Unit 7 Paul the Apostle NT7.2 Paul Speaks Boldly · 2018-07-23 · Then Paul spoke to some of the...

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NT7.2 Paul Speaks Boldly © Beverly Wilson 2018

Unit 7 Paul the Apostle

NT7.2 Paul Speaks Boldly

Scripture: Acts 9:20-30

Lesson Goal: This lesson is about Paul was an Apostle chosen by God to take the gospel to the world. He was the first missionary and the greatest preacher of all time! This lesson is about how Paul spoke boldly through God’s power.

Introduction: This is the second lesson in Unit 7: Paul the Apostle. Paul was an Apostle chosen by God to take the gospel to the world. He was the first missionary and the greatest preacher of all time. This lesson is about how Paul spoke boldly through God’s power. Paul was so full of the good news that he had to tell people everywhere. This lesson comes from the book of Acts. Acts is the fifth book in the New Testament. This book was written by Luke the Apostle. The first four books of the New Testament--Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John-- tell about the life of Christ. The fifth book--Acts--tells about the beginning of the church. Let's say the first five books of the New Testament together--Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Acts.

Attention Getter: “Newspaper” Do you know what this is? Yes, it is a newspaper. A newspaper tells us what is happening in the world every day. Many people take a daily newspaper so they can know all the news. (Bring a newspaper to class and discuss the parts of the paper—world news, local news, editorial, sports, advertising, etc. Emphasize the importance of a paper in making accurate and objective statements about events.)

Did you know that the message about how Jesus came to earth and died for our sin is called the gospel? The word gospel means the good news. (Compare to Bible to the newspaper. It is a record of God’s message to us.)

In this lesson we are going to meet someone who was so full of good news that he had to tell people everywhere. His name was Paul.

Optional: Ask the following questions: What do you normally use a basket for? What would you put into your basket? Have you ever seen a basket large enough to carry a man? (Some may think of the basket under a hot air balloon.)

Opening Prayer: Dear Father in heaven, we believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He came to earth to give us the gift of salvation. Thank you for loving us so much that you died on the cross to pay for the wrong things we have done. Help us follow Paul’s example by speaking boldly about you. Show us someone that we can speak boldly to today about your love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Memory Verse: Our memory verse is Romans 1:16 “I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is

power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.”

Lesson Video: https://youtu.be/fe1MJV4uyVM

Paul was a very religious man who first known as Saul. Saul was a Pharisee who hated the followers of Jesus. He believed that the Christians were dangerous to Judaism. Saul was so angry at the Christians that he got permission to travel to Damascus to capture Christians and bring them back to Jerusalem and put them in jail.

But God stopped Saul on the Road to Damascus. Jesus appeared to him in a great light that shone from heaven. The light was so bright it caused Saul to fall to the ground. Saul then heard a voice say, “Why are you fighting against me?” Saul then asked, “Who are you?”

https://youtu.be/fe1MJV4uyVM

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Jesus replied, “I am Jesus the one you are trying to hurt.” Jesus then said, “You are to go into the city of Damascus and then you will be told what to do next.

When Saul got up, he was totally blind. He couldn’t see anything. So his men had to take him by the hand and lead him to a house in Damascus. For three days Saul did not eat or drink. He just prayed because now he knew that Jesus was the Son of God. Saul himself wanted to be a believer. He prayed and prayed for God to do whatever He wanted.

Soon God sent a man named Ananias to help Saul. Ananias had heard how Saul was out to arrest Christians. He was worried that Saul might kill him. But God said, “Go to Saul. I have chosen him to tell many people about me.”

So Ananias went. He prayed for Saul and suddenly Saul could see again. Ananias baptized Saul and brought him to meet Jesus’ friends in Damascus.

After Paul began to follow Jesus he stayed in Damascus. Immediately he began to talk about Jesus in the synagogues. He told the people, “Jesus is the Son of God.”

All the people who heard him speak so boldly were amazed. They asked, “Isn’t this the same man who was arresting and hurting believers in Jerusalem? Didn’t he come here to take back those who believe in Jesus as prisoners? Paul continued to boldly tell the people about Jesus the Messiah.

The Jews became confused and they were angry at Paul’s message. They planned to kill Paul. They sent soldiers throughout the city searching for Paul. They arrested many believers just trying to find Paul.

The city of Damascus had a wall around it and the Jews knew that there were only a few gates out of the city. They began to watch the gates in case Paul tried to leave through one of them.

When Paul found out about their plan he knew that he had to escape from Damascus. He and the other believers made a plan to get Paul out of Damascus safely. They knew that they could not go through the city gates because the Jews were watching them.

So at night the followers of Jesus lowered Paul in a basket through an opening in the city wall.

After escaping the Jews in Damascus Paul returned to the city of Jerusalem. He wanted to meet the disciples of Jesus in Jerusalem.

But the disciples were all afraid of him. Paul had persecuted them before and they didn’t believe that Paul was a follower of Christ.

Finally one disciple named Barnabas took Paul and brought him before the apostles. Barnabas spoke boldly before the apostles and told them the story of Paul. He told them how Paul had been stopped on the road to Damascus and how he had become a follower of Christ. He told the apostles that Paul had changed and had spoken in Jesus’ name so boldly in Damascus. Finally Paul was welcomed as a believer in Jesus and once again he began to speak boldly in Jesus’ name in the city of Jerusalem.

Then Paul spoke to some of the Jews living in Jerusalem. This group tried to kill Paul too. The other believers then helped Paul escape again by taking him to Caesarea and then to the city of Tarsus.

Paul spent the rest of his life telling people about Jesus. He traveled to many places and told kings. Government leaders, rich people, poor people, slaves and even jailers and prisoners the good news that Jesus is God’s Son. Paul told people that because of Jesus’ death on the cross and His resurrection from the grave they too could become a part of God’s family. Paul wrote many letters that told even more about Jesus. Some of these letters are in our Bible.

Just like Saul Jesus wants us to be part of God’s family and tell others about him. We can tell our friends and our family members what we have learned about Jesus. We can pray and ask God to help others learn to love Jesus too.

In Romans 1:16 Paul wrote this verse: “I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.” Let’s say that verse again together. Romans 1:16 “I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.”

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Let’s play a game called “Pop the Balloon.” Each of our balloons are going to have an excuse written on it. We are going to “pop the excuses.” People come with all kinds of reasons for not speaking about God. In this game we are going to bust the excuses.

Here is the first balloon. The excuse on this balloon is “I don’t know anything about the Bible.” How would you burst this excuse? Yes, you can read your Bible! That is how you learn what the Bible says. Also you can come to church and youth group to learn about Jesus too.

Here is the second balloon. This balloon says, “What I say won’t change anything.” How would you bust this excuse for telling people about Jesus? “Yes, it’s God’s job to change lives. It is just my job to share the message. God does not expect us to change people. He has given us the responsibility for us to tell others what Christ has done for them.

The next balloon says, “I’m just a kid.” Now, is that an excuse for not sharing the gospel with others?” No, you should be proud that you are a kid and you are bold enough to tell others about God. How old or how young we are is not an excuse for sharing God’s love with others.

Here is another balloon. “I don’t know what to say.” Would that be a good excuse? Well, God says that we should be ready to tell people about him. That means we might have to practice talking about God on our own. Now here is an easy way to tell others. It is the ABC’s. A- Admit that you have sinned. B-believe that Jesus is the Son of God and C-confess your sin and ask Jesus to be your Savior.

The last balloon says, “People will make fun of me.” Is that an excuse? Nope. We need to remember that what God thinks of us is more important than what others think of us. God knew that some people would not like to hear about him. He promises that he will give us extra strength and courage when that happens.

Remember don’t let excuses keep you from doing what God wants. Pop the excuse balloon!

Remember you can trust God to help you speak boldly about him.

Review Questions: “Hit the Target” Preparation: Draw a large target on a large sheet of poster paper. Divide the target into six sections with a bull’s eye. Write points on each of the circles with more points for the inner circles. Thumbtack the target to the bulletin board or wall. You will need bean bags to hit the target. Procedure: Have students take turns throwing the bean bag toward the target. Record the position on the target where the bean bag hits. Students must correctly answer the following review questions in order to score the points.

1. What name did Paul the Apostle first have before he became a believer? (He was called Saul. Saul was his Hebrew name and Paul was his Roman name. Paul used his Roman name because he was preaching to Gentiles or Romans. The name Paul also means “small” or “little” and he thought of himself as small compared to Christ.)

2. How did Saul feel about the believers or the ones who followed Jesus? (He hated them and believed that they were dangerous to Judaism.)

3. Why did the early Christians leave Jerusalem? (King Herod Agrippa began to arrest and kill early believers.)

4. What did Saul do as a result of hating the believers? (He went from house to house, dragging out the believers and having them thrown into jail and put to death without good cause.)

5. Who was the first person to be martyred for being a Christian? (Stephen the deacon was the first person to be martyred for preaching the gospel.)

6. Who was holding the coats and garments of the Jews who were stoning Stephen? (Saul the young man who was a Pharisee was holding the coats of those who were stoning Stephen.)

7. What did young Saul think about Jesus? (He did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah. He did not know that Jesus was resurrected from the grave and was the Savior of all who believe.)

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8. Why was Saul going to Damascus? (He wanted to arrest believers there.) 9. How did Saul get permission to go on this mission of killing Christians? (Saul went to the High

Priest and asked for papers giving him permission to go to Damascus and arrest anyone belonging to “The Way” as Christians were known. He wanted to arrest the Christians and take them back to Jerusalem and put them in prison.)

10. What happened to Saul as he was traveling to Damascus? (Jesus appeared to him in a bright light and spoke to him from heaven.)

11. What did Jesus say to Saul? (A bright light shone from heaven and Saul fell to the ground. Jesus spoke to Saul and asked him why he was persecuting Jesus.)

12. What happened to Saul when the light from heaven was gone? (He recognized that Jesus was the Son of God and he believed in him. He was made blind.)

13. What did the Lord tell Ananias to do? (“Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man named Saul. He is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place hands on him to restore his sight.”)

14. What special mission did God say that He had for Saul to do? (God said, “I have chosen Saul to proclaim my Name not only to Jews but Gentiles (non-Jews) and their kings. I will also show him how much he must suffer for me.”)

15. What happened to Saul’s eyes when Ananias touched him? (Scales fell from his eyes and he could see.)

16. What did Saul do to show that he had received Christ as his Savior? (Ananias baptized him.) 17. How do we know Saul was changed? (He began preaching boldly that Jesus is the Son of

God.) 18. How did the other Christians feel about Saul as a new Christian? (They were amazed at the

change in his life.) 19. When Saul began preaching in Damascus, what did the angry Jews want to do? (The wanted

to kill him. They arrested many believers trying to search for him.) 20. Why were the soldiers begin watching the city gates? (They wanted to catch Saul and

prevent him from leaving the city without them knowing.) 21. How did the believers in Damascus help Paul? (They devised a secret plan to lower him over

the walls of the city in a basket so he could escape being arrested.) 22. Where did Paul go after he left Damascus? Why? (He returned to Jerusalem so he could

meet the other apostles—Peter and John.) 23. What happened when Paul tried to meet the apostles in Jerusalem? (They were afraid of

him.) 24. How did Paul finally get to meet the apostles? (Barnabas stood up for Paul and told the

apostles how Paul was saved on the Road to Damascus and had boldly preached in the synagogue there.)

25. What did Paul start doing in the temple of Jerusalem? (He began preaching that Jesus is God’s Son.)

26. What happened as a result of Paul boldly preaching again? (The Jews in Jerusalem wanted to kill him so the believers once again had to help Paul escape.)

27. What city did Paul go to next? (He went to Caesarea and then returned to his hometown of Tarsus. He preached Christ boldly everywhere he went.)

28. What part of the New Testament did Paul later write? (Paul wrote Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon and probably Hebrews.)

29. How are we to be like Paul when we accept Jesus as our Savior? (We become a part of God’s family and are to boldly proclaim the gospel to everyone.)

30. What are some excuses that people give for not boldly telling others about Jesus? (I don’t know anything about the Bible; What I say won’t change anything; I’m just a kid; I don’t know what to say; and People will make fun of me.)

31. Why should we not allow excuses to keep us from boldly telling others about Jesus? (God has given us this command and He is more important than anyone else. God will give us the strength and power to tell others. God wants people to be saved and go to heaven.)

32. What is our memory verse? (Romans 1:16 “I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.”)

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Bible Memory Verse Activity: “Echo Fun” Our memory verse is Romans 1:16 “I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.” Have students locate the verse in scripture and read orally together several times.

Say: “In this verse God is telling us that we do not need to be afraid of sharing the gospel or good news about Jesus with others. When we are afraid we can remember that God’s power is great. He has the power to give salvation to everyone who believes. Only God can save—no one else. He has promised to always be with us and love us.”

Preparation: You will need two sheets of paper for each child or two rhythm sticks.

Procedure: Play an echo game with the children. Give each child two rhythm sticks or simply roll up two sheets of paper for each child and tape them into a roll. When the leader or teacher says the words or phrases of the verse have the children “echo” your words back to you and imitate the rhythm that you tap out with your sticks. Practice a simple rhythm of beating on each syllable to match the following phrases:

Say: “I am not ashamed (Beat 5 times on each syllable) of the gospel (3 beats) because it is (3 beats) the power of God (4 beats) for the salvation (4 beats), of everyone (3 beats) who believes (3 beats).

Group Learning Activity: “Facial Expressions” (Grades K-3) Preparation: Draw facial expression on index cards, making one index card for each child. You will need a smiling or happy face; a scared face or surprised look; a sad or worried face (frowning); and an angry face. (See diagrams below.)

Procedure: Distribute the index cards so that each child in the class has a card. Duplicate cards by repeating the facial expressions to make enough for every student to participate. Children are to show the cards as you lead the following discussion questions. Say: “When I talk about the expression on your card, you are to show your card by holding it up so everyone can see. At the beginning of our lesson, how did Saul feel about the believers in Jesus? (He was angry and wanted to kill them.) Have students angry cards show them. Repeat in a similar way for the following scenarios:

How did the believers feel when Saul was coming to Damascus with his men? (Both scared and sad or worried.) How did Ananias feel about coming to see Saul? (scared or worried) How did the believers feel when Paul began preaching in the synagogue? (surprised or scared) How did Saul feel when his blind eyes were healed? (happy) How did the Jews feel when Paul began preaching in Damascus? (angry) How did the believers feel when they were helping Paul escape? (scared) How did Paul feel when he safely escaped in a basket? (happy) How did the apostles feel when Paul wanted to meet them in Jerusalem? (scared or surprised) How did God feel when Paul boldly preached about Jesus? (happy) How do we feel when people mistreat us? (sad)

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Say: Our memory verse is Romans 1:16 “I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.” This verse will help us to not be afraid of sharing the good news about Jesus with others. We know that God’s power is stronger than anyone or anything. We can also trust Him because He has promised to be with us, help us, and love us. One way God shows his love for us is by giving us people who help us and care for us.”

Group Learning Activity: Scripture: “ABC’s of Salvation” (Grades 3-5) Preparation: Each student will need a Bible. Optional: Print color sheet of ABC’s of Salvation. Procedure: Distribute Bibles to every student. Have students locate and read aloud the scriptures associated with the ABC’s of salvation. Say: "Today we are going to study the scriptures to find out more about the ABC’s of salvation. These are the scripture references that are good to keep in mind when sharing Jesus with someone.” Admit: “Confess to God that you are a sinner. Repent or turn away from your sin.”

Romans 3:23 “ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus

our Lord.”

1 John 1:9 “f we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

Acts 3:19 “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,”

Believe: “Trust that Jesus is God’s Son and that God sent Jesus to save people from their sins.”

Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Acts 4:12 “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

1 Peter 3:18 “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.”

John 14:6 “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Confess or Commit: “Give your life to Jesus and ask Him to be your Lord and Savior.”

Romans 10: 9, 10 “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”

Romans 10:13 “for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Matthew 16:24 “Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”

Luke 9:23 “Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”

Have students record the ABC’s of salvation in their spiritual journals or use ABC color sheet as a review of points.

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Group Learning Activity: “Pulleys and baskets” (Grades 3-5) Preparation: You will need simple pulleys that would be safe for children to play with. You could use a rope, table and chair, some carabiners, stuffed animals, and various sized baskets. Say: “A pulley is a simple machine that is used to lift heavy objects. It is sometimes called a block and tackle. Pulleys are usually used in sets designed to make the amount of force needed to lift something smaller. Today we are going to use some pulleys to experiment different ways that the early believers could have managed to help Paul escape from Damascus.” Procedure: Rig pulleys in the class that would be safe. One suggestion would be to simply put the rope over a table or sturdy chair. Tie a basket at the end of the rope. Let children put something in the basket like a stuffed animal or dolls, and bring them up and unload them. Review the events in the story are you act out the way a rope or pulley would work. Here is a super simple pulley system for kids that you could use. You only need three carabiners, some rope, and a place to hang the system. The kids will love to see how much weight they can lift off the ground. Tie the rope to one carabiner. You need a sturdy support beam like a saw horse. Put a couple of nails in the beam. Put the rope through the second carabiner and hang the second carabiner on the nail in the saw horse. Use the first carabiner to hook a can or whatever weight you want to use. Pull the rope down to lift the weight. (first picture) An adaptation of experiment is to add a second carabiner. By taking the rope through the second carabiner, it makes the work of lifting the weight twice as easy. (Adding a second carabiner reduces the pull of the rope by one half.) Let students experiment using the rope and pulley system.) Say: “We do not know how the early believers tied the rope or ropes to the basket but it probably was very helpful to use a couple of ropes and maybe even a pulley to lower Paul over the wall. The wall was very tall and could not be climbed easily without a great deal of help. Whatever system they used in helping Paul, the important thing was that they were trusting in God to help Paul safely escape in a basket. Say: “How do you think Paul felt when he was in the basket? He was probably glad that his new Christian friends were trying to help him. He was trusting God to help him. He was glad to be leaving the town to get away from those who were angry at him and wanted to kill him.” “When we are afraid, we can remember that God is with us and loves us. We can remember that God is more powerful than anyone or anything else. He has the power to save. We can trust Him to never leave or forsake us. We do not have to be afraid. We can boldly tell others about Jesus just like Paul did.” Let’s say our memory verse again together. Romans 1:16 “I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.”

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Group Learning Activity: “Basket Walk” (Grades K-3) Preparation: You will need four foot lengths of string or yarn for each child. OR you can use hula hoops, one per child. Say: “In our Bible lesson Paul escaped from the city of Damascus. How did Paul escape? He was lowered over the wall in a basket. Let’s play a game where we pretend to get in and out of a basket.” Procedure: Give each child the string or yarn. Demonstrate how to make a circle on the floor using the string. Or distribute the hula hoops one per child. Say: “Pretend your circle or hula hoop is a basket. Jump into your basket.” Pause while children follow the direction. “Jump out of your basket.” Continue with other directions such as “walk around the basket”, “walk backwards around the basket,” “tiptoe around the basket,” “put one foot in the basket,” “put one foot outside the basket;” “put both feet in the basket,” and out both hands outside of the basket” etc. Say: “How do you think Paul felt when he was in the basket? He was probably glad that his new Christian friends were trying to help him. He was trusting God to help him. He was glad to be leaving the town to get away from those who were angry at him and wanted to kill him.” “When we are afraid, we can remember that God is with us and loves us. We can remember that God is more powerful than anyone or anything else. He has the power to save. We can trust Him to never leave or forsake us. We do not have to be afraid. We can boldly tell others about Jesus just like Paul did.”

Group Learning Activity: “The Great Escape” Game (K-5) Preparation: You will need masking tape to make a square in the middle of the room. This will be the basket. The square should be large enough for all the children to be able to stand inside. Say: One time the apostle Paul was in great danger. Some of the people wanted to kill him. What made it worse was that he was trapped within the city walls of Damascus. The walls were very high, and he couldn't jump down from them. And there were guards posted at all the gates, so if he tried to go through the gates they could capture him. The only way was to lower Paul down through an opening of the city wall in a basket. (see Acts 9:23-25). This too was very dangerous, and Paul may have been scared. But he had to get in the basket. Like our game here, you must get into the basket to be safe. Next explain to the children the rules of the game. Procedure: Start by having everyone line up around the outside of the basket. When the leader says, “Jump into the basket,” all the children must jump into the basket. When you say “Out of the basket” everyone must jump out. A child is out of the game if he or she does not make it all the way inside or outside the basket in one jump, steps on a line, or falls down. You can go faster and faster to make it harder. Optional: Have the children line up around the outside of the basket, and then take three giant steps backwards away from the basket. Then, when you say, “Into the basket,” everyone must hop on one foot into the basket. The last one to make it inside is out of the game. Then repeat, with one more child out of the game each time. Continue until you have a winner.

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Group Learning Activity: “Missionaries’ Biographies” (Grades 3-5) Preparation: You will need copies of the Missionary Biographies and the Missionary Quotes below for each child. Cut the biographies and the quotes into strips. You will also need paper, pencils, and scissors. Say: “In this lesson we learned that God called Saul who was later called Paul to become the first missionary. God said, “I have chosen Saul to proclaim my Name not only to Jews but Gentiles (non-Jews) and their kings. I will also show him how much he must suffer for me.” A missionary is a person who is committed to telling other people about Jesus. Some people who are missionaries put their lives in danger every day. Let’s discover some people who faced danger for telling others about Jesus.” Procedure: Distribute the “Missionary Biographies” strips to volunteers in the class. Guide the children to read aloud their biographies. Talk about how the people were committed to tell about Jesus. Distribute the “Missionary Quotes.” Read and discuss the quotes. Select a child to read aloud 1 John 4:14 “And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.” Say: “What does it mean to testify about Jesus? How can we do this?” Talk about places children can tell about Jesus. Share how you tell about Jesus. Pray for opportunities to tell people about Jesus.

Say: “In one hundred years could someone read something about you and your commitment to tell about Jesus?” Distribute the paper and pencils. Guide the children to write stories about themselves and a time they told someone about Jesus or learned about the importance of telling someone about Jesus. Invite the children to share their stories.

Craft Learning Activity: “Woven Baskets” (Grades K-5) Preparation: You will need a Bible, 2 foot lengths of yarn, tape, and small wooden berry or fruit baskets for each child, and a small toy person. Plastic berry basket containers may also be used but you may have to cut slits in the sides of the plastic container in order to weave the yarn. Make a sample basket. Say: “In this lesson a man named Paul escaped from the angry Jews in Damascus by climbing into a big basket and his friends lowered him down a high wall in order to escape. Today we are going to make a woven basket to help us remember this Bible lesson.” Procedure: Have students wrap one end of each yarn length with tape. Tie the other end of the yarn length to an upper corner of each strawberry or berry basket. Children are to make the baskets by weaving yarn through the sides of the fruit basket. Provide a 3 foot length of string and some toy people so students can demonstrate how God used Paul’s friends to help him escape. Briefly retell the story. Say: “How do you think Paul felt when these men were angry at him? (He was probably scared because he knew that they had the power to kill him.) Even in scary times God was with Paul and loved him. God gave friends to Paul to help him escape.” (Use the toy person in the basket as a way to demonstrate how Paul escaped.) “Open your Bible to Psalm 56:4 “In God, whose word I praise—in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” When we trust in God, it means we remember that He is with us and loves us. Sometimes we might feel afraid, or worried. We can remember that God loves us. Let’s review our memory verse. Romans 1:16 “I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.”

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Optional: If baskets are not available you can use two colors of 9” X 12” construction paper, ruler, pencil, scissors, tape or glue. For each child prepare the a construction paper with slits already cut 1 apart leaving a margin of 1 ½ “ wide. You will also need to cut seven paper strips (1” x 12”) from another color page of construction paper. Have children weave paper strips through the slits in the construction paper. See diagrams below.

Craft Learning Activity: “Saul Escapes in a Basket” Yarn Pull (Grades K-3) Preparation: You will need copies of “Saul Escapes in a Basket” craft page below (one per child), 4 inch pieces of yarn, hole puncher, scissors, crayons. Procedure: Give each child a craft page and a Saul in a basket. Have students color the page with the men looking over the wall and the page with the drawing of the basket with Saul. Cut out the basket with Saul with scissors. Punch a hole in the craft page just below the man’s hand and in the basket just below the knot. Thread the yarn through the holes and tie the knot on the ends. The students can pull the string and let Saul down.

Craft Learning Activity: “Saul on the Damascus Road” Spinner (Grades K-4) Preparation: You will need printed copies of the “Saul on the Damascus Road” craft page. Use cardstock to make the printed copies (one for each student). You will also need crayons, scissors, hole-punch, and brads. Procedure: Give each student a craft page and have them cut off the bottom portion of the page and then cut out the spinner. Next, have them decorate each picture and attach their spinners with a brad. Spin Saul around the road as you review the lesson.

Craft Learning Activity: “Paul in a Basket” (Grades K-3) Preparation: You will need a small plain paper or Styrofoam cup (one per child); one printed figure of Paul from template below; thin rope or cord; hole punch, scissors, facial tissues, and markers. Procedure: Distribute materials to students. Have students color the figure of Paul and cut out along outside lines. Cut off pieces of yarn or string about 24 inches long. You will need two pieces for each basket. Use a small paper cup for a basket. Help the children punch two holes at opposite ends along the top and tie one end of the 24 inch piece of cord through each hole. These will become the ropes used by the disciples to lower the basket over the wall. The craft can also be hung from a wall hanger, or a door knob. The children can decorate their basket with colored markers to make it look like a basket, or whatever design they like. Then, have the children place a crumbled up tissue into the bottom of the basket to hold Paul. (You can use more or less tissue depending on the size of your cup, so Paul can look over the top of the basket.) Finally help the children cut out a Paul figure and place him inside the basket. As the children are working on their craft, explain how God can protect us in many different ways. Some of them may be kind of strange, like the time Paul's friends put him in a basket and lowered him through an opening of the city wall in a basket. When we are afraid, we should remember that God is there with us. When we call upon Jesus, He will give us the courage we need. God's hands are like a basket. When we are held by His hands, we do not need to be afraid.

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Life Application Challenge: Ponder, Pray, and Play Say: “The first step for our challenge this week is to “Ponder.” Encourage each child to read Acts 9:19b-25, 28 with your family. Saul kept telling people about Jesus, even though some people wanted to stop him. What did Saul’s friends do to help him escape from the city?” Discuss what each of you would like to tell others about Jesus. Who can you tell? Pray this prayer each day this week: “Lord, thank You for keeping Saul safe so he could keep telling people about You. Please help us keep telling others about You, too. Amen.” Play “Saul Escapes!” Use your “Basket from Damascus” craft to act out the Bible story. Ask your family to help you pretend to be Saul’s friends and help him escape in the basket over a wall.

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Paul Speaks Boldly

Romans 1:16

“I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.”

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Paul Speaks Boldly

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Unit 7 Paul the Apostle NT7.2 Paul Speaks Boldly · 2018-07-23 · Then Paul spoke to some of the...

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Transcript of Unit 7 Paul the Apostle NT7.2 Paul Speaks Boldly · 2018-07-23 · Then Paul spoke to some of the...