Death to the Tyrant Based on Acts 12

Death to the Tyrant based on acts 12

a new herod comes to power. herod agrippa wants to please jewish leaders, so he begins to persecute jesus’ followers Spring Les. 11

arrest the disciple called james. charge him with stirring up trouble and put him to death immediately!

so james, one of the four fishermen who left their nets to follow jesus, is killed to satisfy a wicked king’s struggle for power.

when herod sees that the death of james pleases the jewish leaders, he has peter arrested as well. he plans to execute peter after the passover feast. chain each hand to a guard, keep four soldiers on watch at all times. this prisoner must not escape!

herod to the on the to night bring before peter plans an angel ...enters trial, prison cell

Quick! get up! put on your clothes and sandals. follow me.

peter obeys, and the chains fall from his wrists. the angel leads peter out of the prison cell.

the angel takes peter past two sets scarcely believing what has happened, of guards–who don’t see them! as peter hurries to the home of mary, the they approach the iron gate in the mother of his young friend mark, where prison wall, it opens! they walk out his friends are praying for him. rhoda, into the city streets–and suddenly a servant girl, answers. the angel vanishes!

it’s me!

but instead of letting peter in, rhoda turns and runs back into the house ... it’s peter!

peter? rhoda, you’re so upset you’re imagining things.

the girl insists. finally someone goes to open the door. if you knew it was peter, why I was so didn’t you let excited to tell him in? you that I forgot to open the gate!

but instead of letting peter in, rhoda turns and runs back into the house ... cautiously they open the door ... peter! it’s really you!

did herod release you?

no, but god did. an angel woke me and told me to follow. I did– and the prison gates opened. the angel disappeared in the street. tell the others I am free. now I have to get out of jerusalem before herod finds out what happened.

the next morning, herod discovers the prisoner is gone.

you say he was chained to two guards and others were guarding the door, yet you expect me to believe that he just disappeared? search the city! find peter, or those guards will pay with their lives.

but the search fails. peter is safe. a few days later, herod appears at a public celebration in caesarea. wearing dazzling silver royal robes, he speaks to the people. to flatter him, they shout:

he has the voice of a god, not a man.

herod accepts the praise of the people, which should only be given to god. immediately, god strikes him down. herod lies sick for days while he is eaten by worms from the inside out. within the week, he dies.

with the death of herod, the persecution of the church stops for a time. the good news of jesus christ continues to spread through the land of the jews ...

Page 5, Lesson 11 Pix Puzzle Page Try a new puzzle with a friend. Follow these simple steps to create an original word search. Share the puzzle with a friend. See if your friend can tell the theme of your puzzle just by looking at the list of words.

1. Think of the things you learned this quarter. Fill in each line with a word from this quarter. You may want all the words to have a theme such a things Peter did in Acts. 2. Write the words in the grid. They could run forward, backward, or diagonally. You will want to have the words intersect each other when they have common letters. 3. Fill in the empty spaces with letters in any pattern you choose. 4. Share your puzzle and list with a friend! Pix Puzzle Page

Tasty BeatTreats the heat with one of these cool Summer’s almost here. smoothies. What other creations can you make with your favorite fruits?

Peach Raspberry Smoothie 2 ½ cups peach slices 1 cup raspberries Piña Colada Smoothie 1 cup raspberry yogurt ½ cup coconut milk 1 ¼ cups pineapple juice Make a raspberry puree by pushing the 2/3 cup pineapple chunks raspberries through a mesh strainer. 2 scoops vanilla ice cream Blend the puree, peach slices, and 1 pineapple slice yogurt in a blender.* Decorate glasses with a peach slice. Blend all ingredients together.* Decorate glasses with a pineapple slice.

Mixed Fruit Smoothie 2 peaches

1 banana Make a frozen treat with any of these recipes by ½ cup strawberries pouring the mix into rubber ½ cup yogurt ice cube trays in fun shapes. ½ cup orange juice Put a toothpick or wooden skewer in each shape. Place Peel and slice the banana and peaches. in your freezer until solid. Pop Remove leaves from strawberries and cut one out of the trays and enjoy into slices. Blend all ingredients together.* a mini frozen treat. Serve in a glass with a straw. Put banana and strawberry slices on the straw.

* Only use a blender with an adult’s permission and supervision.

Lesson 11, Page 7

Pause a minute 1. On a stage, it seems like faith everything runs smoothly during a play. But behind the curtain it’s as if another world forwardin touch with God exists. There are entire teams working together to make the Play it out lights, scenery, costumes, and even makeup work together. 2. For Peter, God was working Without all that work, the play behind the scenes to answer would just be a couple of people his prayers. Peter was in jail, talking on a dark platform in an chained between guards. The auditorium. Read James 5:16. church was gathered in a nearby house praying for Peter. God used an angel to wake up Peter, open the chains, and Take a look back walk out of jail—all the way to the house where people were 3. How has God shown His power praying. God’s show of power in in answering your prayers? delivering Peter was a surprising answer to prayer!

Often God works behind the key verse scenes to answer prayers. The prayer of a righeous People may only notice what person is powerful and He’s doing if they’re watching effective. James 5:16 carefully. God still does answer prayers in amazing ways.

Record your thoughts

4. What are you praying for this week? Write it down and watch for God’s answers.

Check out more on prayer in God’s Word: a Acts 12:1-19 a Ephesians 6:18 a Philippians 4:6-7

Page 8, Lesson 11 3-1054 Copyrighted material; permission required to reproduce.