Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Paul Tells About Jesus

Acts 16:9-15 


That night Paul had a vision. In the vision, a man from Macedonia came to him. The man stood there and begged, “Come over to Macedonia. Help us!”
       
After Paul had seen the vision, we immediately prepared to leave for Macedonia. We understood that God had called us to tell the Good News to those people.

We left Troas in a ship, and we sailed to Neapolis. Then we went by land to Philippi, the leading city in that part of Macedonia. It is also a Roman colony. We stayed there for several days.

On the Sabbath day, we went outside the city gate to the river. There we thought we would find a special place for prayer. Some women had gathered there, so we sat down and talked with them.

There was a woman named Lydia from the city of Thyatira. Her job was selling purple cloth. She worshiped the true God.  The Lord opened her mind to pay attention to what Paul was saying.

She and all the people in her house were baptized. Then Lydia invited us to her home. She said, “If you think I am truly a believer in the Lord, then come stay in my house.”

And she persuaded us to stay with her.


Discussion Questions

  • Where did Paul and the other disciples go? Macedonia
  • Who did they meet in Macedonia? Lydia
  • What happened to Lydia and all the people in her household? They were baptized.
  • Then what did Lydia do? She invited Paul and the other disciples to stay with her.


Prayer


Dear God,
Thank you for the story of Paul telling others about you. Thank you for Lydia believing in you and for being a good friend to Paul. Amen.


Bible Verse for April


““Tell the good news about Jesus.”      Acts 8:35


Activites


Action Rhymes: Ten Little Friends
Materials:
  • A pen or felt-tip marker


Guide Your Child To:
  • Draw smiley faces on each of your child’s fingers
  • Have him hold up all his fingers as you sing this song:


One little, two little, three little friends,
Four little, five little, six little friends,
Seven little, eight little, nine little friends,
Ten little very kind friends.

Talk About:
  • Who was a friend in this story?
  • What happened?


Art Center: Purple Collages

Materials:
  • Bible
  • Purple collage materials (scrap paper, yarn, fabric scraps, etc.)
  • Magazines
  • Scissors
  • Glue
  • Construction paper
  • Purple markers
  • Optional: purple yarn or ribbon & a hole punch


Guide Your Child to:
  • Cut out purple items from the magazines. 
  • Using the magazine pieces and the purple collage materials, glue onto the construction paper in any design your child desires. 
  • When the glue has dried, use purple markers to outline the collage shapes and add other designs.


Optional:
  • Along the edges of each sheet of white construction paper, use a hole punch to make holes. 
  • For each family member, cut three 18-inch lengths of purple yarn. 
  • To make a needle, wrap a piece of transparent tape around one end of each yarn length. 
  • Let your child weave purple yarn through the holes to create a border for her collage.


Talk About:
  • Paul told Lydia the good news about Jesus.  What do you think is the good news?
  • The good news is that Jesus loves you.  You can tell others the good news, too!  You can say, “Jesus loves you.”
  • Who is someone you love?  Jesus loves him/her too!  Jesus loves you and me and everyone! 
  • Jesus wants us to tell others about His love.  To whom can you tell the good news?