Huddle Time August 9, 2020 Undercover Heroes Saul and

Today we are learning about the Acts Undercover Heroes Saul and Barnabas from :1-3, 14:8-18

A few weeks ago we learned about Saul's conversion when we learned about the Undercover Hero Ananias of . Ananias obeyed God by going to find Saul who was blind. After this, Saul became a follower of and was able to see again.

This week we follow Saul who now goes by his Greek name of Paul, and Barnabas. God has called them together to take the Good News to the ends of the Earth. Traveling together, they are sent by God to be missionaries. Click on the PDF for a playlist of links to resources and Huddle Chat and Action ideas.

Paul and Barnabas for younger children https://youtu.be/BK8MM42pi1A

Paul and Barnabas for older children https://youtu.be/8rNuUu8fe9k

Saul was both a Jew and a Roman citizen, so he had both a Jewish name (Saul) and a Roman name (Paul). The name “change” in the text doesn’t happen until Paul starts as the Apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 13:9), probably why he starts using his “gentile” name.

Our passage today starts with Barnabas and Saul worshipping in with other church leaders, namely prophets and teachers (five of which are named). Barnabas, it seems, was Saul’s “sponsor” in the church (:27). The Holy Spirit announced that God has called Barnabas and Saul to a special mission. They have been called by God to spread the good news of Jesus outside of Palestine (to the ends of the earth). The second part of the day’s reading gives an account of mistaken identity at of one of their stops.

Read Scripture: Acts 13:1-3 14:8-18

What if I had this great story to tell but I couldn’t get you to understand? Has that ever happened to you? You had a great story, but the person you were telling it to just couldn’t - or wouldn’t - understand? When someone doesn’t understand you, what can you do? Talk louder, talk slower, give up, walk away Paul and Barnabas had a wonderful story to share with the people of (LIHS-truh), but the people didn’t understand that Paul and Barnabas were trying to tell them about the glory of God. In fact, people of Lystra thought that Paul and Barnabas were gods themselves!

Paul and Barnabas must have felt frustrated and upset, but did they give up?

Even though they weren’t always understood, Paul and Barnabas stayed faithful and continued sharing their message of the goodness of God, telling their truths to the people of Lystra and bringing their message to many other places as well.

Paul and Barnabas weren’t the only ones traveling and sharing the good news at this time. Other missionaries like them were also sharing the word of God, and the church was expanding across the land, taking root in cities and towns, blooming across oceans and rivers.

Huddle Chat: The Holy Spirit chose Barnabas and Paul to go out and start to spread the Good News of Jesus . What if the Holy Spirit chose you? What would you do? Where would you go first? Who would you talk to?

Huddle Action: ACTS is a popular prayer technique using the four letters of the word ACTS to keep track of four important steps of prayer. The four steps are: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication. The greatest thing about these steps is that they can be used anytime, anyplace! The Holy Spirit chose Barnabas and Paul to go out on a mission to spread the good news. What if the Holy Spirit chose you? Would you know what to do? Here are some ideas of ways to focus your prayer time and devotions. Who knows, maybe Paul and Barnabas followed these steps as well... • The A in ACTS stands for Adoration. This means telling God just how much you love him. • The C in ACTS stands for Confession. This means admitting to God the things you’ve done or said that you might now regret. Tell God that you are sorry and ask for forgiveness — which God will gladly give. Make a pledge to not repeat the thing you did or said again. • The T in ACTS stands for Thanksgiving. Think about all the good things in your life and thank God for your blessings! • The S in ACTS stands for Supplication. Pray for something you need help doing, and pray for other people as well.

Huddle Prayer: Dear Jesus, Paul and Barnabas traveled all over, telling lots of people the good news about you. They prayed to God for faith and courage as they did their best to communicate in many new and different places. Help me to share the good news in different places and help me remember to pray every day in praise and thanksgiving of you. In your name we pray, Amen.