Saul s Conversion. Focus on Acts 9:1 20. n PREPARING FOR THE SESSION. WHAT is important to know? WHERE is God in these words?

Transcription

1 May 5, 019 Third Sunday of Easter Acts 9:1 0 Ps. 30 Rev. 5:11 14 John 1:1 19 Goal for the Session Tweens will recognize how God worked through Ananias to welcome Saul and imagine how God can work through them in unexpected ways n PREPARING FOR THE SESSION Focus on Acts 9:1 0 WHAT is important to know? From Exegetical Perspective, Robert W. Wall The real climax of this story is not Saul s conversion from moral morass to virtuous living or from Judaism to Christianity; nothing like this is found in Acts. Saul s turn to Jesus rather rights him for a future scripted by God as an instrument whom I have chosen to bring [Jesus ] name before Gentiles and... the people of Israel... [and to] suffer for the sake of my name (9:15 1). The rest of Acts narrates the dramatic fulfillment of the Lord s stunning prediction. WHERE is God in these words? From Theological Perspective, Lewis S. Mudge We proceed immediately to what can only be described as an act of ordination. Ananias lays hands upon Saul and proclaims, in the name of the Lord Jesus, that he is to regain his sight and receive the Holy Spirit. Something like scales then fall from Saul s eyes. Is Saul s ability to see again intended as a metaphor for his ability now to see differently? We may conjecture so. Soon Paul is proclaiming Jesus in the synagogues, saying that Jesus is the Son of God and, later, proving that Jesus was the Messiah (vv. 0, ). SO WHAT does this mean for our lives? From Pastoral Perspective, Joseph S. Harvard Let us pray that God will open our eyes, as God opened Paul s, to the new reality created by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The image of light is powerful in this story. It blinds Paul initially; then, when his sight is restored, he has a new way of seeing. It is this vision that he shares to bring others into the light of God s love. Our religious experience is not a private affair. Whatever shape or form it takes, it is for spreading the gospel and building up the church. NOW WHAT is God s word calling us to do? From Homiletical Perspective, Stephen D. Jones Where was God in your conversion experience? Is God in the business of changing lives? It is often only in the past tense that we can identify the hand of God upon our lives. From that vantage, we can see the Spirit at work. For it is not the honest friend, the heroic child, or our soul s vacancy that actually turns us around. It is a light that turns on within us and it is our willingness to take the risk of seeing anew that makes the turnaround possible. We stood at a crossroads. We had a choice. We could have launched blindly forward, or tarried. We tarried, and that made all the difference. Many people experience God in those crucible moments: Were it not for God, I cannot imagine how I could have made this transition. 1

2 FOCUS SCRIPTURE Acts 9:1 0 Focus on Your Teaching Peer relationships and loyalty are important to tweens, especially when facing bullying among peers. A loyal group of friends can be a refuge from bullying and a source of fun and support. Tweens are likely to identify with Ananias s fears about the notorious bully Saul, and they may be surprised that God wants Ananias to welcome Saul into his group of friends. Yet they may understand that with Ananias vouching for him, Saul can find a new life among Christians. As you teach, help learners see how Ananias s forgiveness and friendship. Prompt learners to consider how God can work through the welcome they offer to others. YOU WILL NEED white cloth potted Easter lily or other flowering plant Singing the Feast, ; CD player Bibles copies of Resource Sheet 1 biblical costumes (optional) Color Pack 19, 0, 9, 31 For Responding option 1: copies of Resource Sheet, pair of dice, two kinds of coins or buttons option : card stock or blank stationery cards, markers, stickers, glitter glue option 3: wide white gift wrap ribbon, pens Beginning with Acts 13:9, the Bible refers to Saul by his Greek name Paulos Paul. God of grace, help me to be surprised again by the power of your gracious ways as you work through your chosen ones, including me. Amen. n LEADING THE SESSION GATHERING Before the session, arrange a white cloth in the center of your meeting space and place the potted Easter lily or other flowering plant on it. If you are using option in Responding, invite a pastor or another church leader to visit and describe the ways your church welcomes new members and visitors. Welcome learners as they arrive. Gather the group around the table and remind them that, in Lent, the table held a flowerpot. Now a flower has taken its place as a symbol of new life in Christ. Sing Alleluia! Allelu! (Color Pack 31; track 1 on Singing the Feast, ). Form two groups to proclaim the following Easter greeting three times, increasing in volume each time: Group 1: Christ is risen! Group : Christ is risen indeed! Show Color Pack 19 and invite discussion: P What do you think is happening in this picture? P How might your explanation change if you knew that the boy in the navy shirt is a bully who has just been caught and punished? Explain that in the Bible story for today, God sends someone to forgive and welcome a bully.

3 I Have Decided to Follow Jesus I have decided to follow Jesus; I have decided to follow Jesus; I have decided to follow Jesus; No turning back, no turning back. Though none go with me, still I will follow; Though none go with me, still I will follow; Though none go with me, still I will follow; No turning back, no turning back. My family with me will follow Jesus; My family with me will follow Jesus; My family with me will follow Jesus; No turning back, no turning back. If possible, provide simple biblical costumes for tweens to use in their dramas. Encourage learners to be creative in portraying objects in addition to characters. For example, several learners could hold hands to form the house that Saul and Ananias enter. EXPLORING Distribute Bibles and ask learners to turn to the table of contents. In unison, say the names of the first four books of the New Testament. Remind the group that these are the Gospels, which tell the stories of Jesus life and teachings. Point out the book of Acts and explain that this book was written by the same person who wrote Luke. It includes stories of the early days of the Christian church. Ask learners to turn to Acts 9 and introduce today s Bible story as one about the apostle Paul, an early follower of Jesus. Distribute copies of Resource Sheet 1 (The Apostle Paul) and invite a volunteer to read aloud Part 1. Ask: P In what ways was Saul doing what he thought was right? P In what ways was Saul acting like a bully? P How do you think the Christians felt about Saul at this time? Have learners set their Bibles aside. Show Color Pack 0 and invite learners to look at it while you read aloud Acts 9:1 0. (If there is more than one teacher in the room, have one teacher read the voices of characters and the other read the narration.) Ask: P As you listened to the story, what did you notice in the picture? P What part of the story does the artist emphasize? P Who are the different people in this painting? Invite the learners to dramatize the two parts of this story. Form two groups and assign Acts 9:1 9 to one group and Acts 9:10 0 to the other group. Assign more learners to the first group because that portion of the story has more characters. Give the groups about five minutes to prepare their dramas. After the first group presents its drama, sing or listen to I Have Decided to Follow Jesus (Color Pack 9; track on Singing the Feast, ). After the second group presents its drama, discuss: P How do you imagine Saul felt when Jesus Christ spoke to him? P What was Ananias s original response to the instruction to welcome Saul? P Why do you think Jesus sent Ananias to Saul? P How do you think Ananias found the courage to go to Saul? P Why was it important for Ananias to introduce Saul to the Christian community? Turn again to Resource Sheet 1 and invite a volunteer to read aloud Part. Ask: P How might the church be different today if Ananias had not welcomed Saul? Comment that God acted in many ways in this story. One way was to act directly, appearing miraculously to both Saul and Ananias. A second way was to act through Ananias to welcome Saul and heal him. Ask: P How has God worked through other people to help you? P When have you sensed that God was working through you to help others? 3

4 EASY PREP Some tweens may not feel that they have any special gifts, talents, or abilities or may think that the church cares only about religious gifts like prayer or serving in worship. Be prepared to name and affirm the seemingly ordinary yet important gifts, such as kindness, sense of humor, generosity, math skills, creativity, or ability to fix things. Resource Sheet may offer some ideas. RESPONDING 1. God Works through People Game As tweens play God Works through People, they can imagine the ways God may work through them. Form two teams. Give each team a copy of Resource Sheet (God Works through People Game) for their reference. Use another copy for game play. Read aloud the directions on the sheet and allow time for groups to play the game. Afterward, invite each tween to identify one square on the game board that describes him or her.. Welcome Cards To extend God s welcome to others, tweens can create cards for visitors in worship or new members. If you have arranged for a visitor, introduce this person and invite him or her to tell the group how your church welcomes visitors and new members. Discuss how Christians welcome others because God has first welcomed them. Brainstorm messages of welcome that tweens might write on a card to give to a new member or visitor to your church. Distribute card stock to fold in half to make cards or use blank stationery cards. Provide markers, stickers, and glitter glue for tweens to use in creating the cards. Give the cards to the pastor or evangelism committee to distribute. 3. Gifts for Ministry Help tweens reflect on how God can work through them by discussing how God gave Ananias the gifts of courage and forgiveness and worked through him to baptize and welcome Saul. Give an 18-inch piece of wide white gift wrap ribbon and a pen to each learner. Invite each one to write down a way that God might work through him or her to welcome and care for others one gift or ability that he or she might use to do God s work. Gather in a circle and ask learners to tie the ends of their ribbons to one another, forming one large circle. With everyone holding the ribbon, ask each tween to name his or her gift and one way God might work through it. Place the ribbon circle on the floor and ask everyone to step inside it. Explain that God also works through groups and communities. Invite tweens to think of ways God might be working through their class group. Arrange the ribbon around the Easter lily. CLOSING Gather together around the Easter lily. Invite the group to repeat Romans 15:7 after you, phrase by phrase: Welcome one another, therefore, / just as Christ has welcomed you, / for the glory of God. Invite tweens to think of prayer requests they have and to offer them during the prayer you will lead. Pray aloud: Loving God, you worked through Ananias to welcome Paul. Please work through us to welcome others and to show your love and forgiveness. Hear us now as we lift up our prayers to you: (pause for learners to speak their prayer requests). Amen. Be sure to say good-bye to each learner by name. 4

5 May 5, 019 Tweens Resource Sheet 1 The Apostle Paul Apostle Paul Part 1 Who was the apostle Paul? An apostle is someone who is sent. Paul was sent by the risen Christ to preach the good news of God s love and forgiveness. But before he was an apostle, Paul was an enemy of Christians! Paul was born around the year 5 C.E. in Tarsus, a city in presentday Turkey. Paul was Jewish, and he was also a Roman citizen. His Hebrew name was Saul. Up until Acts 13:9, the book of Acts refers to Paul by the name Saul. Paul was trained as a Pharisee, an expert in Jewish law. Paul did not think that the first Christians who were also Jewish were right in saying that Jesus was God s Messiah, God s Son. He thought followers of Jesus should be arrested and punished. When a man named Stephen was killed because of what he believed about Jesus Christ, Paul stood by and watched. Paul searched for Christians and arrested them. He was a frightening enemy! But then something amazing happened! Read Acts 9:1 0 to find out. Part After he met the risen Christ and was welcomed by Ananias, Paul became one of the most influential Christians ever. Here are just a few of the things Paul did: Paul was a great missionary of the early church. He traveled hundreds of miles in the region around the Mediterranean Sea to preach about Jesus Christ. Paul traveled and worked with other leaders of the early church, including Silas, Lydia, Timothy, Priscilla, and Aquila. They started many new churches. Paul believed that the good news of Jesus was not just for Jews, but for everyone. He started churches for all kinds of people. Paul wrote letters to the early churches. Paul s letters make up much of the New Testament. In fact, fourteen books in the New Testament are attributed to Paul. Paul explained the Christian faith in ways that still influence what Christians believe and teach today. 019 Westminster John Knox Press

6 May 5, 019 Tweens Resource Sheet God Works through People Game To grow in understanding how people, play this game. 1. The first team rolls a pair of dice and chooses a square on the game board whose number matches the sum of the numbers on the dice. Team members read the words on the square in unison and work together to name a person or group who is an example of what the square says. If they can do this, they can mark the square with a penny or other game marker.. The second team repeats the action in step 1, using a different kind of game marker. Note: As the squares are used up, a team may not have the opportunity to answer. In that case, the turn passes to the other team. 3. The first team to mark five squares across, diagonally, or horizontally wins the game people who keep us safe. people who teach us important things. people who proclaim the good news. people who comfort us. people who make us laugh people who help us see beauty. people who build houses, bridges, and roads. people who heal us. people who support us. people who pray for us people who love us. people who raise our food. FREE SPACE people who tell great stories. people who work for peace and justice people who teach us new things. people who listen to us. people who clean up things. people who share God s Word. people who volunteer to help people who lead us in worship. people who try to be fair. people who lead us. people who show generosity. people who forgive. 019 Westminster John Knox Press