The Conversion of Saint Paul Sunday Service Children s Story

Transcription

1 Materials: Pictures to show during story. The Conversion of Saint Paul Sunday Service Children s Story Preparations: Prepare any necessary materials. Invite children up to steps of altar. Reader of story sits in a chair with children sitting on floor in front of her. Include children s story, even if there are no children in your congregation, to welcome families who may come to the service. Feel free to adjust the content to fit your time frame. However, for the spiritual development of the child, we encourage keeping as much of the Ascended Master s Teachings as possible. Time: Approximately 8 10 minutes, including the video clip and depending on delivery and children s responses. Good morning and welcome. Today we celebrate the Feast of the conversion of Saint Paul. Here is a picture of Saint Paul. (Show picture.) As related to this story, conversion means a change in which one adopts a new religion or belief. Have you ever believed something so strongly that you thought everyone who had a different opinion from you was wrong? And then you came to find out that you were wrong and they were right? (Allow children to answer.) That s what happened to Paul. Let s hear the story. Paul was not always called Paul. His birth name was Saul. Later after his conversion to the path of Christ, his name was changed. Today 1

2 Saint Paul is the Ascended Master Hilarion. Hilarion serves as the Chohan of the fifth ray of healing, truth and abundance. Let s listen to our story based on the writings from the Book of Acts, Chapter 9 in the Bible. The Conversion of St. Paul Once upon a time in the city of Tarsus, there lived two Jewish parents from the tribe of Benjamin, who was one of the twelve sons of Jacob. (If you have a map, show where Tarsus is located.) They rejoiced when they had a son whom they named Saul. From the moment this baby was born, his parents taught him about the One True God, God s laws according to the Jewish faith and how to live a life that pleases God. When their son was old enough, they sent Saul to a school in Jerusalem to study under a teacher named Gamaliel. Gamaliel trained this young man in all the laws of God. Saul, you must obey God s commands. Yes, Rabbi, I will be careful to obey the Ten Commandments and all that God has taught us. Saul took his teacher s instructions so seriously that eventually he became a Pharisee. Pharisees belonged to one group of the Jewish religion who were extremely careful to obey God s commands and made sure other people were obeying God s laws. As a young man, Saul was a very bright student of the Hebrew religion and spoke Hebrew and Greek. 2

3 Saul continued to live in Jerusalem as an adult and became a tentmaker by trade. And day after day, Saul tried hard to live a life to please God and obey His commands. Saul began hearing news about a group of people who believed that the Messiah had come. Now, in all of his years studying God s Word, Saul knew God s Word and His promise to send a Messiah who would save people from their sins. He was looking forward to that day when God s promise would be fulfilled. But these people who called themselves Christians were boldly teaching in the temple courts and everywhere they went. He heard them say things like, God sent His Son Jesus to save people from their sins. Or Jesus was crucified and resurrected from the dead for us. This news really bothered Saul who loved God and believed in the Jewish faith and laws. He didn t believe the stories these people were telling. He did not believe that Jesus rose from the dead or that Jesus was the true Messiah. Saul felt that it was his responsibility to preach the teachings of the Jewish faith instead of what the Christians were preaching. He even supported persecuting, hurting or jailing them. Saul did not realize that in his unloving treatment of the Christians, he was actually hurting Jesus and God the Father. But Saul s life was about to change in a very dramatic way. Saul had been summoned by the high priest in the city of Damascus. In these letters, the priest authorized Saul to arrest any followers of Jesus in the city of Damascus. 3

4 So Saul, obeying the high priest, set out to go to Damascus. On the road Saul and his companions were knocked down by a blinding light, brighter than the noonday sun. Here is a picture of what that might have looked like. (Show picture.) Saul was struck blind and heard a voice say: "Saul, Saul, why art thou against me?" And Saul said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. (meaning kicking against God s will.) Now Saul was astonished and trembling and said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. Now the men traveling with Saul stood there speechless. Saul, we heard a voice but saw no man. And when Saul arose and was able to open his eyes after the blinding light was gone, he discovered that he had lost his sight. Yes, the voice spoke to me. But I cannot see! Yet, I must go to Damascus! His companions then led him by the hand to the city. Saul spent the next three days in Damascus praying and fasting, as he was now blind. And after the three days, the Lord sent one of his disciples, Ananias, to heal Saul. The Lord said to Ananias, This Saul is my chosen vessel who will preach my name before all men the Gentiles, kings and the children of Israel. Ananias then went to Damascus and did cure Saul s blindness. It was sometime after that that Saul s name was changed to Paul, 4

5 representing his complete conversion to the God s truth and God s will. Paul now understood that his physical blindness represented his spiritual blindness. He told his friends, Only after I could see the Lord Christ in my heart, did Jesus send his healer to cure my physical sight. Now Paul became an apostle who spent the rest of his life traveling all over the world, preaching about the gospel of Christ. Here is a picture of Paul preaching. (Show picture.) His life was not always easy, but he never stopped talking about Jesus Christ. Saul continued to preach boldly in Jerusalem and once again his life was in danger from the Jews. His friends warned him, For your safety, we must take you away from Jerusalem and back to Tarsus. After Saul left for Tarsus, the believers in Jesus or Christians living in Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. The Holy Spirit encouraged and strengthened them. The church continued to grow because more and more people believed in Jesus. Saul wrote many wonderful letters to the Christians. These letters, called epistles, are found in the Bible and compose almost half of the New Testament. And so we learn from this beautiful story about Paul s conversion, that God loves us so much that even when we have strayed from His will, God may come to us in an unexpected manner to help us get back on track. If we listen with our heart we will hear God s voice through our Holy Christ Self. CONCLUSION: Today we can call to the apostle Paul as the Ascended Master Hilarion to assist those who have become unhappy with religion and 5

6 faith and may have forgotten about God s will for them. You can ask to be taken to Hilarion s etheric retreat, the Temple of Truth, over Crete at night when you sleep. Thank you for sharing in our story. Have a wonderful day. 6

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