Sunday, Kidzone KG and 1st Grade Small Group Aug 23, 2015 TEACHER BIBLE STUDY Paul’s Ministry to Rome Acts 21:17–28:31 Through the prophet Agabus, the Holy Spirit had told Paul that he would be bound iF he went back to Jerusalem, and that’s exactly what happened. Some Jews there accused him of teaching against God. They tried to kill him, but a Roman army commander stopped them and arrested Paul. Paul had been born a Roman citizen, and his status as such protected him from an unjustiFied beating. While in prison, the Lord told Paul that he would one day teach about Him in Rome. Rome was one of the most powerFul and influential cities of that day. But Paul spent two years in prison beFore he was sent to Rome to be heard by Caesar. Along the way, the ship Paul was sailing on wrecked near the island of Malta. But God kept everyone safe, and Paul had a chance to pray for people who lived on the island. He even healed some of them. Months later, Paul reached Rome. He was still a prisoner, but he was allowed to stay in a house by himselF with a guard. He taught everyone who visited him about Jesus and the kingdom of God. Nothing—not beatings or shipwrecks or prisons—could keep Paul from preaching about Jesus. Paul went to jail for teaching about Jesus, but God made the way for Paul to continue spreading the good news of Jesus in Rome. Everyone there knew Paul was in prison for teaching about the Messiah. (Phil. 1:12-13) God protected Paul so he could keep telling people about Jesus. No punishment or sufFering stopped Paul From telling others about Jesus. As you teach, prompt kids to think about whether or not anything could stop them From telling others about Jesus. Pray that God would give them boldness and that He would grow them up to live on mission for Christ. Remind kids that the Holy Spirit gives believers power to share the gospel all over the world so people will know and love Jesus. YOUNGER KIDS BIBLE STUDY OVERVIEW Session Title: Paul’s Ministry to Rome Bible Passage: Acts 21:17–28:31 Big Picture Question: How did God help Paul on his journey? God protected Paul so he could keep telling 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 6 – Younger Elementary 1 Sunday, Kidzone KG and 1st Grade Small Group Aug 23, 2015 Small Group Time Welcome time Bible story review (10 minutes) Activity page (5 minutes) Activity choice (10 minutes) Session starter (10 minutes) Journal (5 minutes) Key passage activity (5 minutes) Prayer (5 minutes) THE BIBLE STORY Paul’s Third Journey Acts 18:18–21:16 Paul traveled with his friends Aquila and Priscilla from Corinth to Ephesus (EF uh suhs). Aquila and Priscilla stayed in Ephesus while Paul visited churches throughout Asia. Paul helped the believers in the cities grow stronger in their faith. Paul made his way back to Ephesus. He went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months. He tried to persuade the Jews to believe the truth about Jesus and the kingdom of God. But some of them refused to believe, and they made Fun oF the Way. Paul left the Jews and went with other Christ-followers to a school. He talked with people there every day for two years. Because of Paul’s work, everyone in Asia—both Jews and Greeks—heard the truth about God. Trouble started in Ephesus. A man named Demetrius (dih MEE trih uhs) made a living by making little silver shrines of the goddess Artemis. When Paul came around preaching about the one true God, Demetrius and the other silversmiths worried that people would stop worshiping gods made by hand. This would be bad for their business! So these men started shouting. “Great is Artemis, the goddess of Ephesus!” they said. For two hours, they all said the same thing: “Great is Artemis of Ephesus! Great is Artemis of Ephesus!” Paul waited for the trouble to stop, and then he left Ephesus. Paul and the men traveling with him went to the city of Troas (TROH az). They met together to eat the Lord’s Supper. Paul talked to the group until midnight. As he spoke, a young man named Eutychus (YOO tih kuhs) was sitting in the window. He listened to Paul talking and became very sleepy. When he fell asleep, he fell out the window—three stories down to the ground. Eutychus was dead, but Paul went to his side and put his arms around him, and Eutychus came back to life. Paul told the other believers not to worry. “He is alive now,” Paul said. The believers took Eutychus home alive, and they were greatly comForted. Paul left Troas and traveled back toward Ephesus. He decided not to stop in Ephesus, but he asked the leaders of the church there to meet him in a nearby city. Paul said to them, “I am Unit 35 Session 6 – Younger Elementary 2 Sunday, Kidzone KG and 1st Grade Small Group Aug 23, 2015 obeying the Spirit and going to Jerusalem. I do not know what will happen to me there, but I know that trouble and jail wait for me. I do not care about my own life. The most important thing is that I finish the work Jesus gave me to do. I want to tell people the good news of God’s grace.” Paul and the church leaders prayed together, and they cried because they knew they might never see Paul again. Paul sailed toward Jerusalem. Along the way, believers in Syria told him not to go. But Paul kept going. When he was almost to Jerusalem, a prophet named Agabus (AG uh buhs) came to Paul. He took Paul’s belt and tied it around his hands and feet. “The Holy Spirit tells me that the man who wears this belt will be tied up, just like this.” The believers begged Paul not to go to Jerusalem, but Paul could not be stopped. “I am ready to go to jail—or even to die!—for the name of the Lord Jesus,” Paul said. Christ Connection: Paul shared the gospel with people who didn’t know Jesus, and he encouraged believers in the church to keep loving Jesus. As people heard the message of salvation, God changed their hearts and they turned away from their sin. The good news about Jesus is powerful and life-giving. SMALL GROUP OPENING Session Title: Paul’s Ministry to Rome Bible Passage: Acts 21:17–28:31 Big Picture Question: How did God help Paul on his journey? God protected Paul so he could keep telling 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: Show me with your Face Guide kids to gather around you. Explain that you will give them a scenario and they will use facial expressions to show they would feel in that scenario. (Possible scenarios: your family is going on a trip, you are going to have a little brother or sister, your friend is mad at you and you don’t know why, you made a bad grade on a test, you get in trouble for something you didn’t do, you won a prize.) Say • Sometimes things don’t go the way we want them to go, and we might Feel sad or angry. In today’s story, Paul faced many difficult times, but he continued to trust God no matter what. How did God help Paul on his journey? God protected Paul so he could keep telling people about Jesus. Unit 35 Session 6 – Younger Elementary 3 Sunday, Kidzone KG and 1st Grade Small Group Aug 23, 2015 Activity page (5 minutes) • “Paul’s Journeys” activity page, 1 per kid • pencils Guide boys and girls to complete the activity page. Say • Paul had some difficult situations in his journeys. Why do you think Paul continued to travel to diFFerent places despite the hardships? Session starter (10 minutes) Option 1: Swab the deck Explain that kids will do motions that correlate with your orders. When you say “swab the deck,” kids will act like they are mopping the Floor. When you say “row ashore,” kids will line up in a straight line with three others and pretend to row a boat. When you say “lighthouse,” kids will turn in a circle and say, “Boop, boop, boop.” Say • In today’s story, a ship that Paul was traveling on wrecked! Paul trusted God through it all, and God helped him. We’ll find out just how God helped Paul in just a moment. Option 2: Make a passport • white paper • construction paper • markers • stapler • scissors Prior to the session, cut all the white paper and construction paper in half so that each sheet is 51/2 by 81/2 inches. Fold the white paper inside the construction paper and staple on the fold. Give each kid one booklet. Guide them to create a passport of all the places they like to go. Help them to designate one place on each sheet of paper and to decorate their booklets with markers. Say • Paul traveled all over Asia Minor and Europe telling people about Jesus.