Patience lesson 1 Fruit of the Spirit Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is... PATIENCE Patience The ability to calmly wait for God to do what He wants to do. Episode 1 The Storm and the Shipwreck Acts 27:13 44 MEMORY VERSE Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him. Psalm 37:7 KEY POINT Having patience helps you see that God is in control of everything. Lesson 1 page 5
Let s Talk EARLY ARRIVAL (before service) Have some upbeat music playing and welcome children warmly. Teachers should take this time to engage the children in conversation. Ask them about their week, school, and home. Begin to establish relationships. BEGIN CLASS (service time) Introduce yourself and your assistants. Before the discussion questions, PRAY that the Lord will bless your time together. RELATE it : : : ask and discuss the following questions 1 Have you ever gone on a great vacation? Where did you go? 2 How hard was it to wait the night before the trip? Did you get any sleep? did you do while you waited? 3 Have you ever celebrated your birthday with a big party? 4 Did 5 Have 6 These you help with all the planning and decorating? How did you act about an hour before the party started? you ever gone on a long road trip? How many times did you ask, Are we there yet? Why? were all exciting things to wait for; your impatience was due to your excited anticipation. if you had to wait for something bad to happen? For example, you know there s a dangerous hurricane headed in the direction of your city. How do you wait for something like that? lesson 1 2 nd 5 th grade page 6
CONNECTit KEYPOINT CONNECT it : : : SAY You may have guessed that we will be learning about the fruit of patience this month. We re going to learn that having patience helps you enjoy what you get and having patience helps avoid arguments. Patience even helps us tell others about Jesus. Today we ll learn that... Having patience helps you see that God is in control of everything. We re going to hear what happened to Paul as he was taken prisoner on a ship that was headed into very nasty weather. We ll see how he trusted God and how his patience in times of trouble showed his trust. Let s watch Virtuality now and learn how Paul handled this awful situation so that we too can learn to have patience when things aren t going so well. WATCH it : : : Go to large group to see the Virtuality DVD, Fruit of the Spirit Series DVD (VOLUME 4, EPISODE 1) lesson 1 2 nd 5 th grade page 7
Let s Talk Bible BIBLE STORY : : : The Storm and the Shipwreck Acts 27:13 44 BE PREPARED Read the Bible story and study the background information at home. Before you begin reading today s Bible story tell children the background information in your own words. GAME RULES Divide your class into two teams (boys vs. girls or one half of the room against the other). Have the children take out their Bibles (NIV preferred) to follow along as you read the Scriptures, and so that you can help them find the answers. They may share Bibles, if necessary. Assign a captain for each team whose job will be to give the team s final answer. Award 10 points to the first team whose captain raises his or her hand and has the correct answer. Award 50 points for the bonus questions. If needed, give the verse reference locations. BACKGROUND information : : : SAY IT in your own words Paul, who was also called Saul, was a strict Pharisee. He hated the Jews who believed that Jesus was the Messiah. He sincerely believed they were wrong and that he had to stop them. One fateful day while he was on the road to Damascus to take Christian prisoners, a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? Who are you, Lord? Saul asked. I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting, he replied (Acts 9:3 5). From that day forward Paul s view totally turned around and he believed in Jesus. His life s mission completely changed. Instead of persecuting new believers, he led many to believe in Jesus. He became the one being persecuted. Those who Paul first hated were now his loyal friends. Paul made three long difficult missionary journeys to share the Good News of Jesus with both Jews and Gentiles. But there was much opposition from those who refused to believe. Paul was put in prison many times; he was flogged, beaten and stoned. He often endured hunger, thirst, and no sleep. Three times he was even shipwrecked and we are going to learn about one of those events today. (2 Corinthians 11:24 27) King Agrippa was ruler over Galilee (an area in Palestine) from 40 BC to AD 100. His great-grandfather was King Herod who attempted to kill baby Jesus by ordering the destruction of all the boys born in Bethlehem who were under two years old. (Matthew 2) lesson 1 2 nd 5 th grade page 8
Mary and Joseph escaped to Egypt before any harm came to Jesus. Herod failed to stop Jesus at birth, but now many years later his great-grandson was trying to stop Paul, one of Jesus messengers. Paul said during his trial, King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today as I make my defense against all the accusations of the Jews, and especially so because you are well acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies. Therefore, I beg you to listen to me patiently. (Acts 26:2 3) Paul went on to tell of the horrible things he had done to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth (Acts 26:9), but those things were not the reasons he was on trial. Paul shared about his encounter with Jesus and how his life changed. He told of the new mission given to him by the King of kings: I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins (Acts 26:17 18). Instead of killing his enemies, Paul s mission was to try and save them. He was not on trial for hurting anyone but for trying to help everyone. King Agrippa realized this and made a sarcastic remark, Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian? (Acts 26:28) He wasn t happy about it but he knew Paul was innocent. This man is not doing anything that deserves death or imprisonment. (Acts 26:31) Nevertheless Paul was not freed, he was sent to Rome to face Caesar and another trial. Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius who belonged to the Imperial Regiment (Acts 27:1) and they set sail. Navigation in those days was done by the stars, so having clear skies was crucial. Unfortunately, they did not have good weather. Not only was it difficult to find their way, they were also in that part of the world s riskiest sailing season. Let s go to the Bible now and find out what happened on this dangerous three-month journey to Italy. READ SCRIPTURE READ IT : : : read from NIV Bible After many ports and dodging many close calls, Paul urged the men to winter right where they were, but they did not listen to him and sailed on. Open your Bibles and follow along as I read Acts 27:13 20 out loud. ASK it : : : award 10 points for correct answer lesson 1 2 nd 5 th grade page 9
1 At 2 3 4 5 first the men though they had made the right decision. shore were they sailing along when the hurricane winds hit them? Answer: Crete v. 13 did they do to try and keep the ship from falling apart? Answer: They tied ropes around the ship to hold it together. v. 17 did they do to try and keep from running aground? Answer: They dropped the anchors. v. 17 did they do next to try and lighten the weight of the ship? Answer: They threw some of their cargo and tackle overboard. v. 18 19 happened to the men after many cloudy days without seeing the sun or stars? Answer: They gave up hope of being saved. v. 20 READ SCRIPTURE READ it : : : read from Bible The men needed help. As we continue to read, it seems at first that Paul was giving them an I told you so speech. But he wasn t; he was encouraging them to wait patiently on the Lord. Let s continue reading and find out what Paul said. Follow along as I read ACTS 27:21 26 out loud. ASK it : : : award 10 points for correct answer 6 Paul had good news and bad news. encouraging news about their outcome did Paul share with the men? Answer: He said not one of them would be lost. v. 22 7 8 How 9 God 10 was the bad news? Answer: The ship would be destroyed. v. 22 could Paul be so sure of what would happen to them? Answer: An angel of the Lord visited him and told him. v. 23 had a plan for Paul and by His grace everyone else with him would be spared. did God tell Paul he was going to do? Answer: Paul would stand trial before Caesar. v. 24 was it about Paul that encouraged the men to stay courageous? Answer: Paul s faith in God and His Word. v. 25 lesson 1 2 nd 5 th grade page 10
READ SCRIPTURE READ it : : : read from Bible The men were told they would survive but they also learned that it was not going to be easy. After two weeks they were still in the storm in the Adriatic Sea. They were in danger and many wanted to escape in the lifeboats, but Paul urged them to stay with the boat. Let s finish reading and find out how they finally got saved from this tragedy. Follow along as I finish reading Acts 27:27 44 out loud. ASK it : : : award 10 points for correct answer did Paul encourage them to do to survive? Answer: He told them to eat. v. 34 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 How many men were on board? Answer: 276 men v. 37 As crazy as it sounds, what did they throw overboard after they ate? Answer: They threw out the grain. v. 38 The ship finally broke apart as they neared a sandy beach. did the soldiers want to do to the prisoners to keep them from escaping? Answer: They wanted to kill them. v. 42 (A soldier was responsible for his prisoners; if any of them escaped and survived the soldier s penalty would be death.) Who convinced the soldiers not to kill the prisoners? Answer: The centurion assigned to Paul v. 43 Why didn t the centurion want the prisoners harmed? Answer: Because Paul was one of the prisoners and he wanted to spare his life. v. 43 How did everyone make it to shore when the ship broke apart? Answer: Some swam if they knew how; the rest floated on planks. v. 44 CONNECTIT CONNECT it : : : SAY The centurion saw that Paul s faith was strong and knew he was a man of God. Paul never freaked out; he waited patiently for the inevitable the ship s destruction. Sometimes we don t have a choice but to wait, but we do have a choice of how to wait. Do you know why Paul was able to wait calmly? Because lesson 1 2 nd 5 th grade page 11
he knew that God was in control. KEYPOINT MEMORYVERSE Having patience helps you see that God is in control of everything. Having patience means you are still while you wait. It doesn t mean to just say that you trust God; it means you show that you trust God. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him. Psalm 37:7 Being still doesn t mean to be motionless. It means to stay unruffled. Two weeks into their ordeal Paul told the men to eat and give thanks. God had already told Paul the ship would break so it didn t surprise him when it did. Paul didn t scream for help when the soldiers wanted to kill the prisoners because God had already told him everyone would survive. God didn t tell Paul exactly how they would survive; He just told him they would. Paul trusted God and simply waited patiently for His plan to unfold. promise does God have for us today? He promises that Jesus will return. He promises that we will be with Him forever in heaven if we believe and follow Jesus. should we do in the meantime? We wait patiently. Life will have its shipwrecks, but we can trust that God is in control. PRAYER LET S PRAY : : : SAY Heavenly Father, Thank You for Your Word and the promise of heaven. Thank You that we can rest and be still, knowing that You are in control. Help us to have patience as we wait for Your promises. In Jesus name, we pray. Amen. lesson 1 2 nd 5 th grade page 12
Let s Review This Month s Verse PATIENCE BUT THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT IS... PATIENCE The ability to calmly wait for God to do what He wants to do. TODAY S LESSON Bible Story The Storm and the Shipwreck Location Acts 27:13 44 Memory Verse Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him. Psalm 37:7 Key Point Having patience helps you see that God is in control of everything. TIME FILLERS Ask if anyone would like to play the teacher and review today s lesson with the class. Play games to help children memorize today s Bible memory verse. TAKE HOME SHEETS VIRTUE Quest is the take-home sheet designed for children to do with their parents. The sheet contains information about today s lesson. The goal is to partner with parents to continue and to reiterate the lesson. Be sure to hand all parents a sheet as they pick up their children. lesson 1 page 13