SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON The New Testament Church

Transcription

1 Elementary Lesson Year Two, Quarter Four, Lesson Nine SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON The New Testament Church AIM: to use the story of the Philippian Jailer to teach my students the difference between those who go to heaven and those who go to hell. OBJECTS TO HAVE: A camera, to take your class s picture Paul and Silas in jail The jailer in distress The jailer and his family Your Bible POINT OF CONTACT: Do you like to have your picture taken? Good! Because today we are going to take a picture of our class. Let me get my camera out. (Pretend you are taking a picture, without turning the camera on.) Wait that didn t work. What s wrong with this camera? Oh, I see the camera isn t on. That s the reason why this camera wouldn t take the picture. So let me turn the camera on. (Take picture) There. Now this week I ll take this picture to the store, and next week I ll have a nice picture for you. At first the camera didn t work, and then it did. There is a reason why the camera did not work. That reason is that in order for a camera to work it has to be turned on. If the camera is not on, then it won t take your picture like it s supposed to. Anytime you have anything that doesn t do what it is supposed to, there is always a reason. Maybe the reason is that the batteries are dead. Or maybe the thing is not plugged in. Maybe a wire came loose, or maybe one of the parts is worn out. But there is always a reason why something doesn t do what it was made to do. Today we are going to talk about a very, very important subject. We are going to talk about heaven and hell. The Bible says that there really is a heaven and there really is a hell. The Bible says that some people will go to heaven, and some people will go to hell. But the Bible also says that God does not want anybody to go to hell. 2 Peter 3:9. Now wait if God doesn t want anybody to go to hell, why do some people go to hell? There is a reason. And today we are going to find out what that reason is. STORY: Last week I told you the story of Paul s first missionary journey. After Paul returned from that journey, having seen many people saved and many new churches started, he quickly left to go on a second journey. This time he took with him a new partner. Paul s new partner s name was Silas. Paul and Silas visited some of the churches that he had started on his first journey. He also went to some brand new cities, to win new people and to start new churches. One of the cities that Paul visited on his second journey was called Philippi. In Philippi Paul and Silas had the opportunity to win souls for many days. One of the women that Paul and Silas led to Christ was a fortuneteller. In those days they called them soothsayers. Nowadays they call them psychics. These are people who are used of the devil to distract people from the Gospel of Jesus Christ, by making people think that they can tell the future. (Don t ever play around with psychics, fortunetellers, or anything like that. They are just out to make money, and whether they realize it or not they are doing the work of Satan.) When this woman who was a fortuneteller got saved, she gave up her fortune telling. When she got saved and gave up fortune telling, it made some of the men of that city very mad, because they had been making a lot of money from this woman s fortune telling. These men who got mad decided that they had to find a way to stop Paul and Silas from preaching. So these men brought Paul and Silas to the authorities, and made up a bunch of lies about them. Because of the lies of these men, Paul and Silas were arrested and severely beaten for preaching the Gospel; then they were thrown into jail. The authorities told the jailer: You make sure that these men do not get away! If they get away, you will die! The jailer thought, I m going to do whatever I have to do to make sure that these men do not get away. So he put them into the most secure part of the prison, and he locked up their hands and feet like this. These are called stocks. Paul and Silas stayed in the stocks in that jail all night long. Then at midnight Paul and Silas began to pray. Dear Jesus, thank you for being our Saviour. Thank you for using us to see people saved today. We sure would like to

2 win some more people to you. If you ll let us out of here we ll tell even more people about you. But we want your will to be done. Amen. When they were finished praying, Paul and Silas began to sing. They sang their favorite songs of praise to God. They sang songs like, Everything s Alright In My Father s House, and, I ve Got The Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy Down In My Heart. Everyone in the jail heard them singing. I m sure that some people liked the singing and I m sure some people didn t. As they were singing, suddenly the ground began to shake. The walls began to shake, too, and the jail began to cave in. It was an earthquake! That mighty earthquake shook the whole jail. It opened all of the doors, and loosed all of the prisoners. When the earthquake was over there was nothing keeping the prisoners from running away. The earthquake woke up the jailer. The jailer s first thought was, Oh no! Those two guys can t get away, or I ll die! He left his house and ran over to the jail. When he got there he saw that all of the walls were broken down. It was pitch black, and he couldn t see inside, but he just knew that all of the prisoners were gone, including Paul and Silas, the two men he had been told to guard with his life. The jailer knew that he would be put to death for letting Paul and Silas go. He pulled out his sword, and was about to kill himself, when Paul called out to him, Wait! Don t kill yourself! We re all in here! The jailer couldn t believe his ears. Why hadn t these men run away? The jailer got a light, and went in to see if all of the men were still there. Sure enough, there they were. He couldn t believe it! Then the jailer thought, Why didn t these men run away? How could men who had the chance to be free stay and wait for me to come and lock them back up again? These men really ARE men of God! Maybe they can tell me how to go to heaven. So the jailer fell down before Paul and Silas and he cried out, What must I do to be saved? Saved? Saved from what? Saved from hell! You hear us use that word saved all the time. The Bible uses that word saved over and over again. It means saved from going to hell for your sins. I told you a moment ago that God doesn t want anybody to go to hell. But I also told you that the Bible tells us that many people will go to hell. So why do some people go to heaven, and some people go to hell? That is exactly what the jailer was asking when he said, What must I do to be saved? He was saying, I know that some people go to heaven, and some people go to hell. What do I have to do to go to heaven, and not to hell? I want to know the answer to that question, don t you? I want to know what God says I have to do to go to heaven, and be saved from hell. What did God s men, Paul and Silas, tell this jailer? Did they tell him, Go to church, and you will be saved? No. Did they tell him, Pay money to the church, and you will be saved? No. Did they tell him, Change your ways. Start doing good works to make up for your sins, and you will be saved? No. Did they tell him, Pray this prayer to Mary 100 times, and you will be saved? No. Did they say, Get baptized, and you will be saved? No, they did not. Then what DID they say to do in order to go to heaven and not to hell? The next verse tells us. And they said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. In fact, they said that if his wife and children believed on Jesus, they would be saved, too. So getting saved is not just for grown-ups, it s for everybody who believes on Jesus! The jailer and his family did get saved that night. Paul explained to them from the Bible that they are sinners in God s sight, and that they must pay a penalty for their sins, but that Jesus Christ, God s Son, died on the cross to pay that penalty FOR them, and He rose from the dead, conquering death. Paul said that the choice is left to every one of us to believe on Jesus or to reject Jesus. The jailer and all of his family decided to believe on Jesus. They prayed right there, and then Paul took them to the river and baptized them all. They were on their way to heaven, because they believed on the Lord Jesus Christ! So what is the reason that some people go to heaven, and some people go to hell when they die? It s that some people choose to believe on Jesus, and some people choose not to believe on Jesus. God requires everybody to make the choice for himself. There must come a time in your life when you say, Today, I choose to believe on Jesus, because He died on the cross to pay for my sins. If you do, God says that you will go to heaven when you die. If you do not, God says that you will go to hell when you die. That is the difference. If you have never made the decision to believe on Jesus, why don t you do it today? Let s learn our memory verse. Acts 16:31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

3 Teen and Adult Lesson Year Two, Quarter Four, Lesson Nine SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON The New Testament Church Teacher, choose one of the following truths to expand upon in teaching this portion of Scripture to your teen/adult class. Teach and apply the truth that you choose using statements and illustrations that are most helpful and applicable to your students. I. IT MAY BE NECESSARY TO SUFFER PERSECUTION AND HARDSHIP IN ORDER TO WIN ONE PERSON TO CHRIST. 16: Paul and Silas had to endure arrest, false accusation, an angry mob, a painful beating and imprisonment, just to have the opportunity to win the jailer and his family to Christ. There will often be a price to pay to see God do a special work of grace in someone s life. Though it will not usually be as severe as what Paul and Silas endured, it may include embarrassment, ridicule, or loss of some temporal opportunity. We must be willing to pay that price for one lost soul. II. GOD IS PRESENT WHEN HIS PEOPLE SING PRAISES TO HIM. Psalm 22:3 says that God inhabits the praise of His people. That means that praise is where God lives. Even in a dark prison at midnight, when Paul and Silas sang praises to God, God showed up in power. III. PRAY FOR YOUR ENEMIES TO BE SAVED. Acts 16:22-23 indicates that the jailer was pretty rough and antagonistic with Paul and Silas. Notice that his response was equal to the charge of the angry authorities. Notice that he did not just place them in the inner prison; he thrust them, or threw them in there. And he put them in the most miserable position they could be in, he put them in stocks. Though the Bible does not say that Paul and Silas were specifically praying for the jailer to be saved when they prayed at midnight, it would not be surprising to learn that that was the case. The events that followed the earthquake, including the salvation and baptism of the jailer s entire family, and the time of worship in the jailer s home, certainly appear to be in answer to prayer. IV. GOD KNOWS HOW TO BRING CONVICTION TO ANY PERSON S HEART. 16: This man who was so rough with Paul and Silas earlier was now on his knees trembling before them, asking, What must I do to be saved? This is nothing less that Holy Spirit conviction. This man was ready to receive Christ. God knows exactly how to bring every person to the place of conviction. V. GOD S PLAN OF SALVATION IS ALWAYS SIMPLE. The simple question, What must I do to be saved? was answered with the simple statement, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Getting saved is not always EASY; there may be some obstacles that make it very hard for a person to make the choice. It is, however, always SIMPLE. It is never complicated. For those who would split hairs over precisely what a person must do to be saved, God makes it very clear in giving us this story.

4 The Philippian Jailer Starting A Church I. ACTS 16:16-24 The Crime The woman is delivered Paul and Silas are accused Paul and Silas are imprisoned II. ACTS 16:25-28 The Deliverance 25 Paul and Silas pray and praise God 26 The earthquake releases the prisoners 27 The jailer prepares for suicide 28 Paul assures the jailer III. ACTS 16:29-34 The Conversion The jailer s question The jailer s salvation 34 The Jailer s hospitality IV. ACTS 16:35-40 The Release Their private release 37 Paul s strong objection Their public release 40 Paul and Silas encouraging departure Adult Bible Class

5 Paul and Silas praised God though they were in prison in the city of Philippi. Because they did, God set them free, and the jailer and his family got saved. And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. Acts 16:31

6 From today s Bible lesson, write next to each true statement below, and FALSE next to each false statement. 1. After Paul finished his first missionary journey, he soon began a second missionary journey. 2. On Paul s second missionary journey he took the same partner that he had on his first journey. 3. Paul s partner on his second missionary journey was named Silas. 4. One of the cities Paul and Silas went to on their journey was a city named Philippi. 5. In Philippi Paul and Silas won to Christ a woman who was a soothsayer. 6. When the soothsayer s life was completely changed, her employers were very happy for her. 7. When angry men told lies about them, Paul and Silas were beaten and thrown into jail. 8. At midnight in the jail, Paul and Silas started crying and complaining. 9. As Paul and Silas sang praises to God, there was an earthquake so powerful that it opened the prison doors. 10. The jailer took Paul and Silas to his house, and he and his family were saved and baptized. And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. ACTS 16:31

7 The answers to this week s puzzle 1. After Paul finished his first missionary journey, he soon began a second missionary journey. FALSE 2. On Paul s second missionary journey he took the same partner that he had on his first journey. FALSE FALSE 3. Paul s partner on his second missionary journey was named Silas. 4. One of the cities Paul and Silas went to on their journey was a city named Philippi. 5. In Philippi Paul and Silas won to Christ a woman who was a soothsayer. 6. When the soothsayer s life was completely changed, her employers were very happy for her. 7. When angry men told lies about them, Paul and Silas were beaten and thrown into jail. 8. At midnight in the jail, Paul and Silas started crying and complaining. 9. As Paul and Silas sang praises to God, there was an earthquake so powerful that it opened the prison doors. 10. The jailer took Paul and Silas to his house, and he and his family were saved and baptized.