Sunday, Aug 2, 2015 Kidzone KG and 1st Grade Small Group TEACHER BIBLE STUDY Paul s Second Journey Acts 15:36 16:40 As Paul traveled, he started churches in other cities and taught people about Jesus. Paul s second journey took him from Antioch in Syria back to some of the cities he visited on his first journey. Paul wanted to see how the new believers were doing. From Antioch, Paul and his companion Silas traveled through Syria and Cilicia, encouraging believers and strengthening churches. The numbers of believers in the churches increased daily. One night, while Paul and Silas were in Troas, the Lord called Paul to go to Macedonia and preach the gospel to the people. So Paul and Silas obeyed. They sailed to Macedonia, staying in the city of Philippi for several days. Two major events happened while Paul was in Macedonia. First, a woman named Lydia became a believer. Paul and Silas had gone to the river to pray. They spoke to the women at the river. God opened Lydia s heart to the good news of the gospel. She believed and was baptized. Then she invited Paul and Silas to stay at her house. Then, a jailer became a believer. This happened when Paul and Silas were thrown into prison after Paul commanded a fortune- telling spirit to come out of a slave girl. Late at night, an earthquake rocked the prison. The prisoners could have jumped up and escaped, but they stayed where they were. The jailer asked Paul and Silas how to be saved. Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, they said. The man believed and was baptized. Emphasize the Christ connection as you review the Bible story with kids: Lydia was saved and the jailer was saved because they believed in Jesus. Jesus offers us salvation as a gift. He did all the work to save us by dying on the cross. We do not need to earn salvation; we can receive it by repenting and trusting in Jesus. YOUNGER KIDS BIBLE STUDY OVERVIEW Session Title: Paul s Second Journey Bible Passage: Acts 15:36 16:40 Big Picture Question: What did Paul do as he traveled? Paul started churches in other cities and taught people about Jesus. Key Passage: Romans 1:16 Unit Christ Connection: God chose Paul to be a witness to all he had seen and heard of the risen Christ. Unit 35 Session 3 Younger Elementary 1
Sunday, Aug 2, 2015 Welcome time Activity page (5 minutes) Session starter (10 minutes) Key passage activity (5 minutes) Kidzone KG and 1st Grade Small Group Small Group Time THE BIBLE STORY Paul s Second Journey Acts 15:36 16:40 Bible story review (10 minutes) Activity choice (10 minutes) Journal (5 minutes) Prayer (5 minutes) Paul had traveled to several towns with Barnabas, and they shared the good news about Jesus. Many people believed their message, but others were against them and did not believe. A few days after Paul and Barnabas arrived back in Antioch, Paul decided to go back to the towns. He wanted to check on the new believers and see how they were doing. This time, Paul chose Silas (SIGH luhs) to go with him. Silas was a leader in the early church. So the church sent them out. Paul and Silas traveled through the countries of Syria and Cilicia (sih LISH ih uh). They met with the churches there. All the churches were getting stronger, and more people believed in Jesus every day. One night, Paul saw a vision. A vision is like a dream, but Paul was awake. In the vision, God told Paul to go to Macedonia (mass uh DOH nih uh). God wanted Paul to share the gospel with the people there. So Paul and his companions went to Macedonia. They stopped for a few days in a city called Philippi (FIH lih pigh). On the Sabbath Day, Paul and his friends went outside the city to the river to pray. Some women were there, and Paul started talking to them. A woman named Lydia was listening, and God opened her heart to accept what Paul was saying. Lydia and everyone in her house was baptized. On another day, Paul and Silas were on their way to pray, and a servant girl met them. She had a spirit in her that allowed her to predict the future. She earned a lot of money for her masters by telling the future. The girl followed Paul and Silas, shouting, These men, who are telling you how to be saved, are servants of the Most High God! She followed them for many days. Finally, Paul turned and said to the spirit in her, By the power of Jesus Christ, I command you to come out of her! And the spirit came out right away. Now the girl s owners were upset because she could no longer tell the future and make money for them. They grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them to the authorities. They complained about the things Paul and Silas were doing. The officials ordered for Paul and Silas to be beaten and thrown into jail. About midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing Unit 35 Session 3 Younger Elementary 2
Sunday, Aug 2, 2015 Kidzone KG and 1st Grade Small Group songs to God. The other prisoners were listening to them. All of a sudden, a violent earthquake shook the foundation of the jail. All the doors flew open, and everyone s chains came loose! The jailer woke up and saw the prison doors open. He thought the prisoners had escaped, so he took out his sword and was about to kill himself. Don t hurt yourself! Paul said. We are all here! The jailer rushed inside and fell down in front of Paul and Silas, shaking with fear. Then he took Paul and Silas outside. Men, what must I do to be saved? he asked. They said to him, Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved you and your household. Paul and Silas told the message of Jesus to the jailer and to everyone in his household. All of them believed and were baptized right away. The jailer washed Paul s and Silas wounds. He brought them into his house and fed them. Later that day, Paul and Silas were set free. Christ Connection: Lydia, the jailer, and many others were saved because they believed in Jesus. Jesus offers us salvation as a gift. He did all the work to save us by dying on the cross. We do not need to earn salvation; we can just receive it by repenting and trusting in Jesus. SMALL GROUP OPENING Session Title: Paul s Second Journey Bible Passage: Acts 15:36 16:40 Big Picture Question: What did Paul do as he traveled? Paul started churches in other cities and taught people about Jesus. Key Passage: Romans 1:16 Unit Christ Connection: God chose Paul to be a witness to all he had seen and heard of the risen Christ. Welcome time: Arriving Activity: Earthquaked paper (optional) furniture items Flip over a few chairs and scatter paper on the floor to simulate what might happen in the event of an earthquake. Invite kids to enter the room and explain what they think happened. Say Today, our story includes an earthquake that shook the ground around Paul. Paul was on his second missionary journey when this happened. Paul had been traveling like he had for his first missionary journey. What did Paul do as he traveled? We are going to find out today! Ask kids to help you straighten up the room. Unit 35 Session 3 Younger Elementary 3
Sunday, Aug 2, 2015 Kidzone KG and 1st Grade Small Group Activity page (5 minutes) Map it Out activity page, 1 per kid pencils Guide boys and girls to complete the activity page. Say Where do you go during a week? Did you draw a place that wasn t in the key on the activity page? Session starter (10 minutes) Option 1: Earthquake game Instruct kids to move freely around the room. When you say, Earthquake! and turn the lights on and off, kids will drop to the floor. After a few rounds, explain that the last person to drop to the floor will be out and must stay seated where he is. Declare the last child standing the winner! Say In our story today, Paul experiences an earthquake while he traveled, but that s not the most important part of his travels. We ll find out what was most important to Paul in just a few moments. Option 2: Fastest packer suitcases or bags, 2 travel size toiletries items you might pack for a mission trip (T- shirts, socks, books, first aid supplies, so forth) Form two teams. Place the items inside suitcase or bag and place them on one side of the room. Ask the teams to line up on the other side of the room. Teams will run relay style to the luggage, unpacking one item at a time until they unpack all the items. Then, the team will repack the items one at a time. The first team to repack all the items and close the luggage wins! Say We always take what we will need with us when we go on a trip, but I bet Paul didn t get to take items on his journey like the ones we packed. Today, we are going to learn about another journey that Paul took to tell others about Jesus. Do you remember where Paul went on his first journey? (Antioch in Asia, Iconium, Cyprus, Lystra, Derbe) On Paul s second missionary journey, He traveled through Syria and Cilicia and met with churches there with his friend Silas. They also went to Macedonia. Today we will find out more about what Paul did as he traveled! Unit 35 Session 3 Younger Elementary 4
Sunday, Aug 2, 2015 SMALL GROUP LEADER Kidzone KG and 1st Grade Small Group Session Title: Paul s Second Journey Bible Passage: Acts 15:36 16:40 Big Picture Question: What did Paul do as he traveled? Paul started churches in other cities and taught people about Jesus. Key Passage: Romans 1:16 Unit Christ Connection: God chose Paul to be a witness to all he had seen and heard of the risen Christ. Key passage activity (5 minutes) Key Passage Slide or Poster dry erase board and markers (optional) paper markers tape Make sure the key passage, Romans 1:16, is visible for each child, either as the printed poster or written on a dry erase board. Read the verse together. Say Romans 1:16 reminds us that Jesus made a way for us all to be made righteous before God through His death and resurrection. Jesus sacrifice is the best news! We shouldn t be ashamed or embarrassed to tell others the gospel. When Jesus has changed our hearts, we have to share the good news with as many people as we can! Write a few words of the verse on separate sheets of white paper. Post the sheets around the room, in a random order. Form teams of two to four kids. Explain that teams will link arms and run to each set of words in the order of the verse. Teams should read the words aloud together each time they reach a posted phrase. You may make this game a competition or just for fun. Bible story review (10 minutes) Bibles, 1 per kid Small Group Visual Pack Big Picture Question Slide or Poster Paul s Second Journey Map Encourage the kids to find Acts 15 16 in their Bibles. Help them as needed. Say The Book of Acts is a history of the early church. It tells us how more and more people heard about Jesus and trusted Him. Because of the Holy Spirit s work through Paul and many Unit 35 Session 3 Younger Elementary 5
Sunday, Aug 2, 2015 Kidzone KG and 1st Grade Small Group other Christians, more and more believers were added to the church. Ultimately, people continued telling others and, as a result, someone was able to tell each of us about Jesus, too! Use the small group visual pack to show kids where today s Bible story is on the timeline. Ask kids to shake their hands in the air each time you say Paul and to point to a different area of the room each time Paul and Silas go somewhere new. Use Paul s Second Journey Map to show kids where Paul traveled during this journey. Review the Bible story provided using the bolded text, or summarize the story in your own words. Say These events happened after Jesus resurrection. Paul became a Christian when he was traveling to Damascus, and then the Holy Spirit led him to go on journeys to tell people about Jesus. Show the big picture question slide or poster. Say What did Paul do as he traveled? Paul started churches in other cities and taught people about Jesus. How can we honor Jesus like Paul was doing? We might not go to a faraway city to tell others, but we can tell anyone we talk to about Jesus. Why do you think it was so important that Paul started churches? (Churches help people hear about Jesus, grow in their relationship with Him, and tell others. The church is a picture of God s grace and love for His people.) Why do you think our church is important? Have you ever told someone about Jesus or invited him or her to come with you to church? Activity choice (10 minutes) Option 1: Tour the church building Say Paul started churches as he went from city to city. Let s take a tour of our church building. Take a trip around your church building. Explain that different groups of people meet in different areas of the church. Tell them about a few special ways that the church building is used, like for weddings, food pantries, or missions opportunities. Say The Bible tells us that the church is not the building where we go to worship God, but the church is the people of God who worship Him! Anyone who loves and trusts God is part of His church, and the Bible says that Jesus loves His church deeply. The Bible even calls the church Jesus Bride! What did Paul do as he traveled? Paul started churches in other cities and taught people about Jesus. Paul didn t build big buildings so people could meet and hear about Jesus; he told people about Jesus and then the people he talked with told others about Jesus, and there a church began! Unit 35 Session 3 Younger Elementary 6
Sunday, Aug 2, 2015 Kidzone KG and 1st Grade Small Group Option 2: Make invitations heavyweight paper markers glue and other craft items Guide kids to make invitations for friends to come to your church s small groups and worship service. Explain that we can invite others to come hear about Jesus. Church isn t the only place our friends can hear about Jesus. We can tell them about Him anywhere. Say What did Paul do as he traveled? Paul started churches in other cities and taught people about Jesus. Paul didn t build church buildings. He told others about Jesus. Those people in turn told others about Jesus, and began meeting together to learn about Him. The church is not the building, but the people! We can tell others about Jesus everywhere we go. To whom will you give your invitation? What will you tell them about Jesus when you invite them to church? Journal and prayer (5 minutes) Journal Page, 1 per kid markers or crayons Bible Story Coloring Page Distribute each child s journal page provided with this session. Explain that Paul s and Silas actions after the earthquake made the jailer want to become a Christian. Ask kids to remind you what happened. Remind kids that Paul and Silas explained the truth about Jesus even when they were in jail! Ask kids to draw a place that they can tell and show others about Jesus. Writers may make a list of locations and tell how they might show or tell others about Him. Say What did Paul do as he traveled? Paul started churches in other cities and taught people about Jesus. Paul started churches by telling others about Jesus. We can show others that the Holy Spirit has made a change our lives by the way we act and tell them about Jesus with our words. There are lots of places we might go to do that. If time remains, take prayer requests or allow kids to complete the coloring page provided with this session. Pray for each child by name. Ask God to provide opportunities for them to tell others about Jesus. Thank God for allowing you to be part of the church. Dismiss to parents Make sure to check security tags when dismissing children. Unit 35 Session 3 Younger Elementary 7
UNIT 35 Session 3 Paul s Second Journey 2015 LifeWay OK TO PRINT Paul s Conversion and Ministry
UNIT 35 Session 3 Younger Kids Activity Pages Paul s Conversion and Ministry Instructions: Draw a map of where you go throughout the week using symbols to indicate each location. Add your own symbols if needed. 11
Paul s Second Journey Map Instructions: Print and use as directed in the leader guide. UNIT 35 Session 3 Older Kids Leader Guide 2015 LifeWay OK TO PRINT Paul s Conversion and Ministry