Detour to Jail. Reflect on the Word. Think About It BIBLE STORY BIBLE TRUTH VERSE-A-MONTH CLUB

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1 Detour to Jail BIBLE STORY Paul Shares the Good News in Jail Acts 16:16-34 BIBLE TRUTH God is with His people when they suffer for sharing the Good News. This lesson will help middle elementary children... Know that missionaries sometimes face opposition as they share the Good News Realize that in difficult situations God helps His people witness through their actions Ask for God s help to witness bravely Pray for missionaries in world areas where persecution is strong VERSE-A-MONTH CLUB Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Matthew 28:19 2 Week 2 of 5 Reflect on the Word Grace that is greater than.... Many of us recognize these words from the hymn phrase Grace that is greater than all our sin. * Today s scripture deals with that kind of grace. It also pictures another way in which grace can be greater than. Read Acts 16: Following Lydia s conversion, Paul and his companions remained in Philippi for several weeks and met regularly with the riverside prayer group. But every day, they faced the irritation of hearing a fortunetelling slave girl announce to one and all that they were servants of the Most High God who were telling people how to be saved. All that she said was true. However, just as Jesus did not want demons testifying to His true nature, Paul didn t appreciate advertising from someone who obviously had an evil spirit. (Luke actually named it a python spirit.) Finally Paul had had enough, and he cast the demon out of the girl. The result of this act of mercy was a riot, instigated by the owners of the slave girl. They did not address what Paul had really done (destroyed their source of income). Instead, the owners accused Paul and Silas of recommending customs that were not lawful for Romans to practice. This probably alluded to a law rarely enforced that forbade Roman citizens from practicing any cult that the state had not approved. The severe beating Paul and Silas received was both unfair and illegal. Paul, at least, was a Roman citizen, and the two men had not had a trial. Yet, they were thrown into the innermost cell of the prison, chained to the wall, with their feet in stocks. In this position, they must have suffered agonies. With any movement, their beaten backs would have scraped a rough stone wall. And their legs spread apart in the stocks only made things worse. Sleep was impossible. Here is when the first grace that is greater than became evident. Rather than moaning and groaning in pain, Paul and Silas harnessed this grace to pray and sing hymns to God as the other prisoners listened. We know the rest of the story. God sent an earthquake and after Paul and Silas calmed down the jailer, he begged to know how he could be saved. That night the jailer and his family received the grace that is greater than all sin. The first act of this new Christian was to care for Paul and Silas s needs. Donna L. Fillmore * Grace Greater than Our Sin, by Julia H. Johnston and Daniel B. Towner. Included in Sing to the Lord, (Kansas City: Lillenas Publishing Company, 1993), 84. Think About It As you prepare this lesson, meditate on God s grace that is greater than so many things: demon possession, suffering and misery, sin, the evil in this world greater than any difficult situation that you may be facing right now! John says,... the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world (1 John 4:4). This is the grace that you have the opportunity to share with your students this week. And through the grace that you share, you can make God s grace come alive for your class. Creation >>> The Fall >>> Abraham >>> Exodus >>> Judges >>> David >>> The Prophets >>> The Exile >>> Return >>> All Scripture quotations, unless indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version (niv ). Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Verses marked nirv are from the Holy Bible, New International Reader s Version (nirv). Copyright 1995, 1996, 1998 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Scripture marked nlt is taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation (nlt), copyright Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL All rights reserved. Scripture marked tm is taken from The Message. Copyright Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. Middle Elementary Teacher is published quarterly by WordAction Publishing Company, 2923 Troost Ave., Kansas City, MO Copyright 2011 by WordAction Publishing Company.

2 LESSON PLANNER NOTES See Hear & Say Sing Do Solve Read & Write Attention Getters Seek and Say Resources, Item 2 What Keeps You from Witnessing? Connections, p. 1 Optional Activity: Silly Sentences About Persecution Bible Explorations Bible Story Bible Story Review Optional Activity: Persecuted Paul Connections, pp. 2-3 and inside back cover; Resources, Items 1 and 3 Connections To Life Pray for Esther Connections, p. 4 Word Check Closing and Prayer Kid Zone Optional Activity: What Would Paul Say? PRE-SESSION POPPERS Use one or more of these activities to involve students who arrive early. Choose those your students would enjoy most. 1. On a large sheet of paper print the question What is persecution? Have markers available. As the children come into class, ask them to write their answers to this question. 2. If students are making Travels with Paul Journals, have interested students draw pictures to illustrate last session s Bible story. To make this more interesting, provide some new and different art materials such as watercolors, scented markers, or Twistables colored pencils. Talk with the children about their work. 3. Consider having an end-of-school celebration with this class. Talk about it with your students and let them suggest fun things they would like to eat and to do at the party. 4. On index cards print key words from last session s Bible story: Paul, vision, help, riverside, women, prayer, Lydia, etc. Put the words in a stack face down. Seat students in a circle and give the card stack to one student. He or she turns over a card and makes a sentence that reviews the Bible story using the word on the card. The rest of the group decides whether the statement is accurate or not, and then corrects it if needed. The player then gives the card stack to the person on the right. Play until all cards have been used. 5. Encourage children to share their prayer requests with you before class. Jot down notes on index cards or a prayer notebook to use later in class. 6. On your computer, go to and create a word search puzzle of words from last week s Bible story. Puzzlemaker takes you stepby-step through the process and makes a puzzle in just a few minutes. LESSON HELPS HELPING HAND Tips for teachers DIGGING DEEPER Important biblical and theological insights FAITH WORDS Foundational words of the faith You are here 400 Years of Silence >>> Birth of Christ >>> Ministry of Jesus >>> Easter >>> Early Church >>> Letters >>> Last Things

3 Attention Getters Use these activities to help focus the children s attention and prepare them to learn today s Bible Truth. Seek and Say Before class, Prepare Item 2 if you did not do so last week. Then hide the shapes in the classroom. In class, Review the memory verse introduced last week. Say, I have hidden the memory shapes around the room. Look for a shape. As soon as you find one shape return to your seat. You can only pick up one shape. Resources, Item 2, Paul s Travels Memory Shapes As soon as all the shapes are found ask the six students with the shapes to put them in order while holding them. Have students repeat the verse again. Ask, How does the first shape remind us of last week s lesson? (Paul witnessed to Lydia by a river.) Look at the second shape. What do you think it represents? (Prison or jail) TRANSITION: Say, As we read today s Bible story, listen to hear how this shape is used. Let s find out what happened to Paul today. What Keeps You from Witnessing? Hand out Connections, page 1. Say, Last week we learned that Paul witnessed for God by a river. Lydia and her family were saved and baptized. Read the conversation between the two boys on this page. Do you ever feel like this? Are you scared to witness? Do you think Connections, p. 1 Pencils Paul was ever scared? Read the directions for the rest of the page. Give students time to think about the statements and check the ones that are true for them. TRANSITION: Say, Today we will discover something that once happened to Paul when he witnessed for the Lord. MISSIONARY: A person called by God and sent by the Church to take the gospel to people of other countries or cultures. WITNESS: Someone who tells others what he or she has seen or experienced. A Christian witness tells others what God has done and what He means to him or her. PERSECUTION: Physical abuse, ridicule, or other suffering a person experiences from others because of what he or she believes. 14 Lesson 2 O ption Silly Sentences About Persecution Print the word persecution on a chalkboard or marker board. Give each student paper and pen or pencil. Say, Persecution is a word that goes with today's lesson. Some of you may know what this word means; others may not. So just for fun, I want you to write the silliest sentence you can think of using persecution. Be sure not to say anything true about persecution. Give the students a few moments to do this; then ask them to share their sentences with the class. TRANSITION: Say, We've had some fun with this word but persecution is no laughing matter. Who Chalkboard or marker board Chalk or dry erase marker Faith Word card for persecution Paper and pen or pencil for each student, opt. knows what persecution is? Let students share ideas. Then show the Faith Word for persecution and talk about the meaning. Say, Our Bible story does not mention this word but it happened in the story. Let's find out who was persecuted and how.

4 Bible Story Hand out the maps from Connections, inside back cover and pages 2-3. Read the section Where in the World is Paul? from page 2. Let students cut out the figure of Paul and Silas in stocks and glue it to their maps. Use Item 3 to demonstrate where Philippi is on the map. Assign parts to two or three sets of students and let them read aloud sections of the Bible story. Connections, pp. 2-3, and inside back cover Resources, Item 1, Travels with Paul Bulletin Board Resources, Item 3, Where In the World Is Paul? Scissors Glue Use these activities to help the children learn from the Bible story. Paul Shares the Good News in Jail Acts 16:16-34 Roving Reporter Rufus: Good evening. This is Roving Reporter Rufus, station KXYZ in Macedonia. And do I have crucial breaking news tonight. I just learned that Paul and Silas landed in jail yesterday. So I m at the jail to find out what happened. (Walk toward Paul) Hello, Paul. What are you doing here? Paul: Good morning, Rufus. News travels fast I see. Rufus: Yes, and I wonder what you have to say to the good folks who have trusted you and your message. Paul: Earlier, when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. Rufus: (rolling his eyes) Oh, yes. I know her. She earns a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. Paul: That s the one. For several days, she followed us shouting, These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved. Rufus: Man, you were getting some great free press! Paul: But that s not the kind of advertising we wanted. A demon was speaking through that girl. Finally, I d had enough. I turned around and said to the spirit, In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her! At that moment the spirit left her. Rufus: Uh, oh. I can see what s coming. Paul: When the owners of the slave girl realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Silas and me and dragged us into the marketplace to face the authorities. They brought us before the magistrates and said, These men are Jews. They are throwing our city into an uproar by recommending customs that are unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice. Rufus: So how did you answer the charges? Paul: Who could answer anything? The crowd joined in the attack against us, and the magistrates ordered us to be stripped and beaten. After we had been severely flogged, we were thrown into prison. The jailer put us in an inner cell and fastened our feet in the stocks. Rufus: Really comfortable, right? Paul: Yeah, right. Our backs were sore and bleeding. Sitting was miserable, and we couldn t lie down. Finally, we started praying and singing hymns to God.... Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody s chains came loose. The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself. Rufus: He knew that if you guys escaped he d pay with his life. Paul: I shouted, Don t harm yourself! We are all here. The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Silas and me. Then he asked, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? Rufus: How did you answer that one? Paul: I kept it short and simple. Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved you and your household. Rufus: And meanwhile, your backs are still messed up and bleeding right? Paul: Wrong! The jailer washed our wounds, and then immediately he and all his family were baptized. After that, the jailer took us into his house and served us a meal. He was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God he and his whole family. Rufus: Wow what a tale. Paul: Not a tale, Rufus a true story of God s love, mercy, forgiveness, and power at work in our lives. I hope that someday you ll respond to God s grace too. 15

5 REVIEW QUESTIONS: 1. Who followed Paul and Silas every day when they went to the place of prayer? (A slave girl) 2. What special ability did the slave girl have? (To predict the future and tell fortunes) 3. Who gave the slave girl her special powers? (An evil spirit) 4. What happened when Paul cast the evil spirit out of the girl? (She lost her abilities; her owners became angry) 5. When there was a riot, what did the rulers of Philippi do to Paul and Silas? (Beat them, put them in prison, put their feet in stocks any of these answers) 6. At midnight, what were Paul and Silas doing? (Singing hymms and praying) 7. What miracle happened at midnight? (An earthquake opened the prison doors and loosened the prisoners chains) 8. What did Paul tell the jailer when the jailer started to kill himself? (Not to harm himself; everyone was still there) 9. What question did the jailer ask Paul and Silas? ( Sirs, what must I do to be saved? ) 10. How did Paul and Silas answer the jailer s question? ( Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved. ) Option: If the two teams tie, toss the ball again. The player who taps the ball first gets to answer Bonus Question 1 for the win. If he/ she misses, the other player gets the opportunity to answer Bonus Question 2. If he/she misses, declare the game a tie. 11: Bonus Question 1: Who was with Paul and Silas when they suffered for sharing the Good News? (God) 12. Bonus Question 2: How do we know God was with Paul and Silas when they suffered for sharing the Good News? (God gave them strength to sing and pray when they were imprisoned and in great pain.) Thoughtful Christians throughout history have struggled with the question of why God allows His people to be persecuted or to otherwise suffer. There are no easy answers for these questions. Some of the things that we believe such as we live in a fallen world, and God respects human free will or difficulties make us stronger aren't very comforting, either. What is comforting is to know that God is always with us at these times. In ways we cannot fathom, He enables us to cope with suffering and even to bless others through our suffering. Help your children to know that it does no good to worry ahead of time about whether we will suffer, or how bad it will be. Rather, we can be sure right now that God will never be absent from us when we are tested, and that through His grace we can continue to do His will. 16 Lesson 2 O ption Rufus: Uh... So what s next for you, Paul. Paul: We re leaving Philippi and heading to other places to tell the good news of Jesus and salvation. Rufus: (shaking head) Paul, you must love to suffer. But time s up. Folks, this is Roving Reporter Rufus, Station KXYZ wondering where we ll find Paul next. (whispers probably in the cemetery) Underlined words are from Acts 16: After the story, Display the footprint from Item 1 with today s Bible story picture. Let volunteers write a summary statement on the footprint and attach it to the bulletin board. Say, Cut out the figure of Paul and Silas walking and glue it to your map between Philippi and Athens. Discuss the Think About It question with your class. Bible Story Review Before class, Make 10 signs, five in each of two colors. Number each set of signs 1 5. In class, Play outside if possible. Draw a center line across the playing area with chalk or tape. Lay the signs down at equal intervals, beginning with no. 1 sign on the center line. Place each set moving away from the line in opposite directions. Form two teams. Have each team stand by their number 5, the farthest away from the line. Have one member of each team come to the center line. Toss a ball into the air. The team whose player taps the ball first begins the game. Alternate between teams asking questions. Each time a team answers correctly, they move to the next sign. If a team answers incorrectly, the opposite team may answer. If they answer correctly, they move ahead and also take their regular turn. The first team to arrive at the center line wins the game. Persecuted Paul Tell the Bible story from Acts 16: Afterward, discuss these questions. Construction paper in two colors Marker Large ball Chalk or masking tape Bible 1. Who in this story was persecuted? (Paul and Silas) 2. How did they suffer for Jesus? (Being dragged through town, stripped, beaten, chained, put in prison, feet put in stocks) 3. How do you think Paul and Silas felt while they sat in prison? (Accept reasonable answers) 4. Who was with Paul and Silas through this experience, and how do you know? (God enabled them to sing and pray; He helped them share the gospel with the jailer; He gave them courage, etc.) Say, God does not always protect His people from persecution and suffering, but He is always with them, encouraging them and helping them to endure what is happening.

6 Word Check Before class, Write each letter of the Faith Word, persecution, on separate index cards. Mix them and place them on a table. In class, Say, Today we are going to talk about a Faith Word that describes what happened to Paul in our Bible story. The letters for this word are on the index cards. Let s see if you can unscramble the letters and figure out the word. Give students time to work. When they solve the word, ask, What is this word? What do you think it means? Discuss the word using the definition provided in the narrow column. Ask, Do you think you face persecution? Why? What types of persecution do you face? What kind of persecution do you think people might face in other areas of the world? Pray for Esther If you did not do the previous activity, introduce the Faith Word, persecution, using the definition from the narrow column. Then distribute Connections, page 4. Ask volunteers to read aloud the story about Esther. Discuss how persecution affected Esther; how it changed her and what her future might hold. Encourage the students to pray for Esther and other persecuted Christians around the world. Closing and Prayer Kid Zone for each child World map If you have a world map, display the map and let students choose a country to pray for today. Encourage your students to pray for Christians and missionaries in the chosen country to have the courage to stay true to God and withstand persecution. Ask, Do you think you have faced persecution for what you believe? Let students share. Close by praying for your students to have strength to witness for Jesus even though they may face persecution. Hand out Kid Zone for each child to take home and enjoy with family. What Would Paul Say? Say, Being made fun of for being a Christian or for witnessing isn t really persecution but it still doesn't feel good. Today, let s let Paul give some modern-day disciples of Jesus advice for dealing with mini-persecution. Read aloud each situation. After each, let a volunteer put on costume items and give advice for the situation. Index cards Marker Connections, p. 4 Bible costume items The Church Kid Kids at Kiarra s school make fun of her for going to church. They say, Church is stupid and you are stupid to go there. What would Paul advise Kiarra to do? Just Trying to Witness Ben was telling Kevin how he became a Christian. Kevin acted interested; then he reported Ben to their teacher. The teacher made fun of Ben in front of the class. What would Paul say to Ben? Trying to Be Cool Lianna wants to be in with the popular girls at school. But none of them are Christians. Lianna wonders what they will say if they find out that she s a Christian? What would Paul say about this? Connections to Life Lesson 2 O ption Use these activities to help students connect the Bible Truth to life. You may wish to do a search for current information on persecuted Christians on the Internet. Daily reports about the persecuted church can be found at One organization, Voice of the Martyrs, puts out free information describing how persecuted Christians around the world are standing strong for God. Here are some ideas for each of the situations. The Church Kid Keep going to church. Be polite and friendly to the kids who tease you. Ask God to help the kids want to know Him. Don t be ashamed of being a Christian. Just Trying to Witness Ask God to help you through this tough experience. Be polite to the teacher. Don t become angry with Kevin. Pray for Kevin. Don t be afraid to witness to others. Trying to Be Cool Be willing to talk about God to the popular girls when God gives you the opportunity. If the girls reject you, accept it. Pray for these girls and live like Jesus when you are around them. 17