Session 8 FOR THE LEADER Philip and the Ethiopian Acts 8:4-5,26-40 With rapid expansion of the church still being the setting, we are introduced again to Philip, one of those chosen to serve in Acts 6. As touched on last week, we see the expansion of the church had moved outside Jerusalem. Acts 8:5 tells us that Philip went to a city in Samaria in order to preach the gospel. Philip s next action would be the beginning of God s mandate to take the gospel to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). Philip was sent by an angel s message south toward Gaza. Interestingly, Gaza was the southernmost city in the region and lay roughly 50 miles from Jerusalem. All that lay beyond the city of Gaza was a vast desert leading to Egypt. Philip saw in his travel a chariot and was further directed to run up beside it. In the chariot Philip found an official of Ethiopia reading a scroll aloud. The man in the chariot was similar to a later Acts convert, Cornelius (see Acts 10), who was a God follower, but not a convert to the Way. Philip heard the official read the words of Isaiah 53. Philip spoke only to ask if the man understood what words he was reading. When the man answered that he did not understand and invited Philip into the chariot, Philip began in the same passage and told the full story of redemption through the person of Jesus Christ. Following the official s full conversion and subsequent baptism, he headed back to Ethiopia carrying the gospel of Christ with him. The message of the gospel was on its way to the ends of the earth. Philip is a great example of the command to tell others about Jesus. (See Matthew 28:19-20.) Philip reminds us to always be ready to tell people about Jesus. Philip was given an opportunity to share the message of Christ some 50 miles from home. Philip was likely involved in other ministry opportunities. However, he was willing to go and preach because he understood the importance of sharing the message of salvation with everyone. As you share with boys and girls today this beautiful story of God s message of salvation, encourage them to tell others about Jesus wherever they go. 2017 LifeWay Session 8: Philip and the Ethiopian 61
OVERVIEW SESSION FOCUS BIBLE PASSAGE: Acts 8:4-5, 26-40 MEMORY VERSE: 2 Timothy 4:2a TEXT TRUTH: We should always be ready to tell others about Jesus. CHRIST IN CONTEXT: The Book of Acts records the continuation of Jesus ministry and the history of the early church. After Jesus ascension, the Holy Spirit came and empowered Jesus followers to share the gospel of Jesus Christ all over the world. Jesus ministry continued through His faithful followers and many people received Jesus as their Lord and Savior. GET STARTED TOOLS (10 MINUTES) Bible Skills: poster boards, markers, Bible study resources, Why Is It Called? (Poster Pack) BIBLE STUDY TOOLS (35 MINUTES) Jump In: smart phone or tablet, The Ministry of Philip Map (DVD-ROM) Examine the Text: Bibles, Text Truth Strips (Poster Pack) Video: Explore the Bible on Location video Memory Verse: 2 Timothy 4:2a (Poster Pack), beanbag Prayer: Family Cards SMALL GROUP TOOLS (30 MINUTES) Explorer Guides: Bibles, Explorer Guides, pens Move: sheet, tape Make: double-sided tape, 1/4 inch dowel rods, 11-by-17-inch copy paper, paint, paintbrushes, markers Explore: glass jar, colorful sticky notes, pens, thank you card NOTE: Downloadable versions of DVD items are available in the Digital Video Bundle. Downloadable versions of enhanced CD items are available in the Music and Print Extras Bundle. For free online training on how to lead a group, visit ministrygrid.com/web/explorethebible. 62 Explore the Bible: Older Kids 2017 LifeWay
BIBLE STORY PHILIP TOLD ABOUT JESUS Acts 8:4-5,26-40 When Stephen was killed, the church in Jerusalem entered a time of persecution. The followers of Jesus scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. All of the people who were scattered told others about Jesus. Philip traveled to Samaria to tell the people there about the Messiah, Jesus. Crowds of people listened to Philip. Many were healed of many different sicknesses. A man named Simon listened to Philip teach about Jesus. Simon had practiced sorcery and tricked the people for a long time. When the people heard Philip tell about Jesus, they repented and believed in Jesus. Even Simon repented and believed. He walked around with Philip and was astonished by all the miracles God performed. One day, an angel of the Lord appeared to Philip and told him to go south on the road from Jerusalem to Gaza. Philip obeyed. When he got there, he saw a man from Ethiopia in a chariot. The man had been to Jerusalem to worship God. He was traveling back home. As he sat in his chariot, the man read aloud from the Scriptures written by the prophet Isaiah. The Holy Spirit told Philip to go to the chariot. Philip ran up and saw that the man was reading from Isaiah s writings. Philip asked, Do you understand what you are reading? The man said, How can I understand unless someone explains it to me? Philip climbed into the chariot and began to explain that the prophet Isaiah was talking about Jesus and how He would die to rescue people from sin. Philip told the man the good news of Jesus and the man believed. The man asked Philip to baptize him and Philip did. The Ethiopian man returned home rejoicing because he had repented and trusted Jesus as his Lord and Savior. Suddenly, the Holy Spirit took Philip to the town of Azotus. Philip continued to travel and tell more and more people about Jesus. TEXT CONNECTION Acts 8 shows that with Jesus sacrifice on the cross and His resurrection hope in Jesus became the constant message. Philip spread the message of hope in Jesus. God led Philip to share the message of hope through Christ with an Ethiopian official who then took that message back to those with whom he lived. The gospel message of hope for the forgiveness of sin was spreading. Sin is something that has existed ever since Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit in the garden. While Moses was on Mt. Sinai speaking with God, the Israelites were engaged in sinful practices below. When he was instructed by God to confront the people, Moses obeyed and called them to repentance. Sin is evidenced in many other stories in Scripture and still exists today. Jesus sacrifice paid perfectly the penalty for sin. The message of hope in Jesus remains the answer for sin. KEY POINTS Philip wanted to tell people about Jesus. The Bible tells us about Jesus and God s plan to rescue us from sin. Jesus told His followers to share the gospel all around the world. EXPLORE THE BIBLE AT HOME See the enhanced CD for additional family resources. 2017 LifeWay Session 8: Philip and the Ethiopian 63
GET STARTED TOOLS: Bible Skills: poster boards, markers, Bible study resources, Why Is It Called? (Poster Pack) GET STARTED (10 MINUTES) BIBLE SKILLS Introduce: We learned a couple of weeks ago that Luke is the author of the Book of Acts. Today we are going to learn more about Luke and the events going on when the Book of Acts was written by creating a Bible blog poster. Form groups and instruct them to use the Bible study resources (Bible dictionaries, study Bibles, commentaries, or information printed from reliable Internet sources) and work together to create their blogs. After all the groups have finished, allow them to display their posters and share their blogs with the group. Display the Why Is It Called? poster. Invite a volunteer to read how the Book of Acts was titled. Dismiss to Bible Study. BIBLE SKILLS SPOTLIGHT Uses Bible study resources to gather information about Bible writers. Uses other resources to enrich her Bible skills and knowledge (Bible dictionary, commentary, concordance, atlas, and digital sources). 64 Explore the Bible: Older Kids 2017 LifeWay
BIBLE STUDY BIBLE STUDY (35 MINUTES) JUMP IN Welcome kids and ask them how they are doing. Let them know that you are excited they came. Ask: What is the best tool you can have when you are going on a trip? (Allow for answers.) Continue: Yes, a map! You may be used to seeing maps that look like this (show a current map with a local route on your phone or a tablet). They can be helpful when we need to know how to get to our destination or when we are lost. We can look at maps from Bible times to help us understand the places and travel routes that people in the Bible took. Display the The Ministry of Philip Map visual. Say: This is a map that shows where our Bible story today takes place. Point out Samaria and Gaza and explain that Philip obeyed God s directions to leave Samaria and travel to Gaza. Encourage them to listen closely as you tell the Bible story. TOOLS: Jump In: smart phone or tablet, The Ministry of Philip Map (DVD-ROM) Examine the Text: Bibles, Text Truth Strips (Poster Pack) Video: Explore the Bible on Location video Memory Verse: 2 Timothy 4:2a (Poster Pack), beanbag Prayer: Family Cards EXAMINE THE TEXT Display the Text Truth Strip. Begin: Our Text Truth today says: We should alway be ready to tell others about Jesus. What does it mean to be ready? (Allow for answers.) Continue: There are certain things in life we should always be ready to do: help others, be a friend, give an encouraging word, and most importantly we should always be ready to share the good news of Jesus. Being ready means that we are not taken by surprise when we have a chance to share Jesus with someone we are prepared! Say: One way we can be prepared to tell others about Jesus is to read our Bibles to get to know Him and His Word. Let s do that now! Invite kids to open their Bibles to Acts 8 and ask for volunteers to read verses 4-5. Tell the Bible story in your own words. See the Bible story page for reference. When you arrive to the part of the story with the difficult verses the Ethiopian man was reading, ask for a volunteer to read verses 32-33 and see if anyone understands the meaning. Continue with story. Conclude: I am so thankful that God gives us preachers, teachers, and missionaries to help us understand God s Word. You can understand the Bible too and help someone else learn about Jesus. PLAY THE VIDEO Play the Session 8 video. Ask: What did Joel learn about being a messenger? What message did Philip share with others? How can you share the gospel message with others? 2017 LifeWay Session 8: Philip and the Ethiopian 65
BIBLE STUDY MEMORY VERSE Display the 2 Timothy 4:2a poster. Ask the kids to read the verse with you. Ask: What do you think it means to be ready in season and out of season? (Allow for responses.) Say: Those are good answers. Our Text Truth is similar to this by encouraging us to be ready at any time. We should always be ready to tell others about Jesus. There may be times that seem more convenient or easier to share and other times that are more difficult. This verse says that we need to be willing to share at any time, no matter the circumstances. Help the kids practice the verse a few more times, then toss a beanbag to different kids and instruct them to jump up and say the verse. PRAYER Distribute a Family Card to each kid and ask someone to read the description on the card aloud. Remind kids to share the cards with their families during the week. Lead the kids in a prayer asking God to help them be ready to share Jesus with their friends and family. Ask for a volunteer to pray too. Dismiss to Small Group. 66 Explore the Bible: Older Kids 2017 LifeWay
SMALL GROUP SMALL GROUP (30 MINUTES) EXPLORER GUIDES Distribute Explorer Guides and help kids locate today s pages Philip and the Ethiopian. Review today s Bible story by helping kids complete the activity Who Am I? Allow kids to use their Bibles for help. Read today s Word to Know and help kids find the word in Acts 8. Explain that because of the persecution, many believers traveled to new homes and told new people about Jesus. Help boys and girls complete Sharing the Gospel and discuss how they can share the gospel message with others. Select volunteers to read aloud about today s object in Philip s Journeys, the Spotlight on Philip, and the Carving of Philip and the Ethiopian. TOOLS: Explorer Guides: Bibles, Explorer Guides, pens TECH CONNECT (OPTIONAL) Prior to Bible study, download the Explore the Bible: Kids Family App. Use the activity labeled Explorer Plus on the app. ACTIVITIES Select one or more of the activities to complete as time allows. MOVE CHARIOT RACES Tools: sheet, tape Prior to Bible study, mark a starting line and finish line with tape on the floor. Form two teams. Ask: What was the Ethiopian, who Philip shared about Jesus with, traveling in? (Allow for answers.) Say: We are going to use our own kind of chariot for a relay race today. When I give the signal, one player from each team will sit on the sheet and hold the sides, and two other players will take the ends of the sheet and pull their teammate to the finish line. The first one to reach the finish line will tell one fact from today s Bible story and return to their team to swap players. Then the other team will tell one fact, then return to their team to swap players. We will continue playing until everyone has had a turn riding in the chariot. Ask another leader to help you watch the kids carefully during this activity. If kids are not cautious, remove the race element from the game to slow the kids down. Conclude: Whew! That was a fast and fun game! I am so glad that you remembered so much about our story today too. Let s review our Text Truth again: We should always be ready to tell others about Jesus. Whether you are traveling, with friends, with family, playing sports, or at church, you should always be ready to share the good news of Jesus! 2017 LifeWay Session 8: Philip and the Ethiopian 67
SMALL GROUP MAKE EXPLORE SEASONAL SCROLL Tools: double-sided tape, 1/4 inch dowel rods, 11-by-17-inch copy paper, paint, paintbrushes, markers Ask: Does anyone remember what our Memory Verse is today? (Allow for responses.) Say: We are going to make a scroll and you will draw a picture of a time when it is easy to share about Jesus and a time when it could be difficult to share. Guide kids to write the Memory Verse at the top of their paper with markers and then use the double-sided tape to adhere the dowel rods to the edges of the ends of the paper. Then let them paint or use markers to draw the two different scenes. Ask them to share their pictures with the class and discuss why each situation would be an in season and out of season time to share about Jesus. Share: Our Text Truth also reminds us about what this verse says. Let s say it again together: We should always be ready to tell others about Jesus. THANK YOU PASTOR! Tools: glass jar, colorful sticky notes, pens, thank you card Introduce: The month of October is set aside as a time when we show our pastor that we are thankful for him. A pastor is someone who, like Philip, is able to explain God s Word so that others can understand. We need to let our pastors know that we appreciate all that they do to lead, teach, and minister to us, so we are going to make a Jar of Thanks filled with ways you are thankful for our pastor. We will also sign a card to give to him. Pass out the sticky notes and pens and help kids think of things they can write if they are having trouble. Instruct them to fold the notes one time and place them in the jar. If your pastor is available, ask him to come to the class and give him the jar and card as a class and sing a song for him as well. If he is not available, video the class saying thank you or singing a song, and send it to him after delivering the jar and card. Say: Our Text Truth reminds us that our pastor is not the only one that is to share about Jesus. Let s say it again together: We should always be ready to tell others about Jesus. 68 Explore the Bible: Older Kids 2017 LifeWay