX 27: Fog horn.] That sound means it s time to play a game! Let s see if Buccaneer Bunny left us anything else in the Treasure Chest. [Open chest and pull out flags.] It s flags! They have pictures on them. These pictures will help us learn ways we can tell others about Jesus. Pirates, you ll need your pretend telescopes to help with this game. [Curl fingers to thumb and place one hand in front of the other to make a telescope.] Okay, everyone. 6 Spring Quarter 2008 Willow Creek Community Church / Sunday School Teacher s Guidebook / Lesson 9

7 We have to use our telescopes to see the pictures on these flags. Put your telescope right up to your eyes. Telescopes up! [Hold telescope up to one eye.] [SFX 29: Ascending xylophone scale.] [Hold up flag with boy on the phone picture.] What do you see? [Kids respond.] Telescopes down! What s one way we can tell our friends about Jesus love? [Kids respond, Calling them on the phone! ] Let s pretend to pick up the phone right now. [Pick up pretend handset.] Let s dial our friend s telephone number. [Pretend to push buttons.] Now, when our friend answers the phone, let s tell them Jesus loves you. Ready, listen: Lesson 9 LG 1 [SFX 30: Ring, ring... hello?] Hi! Our friends have something to tell you [Motion to kids.] KIDS: Jesus loves you! Great job! Let s hang up the phone. Paul told others about Jesus love, and we can, too! All right, pirates, telescopes up to spy the next picture! [SFX 31: Ascending xylophone scale.] [Hold up flag with family picture.] Lesson 9 LG 2 What do you see? [Kids respond.] It s a picture of a family. Telescopes down! If you can tell your family about Jesus love, stand up, turn around, and sit back down! Ready? [Do it with the kids.] You can tell your family about Jesus love. You can tell them [Motion to kids.] KIDS: Jesus loves you! Telescopes up! Be looking for the picture on the next flag. [SFX 32: Ascending xylophone scale.] Lesson 9 LG 3 [Hold up flag with playground picture.] What do you see? [Kids respond.] This flag has a picture of kids playing on the playground. Where are some other places you can tell your friends about Jesus love? [Kids respond.] 7 Spring Quarter 2008 Willow Creek Community Church / Sunday School Teacher s Guidebook / Lesson 9

8 That s right! You can tell your friends about Jesus love at the park, the store, the playland, a friend s house. Anywhere! If you can tell your friends about Jesus love when you re hanging out, put your telescopes down, raise your hands and wiggle your fingers. You can tell your friends [Motion to kids.] KIDS: Jesus loves you! Well, pirates, you did a great job playing that game. Let s do the pirate victory dance! [SFX 33: Victory dance.] Jesus wants us to tell others about His love. Paul told others in our Bible story, and we can, too. There s a great song we can sing to remind us of how much Jesus loves everyone. Let s sing Jesus Loves Me. [Sing Jesus Loves Me with the kids.] How did Saul feel about Jesus at the beginning of the Bible story? [Didn t like Him.] Saul was mean to everyone who did like Jesus. What happened to Saul when he was on his way to the city of Damascus? [Bright light blinded him, and Jesus talked to him.] What happened when Saul met Ananias in Damascus? [Saul could see again.] How did Saul feel about Jesus after he could see? [Saul loved Jesus and told everyone about Him.] Today we learned we can tell others [cup hands around mouth] about Jesus [point up] love [hug self]. Let s say that together. We can tell others [cup hands around mouth] about Jesus [point up] love [hug self]. Let s play another game to discover ways we can tell others about Jesus. [Teacher and Helper pass out a Tell Others activity sheet and one crayon to each child.] I will show you a picture. Then you will use your pretend telescopes to find the same picture on your paper and color it. When we re done coloring, we will answer a question about the picture. Lesson 9 SG 4 [Show one of the cut-apart pictures at a time, and ask the corresponding question after the kids have located and colored the picture. Repeat until all pictures have been colored.] 1. CHILDREN PLAYING. We can tell the friends we play with about Jesus. Who are some friends you can tell about Jesus? 2. BIBLE. Reading our Bibles helps us learn and tell others about Jesus. What is your favorite Bible story about Jesus? 3. KIDS IN CHURCH. We can invite our friends to church so they can learn about Jesus. How can you invite your friends to church? 8 Spring Quarter 2008 Willow Creek Community Church / Sunday School Teacher s Guidebook / Lesson 9

9 4. SCARED CHILD. We can tell people who feel afraid about Jesus. What can you say to someone who feels afraid? 5. SAD CHILD. We can tell others who are sad about the love of Jesus. What can you say to someone who feels sad? 6. SICK CHILD. We can tell people who feel sick about Jesus love. What can you say to someone who feels sick? Good job, everyone. What did we learn today? We can tell others [cup hands around mouth] about Jesus [point up] love [hug self]. Let s pray to God and ask Him to help us tell others about Jesus. [Lead the children in the following finger play. Then have the children repeat after you as you pray.] Open them. [Open hands.] Close them. [Close hands.] Open them. [Open hands.] Close them. [Close hands.] Give a little clap. [Clap hands.] Open them. [Open hands.] Close them. [Close hands.] Open them. [Open hands.] Close them. [Close hands.] Fold them in your lap. [Fold hands in lap.] We can tell others about Jesus love. Lesson 9 SG 5 We can tell others about Jesus love. Dear God, Thank You for our Bible story. We want to tell others about You. Thank You for our snack. In Jesus Name, Amen. Snack and Coloring Activity (15 MINUTES) Use this time to continue building community and to learn more about your kids and their concerns. Listen closely so you are better equipped to pray for and reach out to each child. GIVE each child a snack to eat. GIVE each child a Key Concept sticker to put on their shirt while they are eating their snack. GIVE each child a coloring sheet to color while they are waiting to be picked up. ASK each child a question or two about themselves: Who are you going to tell about Jesus this week? How are you going to tell your friends about Jesus? Saul s Conversion (Acts 9, 13:49, 14:21) Lesson 9 SG 6 9 Spring Quarter 2008 Willow Creek Community Church / Sunday School Teacher s Guidebook / Lesson 9