6. Elisha and the Widow’s Oil (2 Kings 3-4)

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Lesson

Main Point: Our actions give proof of our faith in God.

Key Verse:

I will show you my faith by what I do. - James 2:18b

Props: A small bottle of oil, several clay or ceramic pots and jars displayed at the front of the classroom

Background/Review

Say: Remember, a prophet is a person chosen by God to be His messenger. Ask: Who can tell me the name of the prophet who was taken up into heaven? Elijah (ee-LY-dzhuh). Ask: Who can tell me the name of the man that replaced him as the most important prophet? Elisha (ee-LY-shuh). Say: Immediately after Elijah was taken to heaven, Elisha began being used by God to perform miracles. 2 Kings 3 records how Elisha was used to win a military battle for the nation of Israel.

Remember, after King Solomon died, God allowed Israel to be split into 2 nations: Israel in the North and Judah in the South. Ahab was the evil King of Israel who was married to the wicked Jezebel. These two ruled Israel while Elijah was the leading prophet.

Now we are in a new era. Elijah is gone; Ahab and Jezebel are dead. At this point in history, one of Ahab’s sons, Joram, was the King of Israel. Joram was not quite as evil as his parents, but he still sinned in God’s sight. There was a good, God-respecting King named Jehoshaphat over Judah, and Elisha was the head prophet.

Moab Revolts (2 Kings 3)

With Ahab gone, the king of Moab decided to rebel against Israel. King Joram asked the King of Judah to be on his side. The two Kings, Joram and Jehoshaphat, united their armies and traveled toward their enemy. But after marching for seven days, they were completely out of water. There was no water for the soldiers or their horses. Good King Jehoshaphat wanted to ask a prophet of God for advice. Elisha told bad King Joram that if it weren’t for Jehoshaphat, he wouldn’t even speak to Joram. Because Jehoshaphat was a King who respected the Lord, Elisha was willing to help them.

Elisha heard a message from the Lord, and told it to the Kings. The Lord told them to dig ditches all over the land. The Lord said, “You will not see wind or rain. But this valley will be filled with water. Then you, your cattle and your other animals will have water to drink. That’s an easy thing for the Lord to do. He will also hand Moab over to you.” (2 Kings 3:17-18) So the soldiers dug the ditches, and the next morning water came flooding in! It didn’t come from a rainstorm; it came flooding in from the country that the soldiers had just traveled through. Ask: Now how do we know that the Kings and soldiers believed that God would send the water? The soldiers dug the ditches! Say: If they had not believed God, the men would not have spent all night digging ditches! God invited the men to be part of His plan, and their actions gave proof of their trust in God.

With the ditches full of water, the soldiers and their horses had plenty to drink. In addition, when the Moab soldiers looked down over the land, the ditches of water looked red to them. Perhaps it was the reflection of the sunrise in the water, or maybe God just made it look red. The Moabites thought the ground was covered in blood! They thought the soldiers of Judah and Israel had all killed each other during the night. So the Moab army came running down expecting all their enemies to be dead. These soldiers were taken by surprise when the soldiers of Israel and Judah ran out to fight them. That day, the armies of God’s people won the battle against the army of Moab.

Application: Elisha helped the two Kings because Jehoshaphat respected and trusted God. Elisha made it very clear that if Jehoshaphat had not been involved in the battle, he would not have helped them (2 Kings 3:14). Did you know that this principle applies to you? God is with His children. He remembers those who trust in Him, and often His blessings spill over onto the non-believers in our lives. For example, what if a believer is on a team with non-believers? When God blesses the believer, the team receives a blessing. The same is true in a family. If one family member does not believe in the Lord, he or she will still get to share in some of the blessings that the believers receive (1 Corinthians 7:12-14). Whenever God blesses you, be sure to give Him the credit and glory for it. That way, those around you who benefit will be drawn to the God who gives all good things to us (James 1:17).

The Widow’s Oil (2 Kings 4:1-7)

Say: God used Elisha to do a miracle for the whole nation of Israel. Next we see that God is just as concerned about individual people. God had compassion on a woman who was left alone to raise her two young sons. Her husband was in the school of prophets, but he had died.

The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha. She said, “My husband is dead. You know how much respect he had for the Lord. But he owed money to someone. And now that person is coming to take my two boys away. They will become his slaves.”

Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me. What do you have in your house?”

“I don’t have anything there at all,” she said. “All I have is a little olive oil.”

Elisha said, “Go around to all of your neighbors. Ask them for empty jars. Get as many as you can. Then go inside your house. Shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all of the jars. As each jar is filled, put it over to one side.”

The woman left him. After that, she shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her. And she kept pouring. When all of the jars were full, she spoke to one of her sons. She said, “Bring me another jar.”

But he replied, “There aren’t any more left.” Then the oil stopped flowing.

She went and told the man of God about it. He said, “Go and sell the oil. Pay what you owe. You and your sons can live on what is left.”

Say: This woman was in a very desperate situation. She was in debt. Back then, when someone had a debt they could not pay, they had to offer themselves or their children as slaves to work until the debt was paid off. The only thing she owned that had any value was some oil, but it was almost gone. Then she would have nothing. With nowhere else to turn, she went to Elisha, the greatest prophet. Teacher: As you speak, show your many jars, hold up your small jar of oil, and make the motions as if you are pouring oil into each jar, then set it aside. Say: Elisha told the woman to collect empty jars from all her neighbors. She took her very small amount of oil and poured it into the first empty jar. Miraculously, the oil kept on pouring until the jar was filled. She set it aside and poured oil into the next jar. One by one, she filled each jar, until there were no empty jars left. With this abundance of oil, the woman could sell the oil, pay her debt, and still have plenty of money to provide for her needs and the needs of her sons. The Lord took what little the woman had and He multiplied it. He not only gave her enough money to pay her debt and keep her children from becoming slaves. But He gave her plenty extra so that she could buy food, clothing, and everything else they would need in the future. Ask: Now how do we know that the woman believed that God would help her? She collected jars from her neighbors! Say: If she had not believed God, she would not have bothered the neighbors and risked being embarrassed if nothing happened. God invited this woman to be a part of his plan, and her actions gave proof of her trust in God.

Application: Isn’t this story a beautiful picture of how much God cares for His children? No problem is too great or too small for our loving God! Jesus taught His disciples how much God cares for each of us. He said:

Aren’t five sparrows sold for two pennies? But God does not forget even one of them. In fact, He even counts every hair on your head! So don’t be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows. - Luke 12:6-7

If God takes care of the smallest bird in the sky, He will certainly take care of those who trust in Him.

The Shunammite Woman (2 Kings 4:8-37)

Say: A rich woman and her husband lived in a town called Shunem. Every time Elisha came to visit Shunem, the woman invited Elisha to eat with them. The woman was kind to Elisha because she knew he was a holy man of God. She and her husband even made a small bedroom on their roof so Elisha would have a place to stay when he was in town.

One day Elisha came. He went up to his room. He lay down there. He said to his servant Gehazi, “Go and get the Shunammite woman.” So he did. She stood in front of Elisha.

He said to Gehazi, “Tell her, ‘You have gone to a lot of trouble for us. Now what can we do for you? Can we speak to the king for you? Or can we speak to the commander of the army for you?’ “

She replied, “I live among my own people. I have everything I need here.”

After she left, Elisha asked Gehazi, “What can we do for her?”

Gehazi said, “Well, she doesn’t have a son. And her husband is old.”

Then Elisha said, “Bring her here again.” So he did. She stood in the doorway. “You will hold a son in your arms,” Elisha said. “It will be about this time next year.”

“No, my master!” she objected. “You are a man of God. So don’t lie to me!” - 2 Kings 4:11-16

Say: When Elisha offered the woman any blessing, she had a very humble attitude. She said that she had everything that she needed. In fact, there was one thing she did not have - a child of her own. But having a child was more than the woman could ever hope for. She was afraid Elisha was kidding with her. But sure enough, she became pregnant. And one year later, she was holding her new baby boy, just as Elisha had said.

The boy grew. One day he went to his father who was out in a field watching the servants gather the crops.

The boy said to his father, “My head hurts! It really hurts!”

His father told a servant, “Carry him to his mother.” The servant lifted the boy up. He carried him to his mother.

The boy sat on her lap until noon. Then he died. She went up to the room on the roof. There she laid him on the bed of the man of God. Then she shut the door and went out.

She sent for her husband. She said, “Please send me one of the servants and a donkey. Then I can go quickly to the man of God and return.” - 2 Kings 4:19-22

Her husband asked why she wanted to go to Elisha, but she didn’t answer. She told him there was nothing to worry about. Then she rode to Mount Carmel to find Elisha. Elisha saw her while she was still a long way off. He sent his servant out to see if she was okay. She told the servant that everything was all right. But when she got to Elisha, she fell to his feet. Elisha could tell that she was terribly upset.

“My master, did I ask you for a son?” she said. “Didn’t I tell you, ‘Don’t get my hopes up’?”

Elisha said to Gehazi, “Tuck your coat into your belt. Take my wooden staff and run to Shunem. Don’t say hello to anyone you see. If anyone says hello to you, don’t answer. Lay my staff on the boy’s face.”

But the child’s mother said, “I won’t leave you. And that’s just as sure as the Lord and you are alive.” So Elisha got up and followed her.

Gehazi went on ahead. He laid Elisha’s wooden staff on the boy’s face. But there wasn’t any sound. The boy didn’t move at all.

So Gehazi went back to Elisha. He told him, “The boy hasn’t awakened.”

Elisha arrived at the house. The boy was dead. He was lying on Elisha’s bed.

Elisha went into the room. He shut the door. He was alone with the boy. He prayed to the Lord. - 2 Kings 4:28-33

Then Elisha spread out over the boy, and the boy’s body began to get warm. Elisha walked back and forth across the floor. Then he returned to the boy and spread out over him again. The boy sneezed seven times, and then opened his eyes!

Elisha called for the boy’s mother. When she came, Elisha said, “Take your son.” She came in and fell at Elisha’s feet. Her heart was overflowing with gratitude.

Ask: Now how do we know that the woman believed that God could save her son? She rode to get Elisha! Say: If she had not believed God could raise her son to life, she would not have left her son and rode to Mount Carmel! This woman knew that God gave her the son in the first place, and she knew that He was the One who could restore his life. She did not hesitate to go to the man of God, and she refused to leave him until her son was healed.

Application: From the greatest King to the poorest widow, our almighty God cares about the needs of His followers. He hears our prayers (Proverbs 15:29), He does not sleep (Psalm 121:3-4), and He does not forget (Psalm 115:12). Many times He invites us to be part of His plan, and when we obey, our actions give proof that we trust in Him.

PPT KEY VERSE

Key Verse:

I will show you my faith by what I do. - James 2:18b

PPT MAIN POINT

Main Point: Our actions give proof of our faith in God.

Unless otherwise noted the Scriptures taken from: Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version, (NIrV®)

Special thanks to John R. Cross, The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus, GoodSeed International.

1. Jesus Sends the Holy Spirit (Acts 2)

Related Media

Lesson

PPT TITLE

Main Point: God gives us the Holy Spirit to grow His kingdom.

Key Verse:

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be My witnesses, telling people about Me everywhere - in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. - Acts 1:8 NLT

PROPS: 4 signs that say “Filled with Power”, tape, 3 small pieces of paper

Background/Review

Say: Last week, we looked at the VICTORY of Jesus’ power over sin and death. When God raised Jesus from the dead, He fulfilled the promise that He made way back in the Garden of Eden. In Genesis 3:15, God promised that He would send a Savior to crush the devil. The entire Bible points to this event - the moment that Jesus would be raised, and evil would no longer rule over the hearts of men. There is no greater news for us! (1 Corinthians 15:20-23) God raised Jesus to give new life to all who believe - life in God’s kingdom, life in which we are no longer slaves to sin, and life in which we are sons and daughters of the God of the universe! (John 3:36, Romans 6:4-7, Ephesians 1:4-7)

God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace He has poured out on us who belong to His dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son and forgave our sins. He has showered His kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding. - Ephesians 1:5-8

A Big Promise (John 14)

Say: The night before Jesus willingly went to the cross, He spent time with His disciples, teaching them the most important things. Knowing what was ahead for them, Jesus wanted them to take every word to heart (Psalm 119:11). Jesus made some really big promises to His disciples. God ALWAYS keeps His promises!

One of the promises is written in John 14:12:

"What I'm about to tell you is true. Anyone who has faith in Me will do what I have been doing. In fact, he will do even greater things. That is because I am going to the Father.”

Did you hear that? Jesus promised that the disciples would do GREATER things than Jesus did! Ask: What are some of the amazing things that Jesus did? He cast out evil spirits, healed a paralyzed man, calmed the storm, walked on water, and taught with great authority! Say: So how in the world could His disciples do GREATER things than these? Jesus gives the answer in John 16:5:

But now I am going back to the Father who sent Me, and none of you asks Me where I am going. You are very sad from hearing all of this. But I tell you that I am going to do what is best for you. That is why I am going away. The Holy Spirit cannot come to help You until I leave. But after I am gone, I will send the Spirit to you. - John 16:5-7 CEV

Jesus said that when He went to be with His heavenly Father, He would send God’s Holy Spirit to live in each of them! Some Bible translations call God’s Spirit the Counselor, or Friend, or Helper. The disciples were terribly sad to hear that Jesus was going away from them (John 16:17-18). But Jesus promised them that it was best for them that He leave so He could send God’s Spirit to live inside of each of them. Soon they would be filled with the same power that Jesus was filled with! (Luke 4:1) That’s how they would do even greater things than Jesus did.

Illustration: Let’s look at it this way. Call up 3 volunteers. Let’s say, I am filled with power. Tape a large sign on yourself that says, “Filled with power.” I am doing great things - things that you have never seen before, or even imagined were possible. Stand close to the volunteers. Say: You love being near me because of my awesome power and incredible teaching. Being near me is very good - there’s no doubt about that. And because you are near me, I can even give you some of my power, sometimes, to do certain tasks (Matthew 10:1). Hand each volunteer a small piece of paper from your pocket. But you are not filled with power; you only have it sometimes. Everyone look at me and look at my 3 friends. Notice our power. Then, let’s say the time has come for me to leave. Walk away from them. But when I leave, I will send you my power. Pick up three “Filled with power” signs and return to tape them on each volunteer. You will be filled to the brim with power - enough power to do everything I had ever done, and then some! Now everyone look at the volunteers. Were they better off before I left, or now? Now. Now they are filled with power! It was better for them that I left and sent them power!

Application: Jesus promised His disciples that when He left, He would send them God’s Holy Spirit, and in His power they would do impossible things and teach with authority. Should the disciples believe Jesus’ promise? Yes! Jesus promises that every single person who trusts in Him will receive the Holy Spirit. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we will do impossible things and tell others about Him (Ephesians 1:13-14, Acts 1:8). Should you believe His promise? Yes!

Jesus Taken Up Into Heaven (Acts 1:1-11)

Say: After Jesus was raised from the dead, He remained on the earth for forty days. During that time, He appeared to the disciples and others, teaching them about the kingdom of God (Acts 1:3).

One day while they were eating, Jesus told the disciples that in just a few days they would be filled with the Holy Spirit. Jesus said:

You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. Then you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem. You will be My witnesses in all Judea and Samaria. And you will be My witnesses from one end of the earth to the other."

After Jesus said this, He was taken up to heaven. They watched until a cloud hid Him from their sight. - Acts 1:8-9

The disciples worshipped Jesus and they were overwhelmed with joy (Luke 24:51). Now they would wait for the gift of the Holy Spirit, which Jesus had promised to send.

PENTECOST (Acts 2)

Ask: Has anyone ever told you that they had a gift to give you? Say: Maybe it was a birthday present that your friend bought a few days before your birthday. Your friend told you that he had a gift waiting for you, and that you would love it. You were so excited. You didn’t know what it was, but you looked forward receiving it because you knew that your friend would give you a special gift. Jesus promised His disciples that when He left, He would send them the very special gift of God’s Holy Spirit. They looked forward to the gift, even though they didn’t understand exactly what it would be like to have it. After all, Jesus promised that having this gift would be better than having Him right there with them! This would be SOME gift! They waited expectantly, believing they would receive this gift (Matthew 21:22).

Say: The disciples went to Jerusalem, as Jesus had instructed them to do. They stayed together, praying all the time with the other believers. There were about 120 believers in all (Acts 1:12-15).

Teacher Note: In Luke 11:9-13, Jesus promises that God is the Giver of good gifts. The Father’s will to bless us far exceeds the desire mere men have to bless their own children. Jesus exhorts, “How much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!" Acts 1:14 gives evidence that the disciples took this to heart, praying constantly as they awaited the amazing gift.

Say: About a week later, all the Jewish people were celebrating the Feast of Weeks (Shavu’ot in Hebrew). This was a celebration that God told the Israelites to celebrate every year (Leviticus 23:15-16,21). It was the anniversary of the day that God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses. It happened seven weeks, or 50 days, after the Passover. God said that His people should celebrate this day with special offerings and by doing no work. No matter where they lived, God wanted the Jews to come celebrate this feast. We call it the feast Pentecost, which means “the fiftieth day.” Jewish people who lived in other countries had come to Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost. The Bible says they came from every country under the sun (Acts 2:5). Ask: Who can call out the name of a country? Listen for answers, and add your own: Egypt, Syria, Libya, Arabia, etc. Say: Just imagine all the different languages these people would have spoken! Say something in a different language if you can.

The day of Pentecost came. The believers all gathered in one place. Suddenly a sound came from heaven. It was like a strong wind blowing. It filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw something that looked like tongues of fire. The flames separated and settled on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit. They began to speak in languages they had not known before. The Spirit gave them the ability to do this. - Acts 2:1-4

Wow! This was no ordinary Pentecost! Suddenly there was a really loud sound like a strong wind. Where did the wind sound come from? Heaven. Wind is often a symbol for God’s Spirit in the Bible (John 3:8). In the Hebrew and Greek languages, the word for Spirit and wind are actually the same. The believers saw a sight that no one had ever seen before. It looked like tongues of fire. Now, it was not fire, but it looked something like fire. It’s interesting that the flames looked like tongues. Our tongues are what allow us to speak (James 3:5-8). These “tongues” changed the way these believers were able to speak! (1 Corinthians 2:4)

The loud sound of the wind makes me think of how people often say that a tornado sounds like a freight train is coming! Whatever it sounded like, people outside the house could hear it. The loud sound brought people running to see what was happening.

When the Jews who were visiting from all the other countries arrived at the house where the disciples were, they could hear every different language being spoken! The visiting Jews were amazed. They knew the disciples were all from Galilee. It would have been impossible for them to know all these languages. But the Holy Spirit had filled these men. Through the power of God’s Holy Spirit, these men could do the impossible! (Mark 10:27) The Jews wanted to know more about this miracle (Acts 2:12). But some of those watching (perhaps the Jews who lived in the area and did not understand any of the foreign languages) thought the disciples were just acting foolish - as if they were drunk (Acts 2:13, 1 Corinthians 2:14).

Application: There is always a mixed reaction to the miracles of God. Some believe, some are drawn to know more, and some do not believe. This is still the case today. Sadly, not everyone you know will choose to believe the truth of Jesus.

Say: Peter used this opportunity to preach the truth about Jesus to the large crowd that had gathered. This was the same Peter who was frightened by the questions of a young girl, and denied even knowing Jesus the night before Jesus was crucified. Now Peter stood boldly in front of thousands of people to tell the message of Jesus. He asked everyone in the crowd to repent of their sin and receive forgiveness by believing in Jesus. Ask: How do you think Peter was able to do this now? He had received God’s Holy Spirit. Say: Jesus had promised His disciples that the Holy Spirit would speak through them (Matthew 10:20). Did Jesus keep His promise? Yes! God ALWAYS keeps His promises!

Let’s see what the crowd thought about Peter’s teaching: Those who accepted his message were baptized. About 3,000 people joined the believers that day. - Acts 2:41

Optional, if time permits: Say: Now those were some POWERFUL words! When Peter spoke the words of the Holy Spirit, 3,000 people put their trust in Jesus. That’s like every student at Brookwood High School putting their faith in Jesus at the same time. The kingdom of God was growing. This was the beginning of the Church - the Body of Christ - God’s kingdom on earth.

The believers studied what the apostles taught. They shared life together. They broke bread and ate together. And they prayed. Everyone felt that God was near. The apostles did many wonders and miraculous signs. All the believers were together. They shared everything they had. They sold what they owned. They gave each other everything they needed. Every day they met together in the temple courtyard. In their homes they broke bread and ate together. Their hearts were glad and honest and true. They praised God. They were respected by all the people. Every day the Lord added to their group those who were being saved. - Acts 2:42-47

Application: This is a beautiful picture of the kingdom of God. Is this what our group (TreeHouse/Trail/Treasure Island) looks like? Do we care for one another? Do we share what we have with each other? Do we make others feel right at home here? (Teacher: If applicable, give affirming examples of how your students DO practice these things.) This lifestyle is only possible through the power of the Holy Spirit!

GOD’S POWER (Acts 3, 5)

Wow! God’s power is like spiritual dynamite, and it was given to every believer (Acts 2:38). The book of Acts tells the exciting “acts” or “actions” of the early believers. It is packed full of the amazing stories of how God’s Holy Spirit empowered believers to spread the truth of Jesus throughout the world. The disciples, now called apostles, which means “ones who are sent out,” performed MIRACLES! They healed sick people and cast out evil spirits (Acts 5:16). Townspeople brought those who were sick to the apostles so that when Peter’s shadow fell on them they would be healed! (Acts 5:15-16) Peter even raised a woman from the dead (Acts 9:40). Ask: Did Jesus keep His promise that they would do even greater things than He had done? Yes! Say: When the apostles performed miracles and spoke about Jesus, more people believed in Jesus (Acts 4:4). God’s kingdom grew and grew. God did not give the believers this power for their own fame or popularity! (1 Corinthians 12:7) God gave them the Holy Spirit to further His kingdom.

Teacher Note: Notice the breakdown of the book of Acts, in relation to Jesus’ promise in Acts 1:8. You will be my witnesses...in Jerusalem (Acts 1-7) ...in all Judea & Samaria (Acts 8-12) ...to the end of the earth (Acts 13-28).

Application: Every person who puts his or her trust in Jesus is given the Holy Spirit. The Bible specifically says this promise is for children too! (Acts 2: 38-39) If you are a believer in Jesus, God has given you His Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 3:16 says that your body is a Temple, filled with the Holy Spirit.

I want you to hear the promises that Jesus made about the Holy Spirit’s power, and think about them in your own life.

Jesus said the Holy Spirit will teach you what is true (John 13:6). The Spirit will help you understand and remember God’s word (John 14:26). He will guide your steps (Mark 1:12, Luke 2:27). Jesus said not to worry about what to say when you tell others about Him, because the Holy Spirit will give you the right words to say (Matthew 10:19-20, John 3:34). Not every believer is given the ability to perform miracles, but some are (1 Corinthians 12:7-10, 27-31). God gives His Spirit without limit (John 3:34). God gives you the Holy Spirit for His glory, and to grow His kingdom.

PPT VERSE

Key Verse:

PPT MAIN POINT

Main Point: God gives us the Holy Spirit to grow His kingdom.

Teacher Note: Colossians 2:16-17 tells us that the required religious festivals were “a shadow of the things to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.” (NIV) Both Jesus’ crucifixion and God’s giving of the Holy Spirit occurred on Jewish holidays, according to God’s perfect timing. Jesus was crucified during Passover. The Passover Feast (the shadow) was the celebration of when God delivered the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. Jesus’ crucifixion (the spiritual reality) was the day when God delivered people from the slavery of sin (Romans 6:6). The Feast of Weeks (the shadow) was the anniversary of the day God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses on Mount. Sinai. This yearly celebration reminded the Jewish people of God’s Law - His perfect will. When God gave His Holy Spirit to live inside the believers (the spiritual reality) God gave believers the power to do His perfect will (Ephesians 3:16, 1 Corinthians 2:4).

Unless otherwise noted the Scriptures taken from: Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version, (NIrV®)

Special thanks to John R. Cross, The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus, GoodSeed International.

2. Saul Meets Jesus (Acts 9)

Related Media

Lesson

PPT TITLE

Main Point: We are saved by God’s amazing grace.

Key Verse:

Our Lord poured out more and more of His grace on me. Along with it came faith and love from Christ Jesus...Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And I am the worst sinner of all. - 1 Timothy 1:14-15

Prop: A very powerful spotlight type light (to shine on teacher, not students).

Background/Review

Say: Last week we looked at the amazing event of Pentecost - the day that God sent His Holy Spirit to live inside those who had put their trust in Jesus. God would use these men and women to start spreading His kingdom on earth. This would have been an impossible task without the power of God’s Holy Spirit living inside of each of them! Filled with the Spirit, the believers did miraculous things and taught in amazing ways. All of this was done so the kingdom of God would grow and grow and grow.

While the number of believers was growing, most of the Pharisees and religious leaders still did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah, or Savior. They did not believe that Jesus had been raised from the dead. These men would do anything to stop the message of Jesus from spreading. They arrested, and even killed, some of the believers who spoke out for Jesus. Today we will learn about one of these leaders who did not believe in Jesus. His name was Saul, and he was very intent on stopping the message of Jesus.

Young Saul

Say: Saul was a Jewish (Israelite) boy, whose father was a Pharisee (Acts 23:6). Remember, the Pharisees were the leaders of the Israelites, or Jews. The Pharisees were supposed to help others to know God, but instead, they added many rules to God’s laws. They were prideful. Even though the Pharisees looked “religious” on the outside, their hearts were far from God (Matthew 15:1-9). Most of the Jewish people believed that God favored the Pharisees because they looked “religious” on the outside.

Back then, studying the Jewish law was quite an honor. Only the brightest boys were chosen to be trained up by the Pharisees. Saul was one of these boys. Saul was very smart; he was a star student while studying the ways of the Pharisees (Galatians 1:14, 26:5). He really, really wanted to obey the things he had been taught (Galatians 1:14). He was very eager to please God. The problem was, he had a wrong understanding of what God wanted. He believed his teachers who said that Jesus was not the Messiah. Saul thought it was right to try to stop Jesus’ disciples from telling their message.

Teacher Note: Saul studied under a wise and well-respected Pharisee named Gamaliel (Acts 22:3). Acts 5:33-40 gives evidence that Gamaliel was one of the Pharisees whose heart might not have been far from God. He wisely advised the Sanhedrin not to harm the apostles. “Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.” (Acts 5:38b-39 NIV)

Saul Persecutes The Believers (Acts 8)

Say: Saul became a strict Pharisee (Galatians 1:13). It was his job to teach others about God. But Saul did terrible things to those who believed in Jesus. He went from house to house to find men and women who followed Jesus, and put them in jail (Acts 8:3). Sometimes, Saul went to the synagogues to find believers and beat them (Acts 22:19). Saul even put some believers to death (Acts 22:4, 20). The Bible tells of a very sad time when some of the religious leaders threw stones at a wonderful believer named Stephen, just because he told others about Jesus. Saul approved of Stephen’s death, and even held the coats of people who threw the stones (Acts 22:20).

Teacher Note: Jesus prophesied to His disciples, “A time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God.” (John 16:2b) This was the case with Saul.

If Saul were around today, the doors of this room might fly open during our time together, and Saul’s soldiers might grab me and take me to jail for teaching all of you about Jesus. Saul tortured and killed those who were doing what was right - telling the good news about Jesus.

Application: Some of you might even be persecuted (or hurt) for your belief in Jesus. You might be made fun of or worse. Let’s finish our story and we’ll come back to this point.

Saul Meets Jesus (Acts 9:1-9)

Say: We might think there was a terrible punishment waiting right around the corner for Saul. But Saul was about to meet Jesus, and Saul would be showered with God’s GRACE! Read with me in Acts 9.

Meanwhile, Saul continued to oppose the Lord’s followers. He said they would be put to death. He went to the high priest. He asked the priest for letters to the synagogues in Damascus. He wanted to find men and women who belonged to the Way of Jesus. The letters would allow him to take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. - Acts 9:1-2

Say: Saul had a plan. He planned to go to Damascus to round up more believers and take them to jail. But God had a very different plan! Proverbs 16:9 says, “In your heart you plan your life. But the Lord decides where your steps will take you.” Other men went with Saul. These were most likely servants and soldiers.

On his journey, Saul approached Damascus. Suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. [Shine bright light - on teacher, not students.] He fell to the ground. He heard a voice speak to him. “Saul! Saul!” the voice said. “Why are you opposing me?”

“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.

“I am Jesus,” He replied. “I am the one you are opposing. Now get up and go into the city. There you will be told what you must do.” [Turn light off.]

The men traveling with Saul stood there. They weren’t able to speak. They had heard the sound. But they didn’t see anyone. Saul got up from the ground. He opened his eyes, but he couldn’t see. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind. He didn’t eat or drink anything. - Acts 9:3-9

Ask: What is the brightest light that we know of? The sun. Say: There is a brighter light than the sun. Did you know that God’s glory is so bright that there is no need for any other type of light in heaven? (Isaiah 60:19) Romans 1:20 tells us that everything God created in our world was made to give us a picture that we can see, to help us understand God’s qualities that we can’t see. The sun is just a “picture” of the real brightness, which is God’s glory.

The light that shone on Saul was straight from heaven. It was MUCH brighter than the sun, and it was directed right at Saul! (Acts 26:13) The Light was Jesus (John 8:12). Just as Jesus appeared to His disciples after His resurrection, now He appeared to Saul. This stunning light caused Saul to fall to the ground. Then He heard the voice of Jesus. Ask: Why do you think Jesus said Saul was opposing, or hurting, Him? Listen for answers. Say: Those who believe in Jesus are called the “body of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 12:27) and Jesus is the “Head” of the body (Ephesians 5:23). The head can always feel what happens in the body. And God’s own Spirit lives within each believer. We are in Jesus, and He is in us (John 15:4). Saul’s cruelty to the believers was directed at Jesus Himself.

Application: If you are a believer, whatever is done to you is also done to Jesus. And, as a reminder, this also means that whatever YOU do to another believer, you are doing to Jesus. (Matthew 25:40). Do you want your words and actions to bless Jesus, or hurt Jesus?

Say: Saul didn’t just see a bright light and hear a voice that day; he met Jesus! (1 Corinthians 9:1, 15:4-11) At that moment, Saul knew that Jesus had been raised from the dead. Finally Saul knew Jesus was no ordinary man! He was no false prophet; He was the Lord!

Saul’s blindness was another “picture.” Saul had been blind to the truth that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God (Isaiah 42:7).

Saul followed Jesus’ instructions and went into Damascus. We can just only imagine how Saul must have felt for those 3 days! He had a lot to think about, for sure. The Bible says that Saul didn’t even eat or drink. Have you ever been so upset that you couldn’t even eat? That’s how Saul felt!

Ananias Goes To Saul (Acts 9:10-19)

Say: While all of this was happening on the road outside the city of Damascus, something else was happening inside the city. The believers were becoming more and more afraid because they had heard that Saul was on his way (Acts 9:13-14, 26). They knew what terrible things he had done to other believers, and they were getting quite worried.

There was a believer named Ananias who loved the Lord very much. God spoke to him in a vision, telling him to go down the street called Straight to find Saul (Acts 9:11-12).

Application: God is always speaking to us. Because we have the Bible, His Word, He most often speaks to us through it. But God still speaks to people in dreams and visions and through other people.

Say: God knew that Ananias would need a very clear message to be able to go to Saul. We could compare this to God telling one of you to go to see Osama bin Laden. Any one of us would be terrified to go to such a cruel man. But if we were SURE that this was what God said, we would go.

God was working with Ananias and Saul at the same time. God told Ananias that He had given Saul a vision of a man named Ananias coming to him to lay hands on him so that he would be able to see again.

“Lord,” Ananias answered, “I’ve heard many reports about this man. They say he has done great harm to God’s people in Jerusalem. Now he has come here to arrest all those who worship you. The chief priests have given him authority to do this.” - Acts 9:13-14

Say: I’m sure we all can understand Ananias’ hesitation to go out and find Saul! But the Lord had BIG plans for Saul, and God wanted Ananias to be a part of His big plan.

The Lord said to Ananias, “Go! I have chosen this man to work for Me. He will carry My name to those who aren’t Jews and to their kings. He will bring My name to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for Me.” - Acts 9:15-16

Say: Do you see how God is working here? He is giving Ananias a vision; He is giving Saul a vision. Both men are hearing from God. God is always at work!

Don’t forget, Ananias was follower of Jesus. Think about what happened at Pentecost. Ask: Did the Holy Spirit live inside of Ananias now? Yes! Say: The Holy Spirit came to live inside of every believer. On his own, Ananias would have wanted to HIDE from Saul! But now he was filled with the powerful Spirit of God! God gave Ananias all the power he needed to put one foot in front of the other and walk right into the house where Saul was staying.

Application: God will never ask you to do something without giving you the power to accomplish it!

Ananias went to Saul and put his hands on him. Because Saul trusted that Jesus was the Messiah, he, too, was filled with the Holy Spirit and was baptized. His sight was also restored. This is a “picture,” showing that Saul could finally see the truth of Jesus.

God’s Lavish Grace

Once Saul met Jesus and put his trust in Him, God made Saul into a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). When God changes a person’s heart, He does a very complete job. Saul believed and was baptized. Then, he also began to preach that Jesus was Lord! Just imagine how amazing that must have been!

All who heard him were amazed. They asked, “Isn’t he the man who caused great trouble in Jerusalem for those who worship Jesus? Hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” But Saul grew more and more powerful. The Jews living in Damascus couldn’t believe what was happening. Saul proved to them that Jesus is the Christ. - Acts 9:21-22

As proof of Saul’s new identity, God gave him a new name: the name Paul. In the coming weeks, we will study the AMAZING life of Paul - complete with mission trips, shipwrecks, jail, and earthquakes. God used Paul to write 13 books of the Bible. Through Saul’s preaching, thousands of people came to know Jesus. Through his writing, millions have.

Ask: Did Paul deserve to be forgiven and adopted into God’s family? No! Did he deserve a new name and the blessing of writing part of the Bible? No! What did Paul deserve? Death, punishment. Just imagine Paul thinking back to the terrible things he had done to those innocent, faithful believers, and knowing that God saved him even though he had done these things. Paul puts it this way:

PPT VERSE

Our Lord poured out more and more of His grace on me. Along with it came faith and love from Christ Jesus. Here is a saying that you can trust. It should be accepted completely. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And I am the worst sinner of all. - 1 Timothy 1:14-15

Paul knew it was only by God’s grace that he was chosen and saved. Paul never got used to the grace that God freely lavished on him. Every letter that Paul wrote begins with the words, “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ,” and every letter ends similarly, “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.”

Application: Grace is not something we earn. The very point of grace is that it is given freely to those who do not deserve it. Paul’s life is the perfect example of God’s grace. God chose Saul while he was harming the body of Christ. And the same is true for us. The Bible says, “But here is how God has shown his love for us - for you and me. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) There is nothing you can do to earn God’s grace. Simply accept what Jesus did for you on the cross, and receive new life. When you trust in Jesus, your sins are forgiven; forgiveness is yours! God gives you new life in His kingdom. Like Paul, you have a whole new identity. And God can use you to spread the truth of Jesus, bringing people into His kingdom.

Additional Application: As I mentioned earlier, some of you might be persecuted (or harmed) for your belief in Jesus. You might be made fun of; you might do poorly in a class that teaches against your beliefs. In some countries, it is against the law to follow Jesus. The natural response to being persecuted is anger. The super-natural, Spirit-filled, kingdom response is to PRAY for the person who persecutes you. Maybe God has allowed you to be in that person’s life just so you can pray for him or her - so that he or she might also meet Jesus! Then that “Saul” would turn into a “Paul”! And God would receive PRAISE out of that person’s mouth! Don’t think of the people who persecute you as your enemies; think of them as the prize (Buddy Hoffman).

PPT MAIN POINT

Main Point: We are saved by God’s amazing grace.

Unless otherwise noted the Scriptures taken from: Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version, (NIrV®)

Special thanks to John R. Cross, The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus, GoodSeed International.

3. Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13; 14)

Related Media

Lesson

PPT TITLE

Main Point: Encourage one another to follow Jesus.

Key Verse:

So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing. - 1 Thessalonians 5:11 NLT

Props: Seven candles (with paper drip-guards or in glass containers), a lighter

Background/Review

Say: Saul started out as a Pharisee. Saul wanted to please God, but he was completely wrong about how to do it. Saul did terrible things to the people who believed in Jesus. Saul believed that he was right to harm the believers (John 16:2). But then one day, Saul met Jesus! Jesus appeared to Saul when Saul was heading to Damascus to arrest more believers. When Jesus appeared in a blinding light, Saul finally believed the TRUTH that Jesus was the Son of God, the Messiah. Saul repented of his sins - he changed his heart and mind about the wrong things he had done - and he began to follow Jesus. Jesus gave Saul a new identity and a new name: Paul. Paul was filled with the Holy Spirit.

You can imagine that it took the believers a little while to get used to the idea that their greatest enemy was now one of them (Acts 9:26). There was one man who helped the believers to accept the truth that Saul was a follower of Jesus. The man’s name is Barnabas.

Barnabas

Say: When you describe a person, you usually begin with the most important things first. If you were describing Leonardo di Vinci, you might start with, “He was a great artist.” If you were describing Galileo, you would say, “He was a brilliant scientist.” Let’s look at the first words that the Bible speaks about Barnabas. After God sent the Holy Spirit to live inside of all believers, they were teaching about Jesus and proving His power by performing miracles. Many people were putting their faith in Jesus. All the believers helped each other and shared all that they had. No one had any needs because those who had money or food gave it to those who did not.

For instance, there was Joseph, the one the apostles nicknamed Barnabas (which means “Son of Encouragement”). He was from the tribe of Levi and came from the island of Cyprus. He sold a field he owned and brought the money to the apostles. - Acts 4:36-37 NLT

From this first mention of Barnabas, we learn several important things. We learn that he was generous. Just like Jesus, he put others before himself. When Barnabas sold his land, he didn’t keep the money to buy what he wanted. He gave it to the apostles to share with the other believers. We see that his parents named him Joseph, but he was such an encourager that those who knew him started calling him by the nickname of Barnabas - Son of Encouragement.

Application: Does anyone here have a nickname? Call on a few students to share their nicknames. Say: Your parents gave you your name. But what if people started calling you a nickname based on the way you treated others? Think about that for a moment. What do you think your nickname might be then? (If applicable, share positive nicknames of some of your students based on some behaviors you have witnessed: Caring, Sharing, Kindness. For example, you might say, “I could nickname Jacob, “Helpful,” because he comes early every week to help me set up the classroom.)

Say: Barnabas’ nickname was “Son of Encouragement.” An encourager is a helper. An encourager helps others by giving them what they need or by speaking good words to them. Encouragers always want others to do well. In this case, Barnabas wanted the other believers to follow Jesus with all their heart (Acts 11:23-24). Everything he did and said was done to help others to follow Jesus.

Application: Think of a time when someone encouraged you. Maybe your mom or dad helped you learn to ride your bike, telling you that you could do it. Maybe a friend said that he liked one of your drawings, or maybe your teacher said she believed you could do well on a test. Encouragement can make all the difference for someone who is about to give up.

Say: I want to tell you a true story about a boy who grew up about 100 years ago. When he was a child, Walter loved to draw, though his parents did not really praise him for this. But Walter’s aunt encouraged him by buying him drawing pads and pencils. Walter also had a neighbor, “Doc” Sherwood, who encouraged his talent. The neighbor “hired” Walter to draw pictures of his horse when Walter was only 7 years old. Doc Sherwood and his wife told Walter how wonderful his drawings were. Of course, you all know what became of Walt Disney. He grew up to bring us Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and a host of other characters, theme parks, and lots of fun. He won 26 Academy Awards for his beloved Disney cartoons and movie productions. A little encouragement can go a long way!

As believers, the most important thing we can encourage someone to do is to follow Jesus, just as Barnabas encouraged his friends to do. Encouragement is so important that the Bible actually commands that we do it.

So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing. - 1 Thessalonians 5:11 NLT

Hebrews 3:13 says that by encouraging each other, we help keep one another out of the trap of sin. The Bible says that believers must meet together, like we do here at church, so we can encourage each other (Hebrews 10:25). We should encourage in good times and especially in difficult times.

Barnabas Speaks Up For Paul (Acts 9:26-31)

Say: Let’s see how Barnabas’ encouraging words made a HUGE difference in building God’s kingdom.

Paul had met Jesus on the way to Damascus. When Paul was filled with God’s Holy Spirit, he preached boldly that Jesus is the Son of God. Barnabas saw and heard Paul’s love for the Lord when Paul preached in Damascus. Paul’s big change of heart made his preaching even more amazing. Many people were talking about Paul’s teaching. The Jewish religious leaders in Damascus did not like this at all. They did not want people to follow Jesus. They planned to kill Paul, so Paul had to leave Damascus. He went to Jerusalem.

The believers in Jerusalem were in a difficult situation. When Paul came to town, they were afraid of him. This must have been a difficult time for Paul as well. How could he make the believers understand that he was now one of them? He was not going to harm them. He had changed from the inside out!

Barnabas took (Saul) to the apostles. He told them about Saul's journey. He said that Saul had seen the Lord. He told how the Lord had spoken to Saul. Barnabas also said that Saul had preached without fear in Jesus' name in Damascus.

So Saul stayed with the believers. He moved about freely in Jerusalem. He spoke boldly in the Lord's name. He talked and argued with Jews who followed Greek practices. But they tried to kill him. The other believers heard about this. They took Saul down to Caesarea. From there they sent him off to Tarsus.

Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. The Holy Spirit gave the church [believers] strength and boldness. So they grew in numbers. And they worshiped the Lord. - Acts 9:27-31

Because of Barnabas’ encouragement, speaking truth to the believers, the other believers accepted Paul. Paul spoke even more boldly, and the church grew in number.

Paul & Barnabas Sent Off (Acts 13)

Say: God’s plan was that His kingdom would spread throughout the entire world, and God’s plans always succeed! (Psalm 33:11) Does anyone remember what Jesus told the disciples about this right before He returned to heaven? It was our “key verse” two weeks ago. Jesus said:

PPT VERSE

Say: Jesus said that first they would tell people about Him in the capitol city of Jerusalem, then the area around Jerusalem, then everywhere on earth. Teacher: Refer to map. (This is like saying they would begin by teaching in Atlanta, then they would go into all of Georgia, then they would go to every other country.) For the last several weeks, we have read about the believers preaching to the Jews in Jerusalem. Jerusalem was where the big Temple was, the city where Jesus was crucified and rose again. Most of the people who lived in Jerusalem were Jewish. Next, the disciples, such as Peter and John, told the truth about Jesus in the surrounding area of Judea and Samaria (the original Promised Land). This area was also full of Jewish people.

Now it was time for the good news to spread out - beyond Jerusalem, to the people who were not Jews, not descendants of Abraham. Part of God’s BIG plan for Paul was that he would take the message of Jesus to those who were not Jewish (Acts 9:15). Ask: Raise your hand if you are not Jewish. Aren’t we glad that Paul listened and obeyed God?

Say: One day when the believers were worshipping and praying, the Holy Spirit spoke to them. He said it was time for Barnabas and Paul to go on a trip - a mission trip. The two men sailed to an island called Cyprus. John went along to help them. They traveled across the island, preaching about Jesus. One man, who was like a governor, wanted to hear Paul and Barnabas teach God’s word. But the governor’s helper was an evil man. He tried to keep the governor from believing the truth.

Saul, also known as Paul, was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he looked the sorcerer in the eye. Then he said, “You son of the devil, full of every sort of deceit and fraud, and enemy of all that is good! Will you never stop perverting the true ways of the Lord? Watch now, for the Lord has laid his hand of punishment upon you, and you will be struck blind. You will not see the sunlight for some time.” Instantly mist and darkness came over the man’s eyes, and he began groping around begging for someone to take his hand and lead him. When the governor saw what had happened, he became a believer, for he was astonished at the teaching about the Lord. - Acts 13:9-12 NLT

Do you see how God gave Paul and Barnabas the power to do miracles so that those who saw it would come to know Him? From there, Paul and Barnabas traveled to another city, and another. They taught Jews and non-Jews. They told about God’s promises to send a Savior. They explained that Jesus was the Savior.

“Brothers, listen! We are here to proclaim that through this man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sins. Everyone who believes in Him is declared right with God - something the law of Moses could never do. - Acts 13:38-39

Say: Wherever the two men traveled, the Holy Spirit gave them the power they needed to speak boldly about the Lord. The Lord allowed them to do many miracles to prove that they were speaking the truth (Acts 14:3). Many Jews and non-Jews believed the message of God’s grace.

Sadly, some people did not believe (Matthew 13:3-9). The Jews who did not believe became so angry that they tried to kill Paul! (Acts 14:19) Even though they were threatened and attacked, Paul and Barnabas would not stop preaching the truth. When they were threatened, they went to the next town.

Ask: Do you remember the story of Joseph? His brothers threw him into a pit and sold him into slavery. Joseph was lied about, and sent to prison. But God used all of these terrible events for good in the end. God used Joseph to save millions of people from starving to death. Later, Joseph told his brothers, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.” (Genesis 50:20) It was the same way now with Paul and Barnabas. God used the plots and threats of non-believers to spread His truth (Genesis 50:20). When the two men were threatened, they left that city and went to the next city, and kept on spreading the truth of Jesus!

Illustration: Call up 6 adult volunteers (or 6 very mature student volunteers). Separate them into three pairs. Hand each one a candle. Say: We’ll let this flame represent the truth about Jesus. Light your candle. Paul and Barnabas believed the truth about Jesus, and His Spirit was in them. Walk over to one pair of volunteers. Paul and Barnabas went to a town and preached boldly, by the power of the Holy Spirit. When those who heard them believed the truth, God gave them the Holy Spirit. Using your candle, light the first volunteer’s candle. Then those people would tell others, and they believed. Have the first volunteer light the second volunteer’s candle. So that city had the truth of the kingdom and it would continue to spread. Then, when Paul and Barnabas were threatened, God led them to the next city. Walk to second pair of volunteers. Again, they preached, and many people believed. Light the third volunteer’s candle. And those people, filled with the Holy Spirit, could tell others. Have the third volunteer light the fourth volunteer’s candle. Then God led Paul and Barnabas to the next city. Repeat candle lighting with last pair of volunteers. I could give each one of you a candle and by passing the flame from one to the next, we could light up this room in no time! And so the good news spread throughout the area around Jerusalem like wildfire! Thank your volunteers.

Say: The trip was GOOD, but it was not easy! No wonder God sent Barnabas along with Paul on this trip. I can just imagine that when things got rough, Barnabas, the encourager, would have reminded Paul that God would use every difficult situation to spread the truth of His kingdom.

Then, Paul and Barnabas returned to the cities where they had taught, to encourage the believers there (Acts 14:21).

They helped the believers gain strength. They told them to remain true to what they had been taught. "We must go through many hard times to enter God's kingdom," they said. - Acts 14:2

Application: By the power of the Holy Spirit, Paul and Barnabas taught boldly and encouraged the believers. We have seen that God instructs each of us to encourage each other, just as Paul and Barnabas did. Is there someone that you know that needs a word of encouragement? Remember, the best thing you can encourage someone to do is to follow Jesus. We can encourage a friend or family member by sharing God’s truth and His promises - especially when someone is going through a difficult time.

PPT VERSE

Key Verse:

So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing. - 1 Thessalonians 5:11 NLT

PPT MAIN POINT

Main Point: Encourage one another to follow Jesus.

Unless otherwise noted the Scriptures taken from: Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version, (NIrV®)

Special thanks to John R. Cross, The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus, GoodSeed International.

4. Paul and Silas (Acts 16)

Related Media

Lesson

PPT TITLE

Main Point: Our praise invites God’s power into our lives.

Key Verse:

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying. They were also singing hymns to God... Suddenly there was a powerful earthquake. It shook the prison from top to bottom. All at once the prison doors flew open. Everybody’s chains came loose. - Acts 16:25-26

Prop: A big, sturdy chain

Background/Review

Say: After Saul’s amazing change of heart, God sent a man named Barnabas to help the believers accept the “new & greatly improved” Saul. Ask: Who remembers what the nickname Barnabas means? Son of Encouragement. Say: Barnabas was a great encourager! An encourager always wants what’s best for others. Barnabas wanted others to follow Jesus with all their heart. He told people about Jesus, and he spoke good, truthful words to everyone who believed in Jesus. Barnabas even sold his belongings to help meet the needs of those who trusted Jesus.

Barnabas was also a great help to Paul as Paul traveled on his first mission trip. The two men traveled all over the area of Judea preaching the truth about Jesus, and performing miracles. Everywhere they went, they took the light of Jesus, and many, many people put their trust in Jesus. Those who believed were “filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 13:52)

After their big mission trip, Barnabas and Paul decided to go in two different directions (Acts 15:36-41). Paul chose another man, a prophet named Silas, to travel with him. Silas was a man who also encouraged the believers (Acts 15:32).

Called To Macedonia (Acts 16:1-15)

Say: Paul and Silas, along with a few others, traveled to Derbe, then to a town called Listra. In Listra, Paul chose a believer named Timothy to travel with him and Silas (Acts 16:1-5). The men traveled and listened to the Holy Spirit. They preached only where the Holy Spirit told them to preach (Acts 16:6-8). One night, God gave a vision to Paul.

During the night Paul had a vision. He saw a man from Macedonia standing and begging him. “Come over to Macedonia!” the man said. “Help us!” After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia. We decided that God had called us to preach the good news there. - Acts 16:9-10

Ask: What do you think Paul and his friends did when they heard this message from God? They listened and obeyed. Say: The Bible tells us that Paul, Timothy, and Silas went to Macedonia RIGHT AWAY.

Teacher Note: Though difficult to define, the region of Macedonia correlates to modern day Southern Europe.

Application: It is ALWAYS right to obey God RIGHT AWAY. God’s timing is always perfect. He instructs you to do things at just the right time. God may talk to you through the voice of the Holy Spirit living inside you, through His word, in a dream, or through the authorities He has put over you, like your parents and teachers. When you put off obeying the Lord, you can easily get distracted and forget about doing His will. Then you’ll miss out on the blessing that God had in store for you (Genesis 22:18).

Say: At this point, the men were in Troas, and the only way to get to Macedonia was by boat. Teacher: Refer to map. The men sailed to Neapolis and then went to Philippi. These cities were all ruled by the Roman government. These missionaries were getting farther and farther away from the Jewish cities. Paul was obeying God’s command to take the truth of Jesus to people who were not Jews (Acts 13:47). They were fulfilling Jesus’ words that they would spread His truth to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).

Paul And Silas In Prison (Acts 16:16-40)

One day we were going to the place of prayer. On the way we were met by a female slave. She had a spirit that helped her to tell ahead of time what was going to happen. She earned a lot of money for her owners by telling fortunes. The woman followed Paul and the rest of us around. She shouted, “These men serve the Most High God. They are telling you how to be saved.” She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became upset. Turning around, he spoke to the spirit. “In the name of Jesus Christ,” he said, “I command you to come out of her!” At that very moment the spirit left her. - Acts 16:16-18

Her owners were using this slave girl as a “fortune teller.” People would pay money, and she would tell them what was going to happen in their lives.

Does it surprise you that the evil spirit shouted out that Paul and Silas believed in the Most High God and wanted to help people be saved from their sins? It is a little surprising, but remember that the devil started out as an angel - in the beginning. But he was proud and wanted to be like God. He sinned against God, and many of the angels followed him. All of them were thrown out of heaven (Revelation 12:7-9). They have always known the truth: that God is the everlasting, all-powerful God (James 2:19). But they choose not to follow Him; they want to go their own way (Matthew 25:41). So the slave girl followed the men around yelling out why they had come. Even though she was shouting the truth, this must have caused quite a disturbance. Say: Mr. ________ is going to help demonstrate this. Teacher: Prearrange for an adult volunteer start yelling, “He’s right! Listen close! Everything he says is true!” He should interrupt every time you begin to speak the next few sentences. Say: Wherever...Paul, Silas, and...Timothy spoke,...she followed along,...yelling. She interrupted...their preaching over and over again...It must have been...quite difficult...to teach like that. Thank your volunteer. Finally, Paul cast the demon out of her.

I can’t imagine how good this must have felt for the girl. What a relief! She was finally FREE from the demon! It is very sad that this girl lived so many years of her life controlled by evil, and it is terrible that her greedy owners made money from her awful condition. Her owners were glad that she was controlled by an evil spirit! (Acts 16: 19) They cared more about money than about this poor girl.

When Paul cast out the spirit, the girl could no longer tell the future. The girl’s owners were very angry that they could no longer use her to make money! They grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them to the judges. The slave owners said that Paul and Silas were causing trouble in their city. Ask: Now, were Paul and Silas causing trouble? No. Say: Paul and Silas were teaching truth and helping people. The slave owners even said that Paul and Silas were telling people to break the law. The judges did not investigate, or hold a trial to find out the truth. The judges just believed the slave owners. They had Paul and Silas whipped, beaten, and thrown in jail. The judges ordered the jail keeper to guard the men very carefully. The jail keeper put Paul and Silas in a cell in the very middle of the prison, and he even put their feet in chains! He knew he would be in BIG trouble if the prisoners escaped on his watch.

Certainly, the slave owners and the judges were sinning. They lied about these good men, and punished them without a trial. But we are about to see that God had it all under control; God allowed this for a reason. God was about to take this terrible event, and make it into something WONDERFUL (Isaiah 61:3).

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying. They were also singing hymns to God. The other prisoners were listening to them. - Acts 16:25

Say: Prison is often a noisy place. Prisoners may complain about the food, or scream to be set free; guards often yell at the prisoners. But I doubt that anyone ever heard this particular sound before. There, in the middle of the night, in the pitch dark, Paul and Silas sang praises to the Lord. This unusual sound caught the attention of every other person in that jail - the other prisoners, and the jail keeper too. They knew there was something different about these two prisoners, because they praised their God in the middle of their trouble.

We may wonder how Paul and Silas could sing at a time like that. Didn’t they know they were unfairly chained up in a prison cell? Paul and Silas could praise God because they were filled with faith and with the Holy Spirit (Acts 11:24).

“Faith is being sure of what we hope for. It is being certain of what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1) Paul and Silas were SURE that God had not forgotten them. They were CERTAIN that God would not allow anything that was not BEST for them.

And they were filled with the Holy Spirit. One of the fruits of the Holy Spirit is joy (Galatians 5:22). Please notice that I did not say “happiness.” Joy is different than happiness. Happiness comes when things are good around you - like when you get a birthday present, or you hit a home run. Joy comes when things are right on the inside - it is the inner gladness and peace you have because you believe in Jesus. Joy doesn’t change when our circumstances change. Joy is deep down inside of us. Out of their joy, given by the Holy Spirit, Paul and Silas praised the Lord.

Application: We should praise God in good times and in bad (James 5:13). Praising God is proclaiming His greatness. His greatness never changes - even when our circumstances do. When you are in a difficult situation and you don’t feel like praising God, that is the PERFECT time to do it! As we are about to see, our praise invites God’s power into our lives (Psalm 50:23, 2 Chronicles 20).

Teacher Note: Psalm 22:3 says that God comes to stay where His people praise Him. “Yet You are enthroned as the Holy One; You are the praise of Israel.”

Suddenly there was a powerful earthquake. It shook the prison from top to bottom. All at once the prison doors flew open. Everybody’s chains came loose.

The jailer woke up. He saw that the prison doors were open. He pulled out his sword and was going to kill himself. He thought the prisoners had escaped. “Don’t harm yourself!” Paul shouted. “We are all here!”

The jailer called out for some lights. He rushed in, shaking with fear. He fell down in front of Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out. He asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus. Then you and your family will be saved.” They spoke the word of the Lord to him. They also spoke to all the others in his house.

At that hour of the night, the jailer took Paul and Silas and washed their wounds. Right away he and his whole family were baptized. The jailer brought them into his house. He set a meal in front of them. He and his whole family were filled with joy. They had become believers in God. - Acts 16:26-34

Say: Notice that it was while the two men were singing praises, that the ground started to move. God shook the earth on behalf of those He wanted to save! Rock walls tumbled and metal scraped against metal. Chains fell to the ground, and heavy doors swung open. Paul and Silas could have easily run into the darkness of the night and escape. Here’s how we know that these two men were listening to the Holy Spirit: they did not run away. The Holy Spirit let them know that God did not cause this amazing earthquake to set them free - God sent the earthquake to set the jailer free! Paul and Silas had been chained up physically, but the jailer was chained up spiritually.

The jailer was trapped by his own sin. Paul says that the people who don’t know about Jesus, or don’t believe in Jesus, are slaves to sin. Teacher: Call up an ADULT volunteer. Wrap the chain around his wrist, and around your own wrist, holding the ends so he can’t get loose. It’s like they are chained to sin. Wherever their sinful nature wants to take them, they must go. Tug on the chain to lead your volunteer a few steps in each direction. They are not able to resist sin’s temptation. But when the person puts his trust in Jesus, the chain that kept him linked to sin is broken! Drop the chain. He no longer has to sin. And even better than NOT being chained to sin, that person is now linked to Jesus. He abides in Jesus. Now he goes where Jesus leads. Jesus is the perfect guide; He is the Way.

That night, Paul and Silas had the amazing privilege of explaining to the jail keeper how to be saved from his sin. The jail keeper and his entire family trusted Jesus, and they were set free from the chains of sin. Amazingly, God turned the entire situation around for good! Paul and Silas were blessed to be a part of God’s plan.

Application: How do you react to hard times, or unfair treatment? Do those around you hear you complain like everybody else? Or do they hear you pray and praise God?

Even though Paul and Silas were treated most unfairly, because of the joy of the Holy Spirit inside them, they praised God instead. Paul and Silas weren’t singing in church, they were singing in the darkest place. As a result, the other people in that dark place heard their praise; they heard the truth about the mighty, living God. Later, Paul wrote:

Do everything without finding fault [complaining] or arguing. Then you will be pure and without blame. You will be children of God without fault in a sinful and evil world. Among the people of the world you shine like stars in the heavens. You shine as you hold out to them the word of life. - Philippians 2:14-16a

Anyone can complain. Only those who are filled with the Holy Spirit can give God thanks and praise when times are difficult. When you do this, in the darkest places, you will shine like a bright star in the darkest night. Others will see you and be drawn to the One you praise. Don’t forget, your praise invites God’s earth-quaking power into every situation!

PPT VERSE

Key Verse:

PPT MAIN POINT

Main Point: Our praise invites God’s power into our lives.

Teacher Note: The earthquake was not meant for the release of Paul and Silas. They were set free, by order of the magistrates, the next day (Acts 16:35-39).

Unless otherwise noted the Scriptures taken from: Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version, (NIrV®)

Special thanks to John R. Cross, The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus, GoodSeed International.

5. Shipwrecked (Acts 27-28)

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Lesson

PPT TITLE

Main Point: God has a plan for each of us.

Key Verse:

But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! I have chosen this man to work for Me. He will carry My name to those who aren’t Jews and to their kings. He will bring My name to the people of Israel.” - Acts 9:15

Prop: yarmulke, baseball cap, crown, large rubber snake (hidden out of students’ sight)

Background/Review

Say: Last week, we read about Paul and Silas being thrown into jail for casting an evil spirit out of a slave girl. They were put in chains, and locked in a cell at the heart if the prison. But Paul and Silas did not complain. Instead, they PRAYED and PRAISED God. Because they had faith in God, and they had God’s Holy Spirit living inside of them, their joy flowed out. In the middle of the night, the jail keeper and the other prisoners heard their songs of praise. The praises of Paul and Silas invited God’s power in the situation! Suddenly, the ground began to tremble. God sent an earthquake to break their chains, and open the prison doors!

Paul and Silas could have run for their lives, but they stayed right there in the prison. They did exactly what God’s Spirit told them to do. They told the jail keeper how to be SET FREE from his sin. They told him to put his trust in Jesus. That very night, the jailer and his entire family put their trust in Jesus, and entered the kingdom of heaven.

When you are faced with a difficult situation, remember that your praise invites God’s power into any situation!

God’s Plan For Paul

Say: God had a very specific plan for Paul. God announced this plan way, way back when Paul was still Saul, traveling on the road to Damascus. Right after Jesus appeared to Saul, and Saul lost his sight, the Lord spoke to a believer named Ananias. Read along in Acts 9:15.

Ask: In God’s plan, who are the three people groups that Paul would speak to? Those who aren’t Jews (Put on baseball cap), their kings (Put on crown), and the Israelites also known as Jews (Put on yarmulke). Say: So this was God’s plan for Saul.

Psalm 33:11 says, “But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever. What He wants to do will last for all time.” Ask: God’s plans stand how long? Forever! Can anything stop God’s plan? No! Can any person stop God’s plan? No. Well, what about a hurricane? Could a hurricane stop God’s plan? No. Today we’ll see what God can do with a hurricane! Can the devil stop God’s plan? No. Say: The devil will try and try to stop God’s plan, but he is powerless to stop God! Listen today to see how many times the devil tries to stop God’s plan.

Say: When Paul first put His trust in Jesus, he began preaching to the Jews in and around Jerusalem. Put on yarmulke. Then God sent him out on a mission trip, to speak in other cities to people who were not Jews. Put on baseball cap. So there are two of the groups mentioned in God’s plan. What group is left? Their kings. Put on crown.

Well, the king of Rome was not exactly sending out invitations to preachers who followed Jesus. Let’s see how God will accomplish His amazing plan for Paul.

Paul’s Missionary Journeys

At this time, the Roman government ruled all over the area. Teacher: Refer to map. We call it the “Roman Empire.” It included much of what are now Europe and the Middle East. Even Judea, the Jewish Promised Land, was ruled by the Romans. The Romans called their most important ruler “Caesar.”

Paul traveled to so many cities to preach about Jesus. He performed many miracles to prove that what he said was true. At one point, handkerchiefs that touched Paul were carried to sick people and they were healed! (Acts 19:11-12). Paul even raised someone from the dead (Acts 20:9-10). Everywhere Paul traveled and preached, people trusted in Jesus and received new life (Acts 19:18).

We learned about Paul’s trips with Barnabas, and Silas and Timothy. Later, he went to cities like Thessalonica, Corinth, and Ephesus. Do these cities sound familiar? Paul wrote letters to the believers in these cities. Those letters are in your Bible! They are Thessalonians, Corinthians, and Ephesus. In all, God sent Paul on three big missionary trips.

The Arrest Of Paul (Acts 21)

At the end of his third trip, God sent a message to Paul. Luke is the author of Acts. Luke was with Paul during this time. He said:

A prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. He came over to us. Then he took Paul’s belt and tied his own hands and feet with it. He said, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘This is how the Jews of Jerusalem will tie up the owner of this belt. They will hand him over to people who are not Jews.’ “

When we heard this, we all begged Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. He asked, “Why are you crying? Why are you breaking my heart? I’m ready to be put in prison. In fact, I’m ready to die in Jerusalem for the Lord Jesus.” We couldn’t change his mind. So we gave up. We said, “May what the Lord wants to happen be done.”

After this, we got ready and went up to Jerusalem. - Acts 21:10b-15

God told Paul and his friends what was about to happen to Paul. Paul was not afraid. He knew that God was in control of ALL things, and God would never leave him. Paul willingly went to Jerusalem so that God’s plan would be carried out.

Jerusalem was the capital city of the Jewish people. Paul went to the Temple there. Some men lied about him, saying that Paul was teaching people to turn against the Jews. This was not true! Paul was teaching people that Jesus was the Savior that God had promised to send to save His people. The angry crowd gabbed Paul and began hitting him. They were about to kill him. But just then, a Roman commander came and stopped the crowd form beating Paul. The commander arrested Paul and started to lead him to jail.

On his own, Paul might have kept his mouth closed and left with the commander. But Paul was not on his own! He was full of the Holy Spirit! He asked the commander to let him speak to the crowd. Just imagine Paul, in chains, with a guard on each side of him as he began to preach to the very people who tried to kill him (Acts 21:33). He boldly told them the good news of Jesus, but they became angry when he said that non-Jewish people could also be saved.

The Roman commander took Paul away from the crowd. Since Paul had been born in a Roman town, he was given a Roman trial. Paul was on trial in front of the commander. The Jewish leaders complained against Paul, and wanted Paul to be killed (Acts 28:18). But the Roman commander knew he had not committed a crime. The commander kept Paul in jail.

The next night the Lord stood near Paul. He said, “Be brave! You have given witness about me in Jerusalem. You must do the same in Rome.” - Acts 23:11

Application: God was with Paul, even in his jail cell! You may have to go through a difficult situation, but you are never alone. God is always with you!

Say: Paul was kept in jail for two entire years! He faced many trials, but no one could ever prove that he had broken a law. During his time in jail, he told his story to a commander, two governors, their wives, and a King. Put on crown. Do you see how Paul is finally telling the gospel to the “kings” of the non-Jewish people?

Finally, Paul asked to tell his story to Caesar. The Governor agreed to send Paul to Caesar in Rome. Here’s where our story gets really interesting!

Shipwrecked (Acts 27)

A kind Roman soldier named Julius was put in charge of Paul and some other prisoners. They got on a ship and sailed to Sidon, then passed Cyprus to Lycia. Refer to map. The sea was getting windy (Acts 27:4). At Lycia, the small group of prisoners joined other passengers on a big ship heading to Italy. There were 276 passengers in all. The ship was from Egypt. It was carrying wheat to Italy. By now, the wind was really getting strong, and it was difficult to sail in that weather. Finally, the ship came to Fair Havens, near Lasea. It was getting to be wintertime. The sea was stormy, and sailing had become dangerous. Most ships did not sail during these months; they just stayed in one port until the winter passed.

So Paul gave them a warning. “Men,” he said, “I can see that our trip is going to be dangerous. The ship and everything in it will be lost. Our own lives will be in danger also.”

But the commander didn’t listen to what Paul said. Instead, he followed the advice of the pilot and the ship’s owner. - Acts 27:9c-11

Julius and the ship’s captain wanted to sail on, to get to the next port. They followed their own wisdom, instead of the wisdom of God that was spoken through Paul.

They should have listened to Paul, because only God knows the future.

So the ship set sail. As they came near the next port, a storm with hurricane force winds and rain came. Because of the great winds, the crew could not sail the ship to the port. The large ship was driven out to the open sea.

We took a very bad beating from the storm. The next day the crew began to throw the ship’s contents overboard. On the third day, they even threw the ship’s gear overboard with their own hands. The sun and stars didn’t appear for many days. The storm was terrible. So we gave up all hope of being saved. - Acts 27:18

Keep in mind, that back then there was no equipment to help them find their way. The sailors depended on the stars in the night sky to help direct them. But the sky had been covered in thick clouds for days. So they didn’t know where they were, or where they were going. These people were completely helpless.

Application: When you are completely helpless, God is NOT! All things are possible with God (Matthew 19:26). And when God does the impossible, He gets the glory that only He deserves (2 Corinthians 12:8-10).

Say: God gave a special message to Paul, and he shared it with the other passengers.

Paul said: “Now I beg you to be brave. Not one of you will die. Only the ship will be destroyed. I belong to God and serve Him. Last night His angel stood beside me. The angel said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must go on trial in front of Caesar. God has shown His grace by sparing the lives of all those sailing with you.’

“Men, continue to be brave. I have faith in God. It will happen just as He told me. But we must run the ship onto the beach of some island.” - Acts 27:22

First God was in Paul’s jail cell with him, and now God’s angel appeared to Paul when he was lost at sea! God is always with His people!

Application: There is nowhere that you can go where God does not go with you!

Say: On the 14th night at sea, the sailors thought they were near land. In the dark of night, the crew members were afraid that the ship would crash against rocks and be destroyed, so they tried to sneak off in a lifeboat. But Paul stopped them. He told them that they must stay with the ship in order to be saved. This time, the crew listened and obeyed Paul’s instructions. Paul told everyone to eat, because they had not eaten for many days. Paul took bread, gave thanks to God, and they ate.

When daylight came, they could finally see land! As they came near the beach, the ship got stuck on a sandbar. The waves were tearing the ship to pieces. The soldiers decided they must kill all the prisoners to keep them from swimming to land and escaping. But Julius wanted to save Paul’s life, so he ordered his men not to harm the prisoners. Julius ordered everyone who could swim to jump overboard and swim to shore. He ordered everyone else to hold on to boards from the ship and float to shore. All 276 passengers reached land safely - just as God had promised. God ALWAYS keeps His promises!

Application: All the passengers were blessed because Paul was with them. God’s blessing on Paul - saving him from harm - spilled out onto those with him. When you abide in Jesus, and obey His word, those around you will also be blessed!

From Malta To Rome (Acts 28)

Paul found out that the place they had landed was an island called Malta. He wasn’t in Rome yet. Refer to map. The natives on Malta were kind to Paul and the other passengers. It was raining and cold when they arrived, and the people from Malta built a fire for them. As Paul began gathering wood for the fire, a snake slithered out and bit him on the hand. Pull out your hand, with the large snake “attached.” Everyone saw the poisonous snake latched onto Paul’s hand! The natives waited for Paul to die suddenly. Now, we all know that God had a plan for Paul. Ask: Would this poisonous snake be able to stop God’s plan? No! Say: Well, the people of Malta did not know about God’s plan. In fact, they didn’t even know about the one true God. Paul flung the snake into the fire. Toss your snake aside. The people kept watching and waiting, but Paul was absolutely fine. The people of Malta knew this was a miracle. Paul also began healing people on the island. All the people respected and honored Paul.

After three months, Paul finally sailed to Rome. He preached to the Jewish leaders who lived there. Some believed the truth about Jesus, and some did not. Paul stayed in Rome for two years, teaching everyone who would listen to him. Luke, said:

(Paul) preached boldly about God’s kingdom. No one could keep him from teaching people about the Lord Jesus Christ. - Acts 28:31

Luke does not tell us about Paul’s meeting with Caesar. Luke probably finished writing Acts before Paul spoke in front of Caesar. However, in a letter that Paul later wrote from Rome to the believers in Philippi, Paul wrote this:

All of God’s people here send you greetings. Most of all, those who live in the palace of Caesar send you greetings. - Philippians 4:22

There were believers in Caesar’s household! Put on the crown. This verse assures us that Paul did make it to speak to Caesar, and some people in Caesar’s palace believed the truth about Jesus.

Application: By God’s grace, God had a plan for Paul, even before Paul put his trust in Jesus. God planned for Paul to speak about Jesus to the Jews (yarmulke), the non-Jews (baseball cap), and their kings (crown). Nothing could stop God’s plan - not chains, not jail, not a hurricane, not shipwrecks, nor snakes. God’s plan was accomplished in Paul’s life. In fact, it is still being accomplished, because the words that Paul spoke are written in the Bible and Jews, non-Jews, and kings still read them today! None of the crazy things that happened in Paul’s life were a surprise to Paul! God used each thing (even the sins of others) to accomplish His plan in Paul’s life.

God also has a plan for your life. He has a plan for each believer in this room. God’s plan is like a gift for you. Nothing that happens in your life is a surprise to God. He knew each event in your life before you were born. Abide with Jesus. Depend on the Holy Spirit that lives inside of you to walk through each trial, and to live out the plan God has for you.

PPT VERSE

Key Verse:

PPT MAIN POINT

Main Point: God has a plan for each of us.

Unless otherwise noted the Scriptures taken from: Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version, (NIrV®)

Special thanks to John R. Cross, The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus, GoodSeed International.

1. A Doctor Comes to Heal the Sick (Luke 5:27-32)

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Lesson

PPT CUE

Main Point: Jesus calls sinners to follow Him because He loves them.

Key Verse:

But here is how God has shown His love for us. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. - Romans 5:8

Props: Two dolls, one with a red “cut” drawn on its head (or two pictures of children, one with a drawn-on “cut”). Two adhesive bandages.

Background

Say: Many of Jesus’ teachings were new ideas to the people who heard them. But they contained very, very important truths about the kingdom of God. So Jesus often used simple examples to help people understand what He was saying. Who remembers what these simple stories are called? Parables. That’s right. Jesus used parables to show people what the kingdom of God looks like and what it means to follow Him and be His disciple.

Jesus taught some of His parables to crowds of ordinary people who gathered to hear Him speak. The Parable of the Mustard Seed is a good example of this. Jesus told that story to help a large group of people see that the kingdom of God is becoming huge like a mustard plant—huge enough to hold every single person in the crowd! Other times, Jesus told parables that were meant to help the religious leaders of the time understand that the kingdom of God is for anyone who follows Jesus, not just for people who follow a bunch of religious rules. We’re going to look at one of those parables today. The Parable of the Doctor Who Comes to Heal the Sick is one He told to teach truth to the religious leaders. But like all of Jesus’ teachings, it is full of truth for us, too. That is the amazing thing about the Bible. Even though it is the record of things that happened thousands of years ago, it is still valuable and filled with truth today! Let’s read together in Luke 5:27-32.

Teacher Note: This is a beautiful passage of scripture. Not only does it illustrate the love Jesus has for sinners, but it provides a very clear picture of how believers are to live. Jesus called Levi, a man from a particularly hated class of people, to follow Him. As a tax collector for the Romans, Levi would have suffered the scorn of the Pharisees. “According to Rabbinism there was no hope for a man like Levi. He was excluded from all religious fellowship” (from On Eating, Drinking and Being Merry, by Bob Deffinbaugh, Bible.org.

It is not surprising, then, that Levi wanted all his friends and fellow sinners to meet the One who set him free from hopelessness. Jesus never hesitated. He and His disciples were pleased to eat and drink with the very ones the “church crowd” avoided. How else could they share the good news of the kingdom of God with those who needed good news the most? The Pharisees didn’t like this. And today, many Christians who are overly devoted to legalism and the appearance of righteousness probably wouldn’t like it either. Many who claim the name of Jesus would never consider attending a banquet with the types of people Jesus shared a meal with that night. But what furthers the kingdom of God more? Fellowshipping exclusively with those who are just like us? Or meeting the lost and the broken where they live, sharing the hope of the gospel and the forgiveness of sins for all who believe? Jesus showed us how we are to live that night at Levi’s banquet. We are to share the good news with those who need it most, in humility and gratitude that we have been set free. May we say, as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:10a, “It is by the grace of God I am what I am...”

Jesus Calls An Outcast

Say:

After this, Jesus left the house. He saw a tax collector sitting at the tax booth. The man’s name was Levi. “Follow Me,” Jesus said to him. Levi got up, left everything and followed Him. - Luke 5:27-28

Teacher Note: In Matthew 9:9, the tax collector called by Jesus is named Matthew. In Mark 2:14 and Luke 5:27, he is named Levi. Many scholars believe Matthew and Levi are the same person. Matthew would be the Greek name, and Levi the Hebrew name. As a tax-collector, Matthew worked for Greek-speaking Romans, but gathered taxes from Hebrew-speaking Jews.

Say: Levi was a man who worked for the Roman government collecting taxes. A tax is money collected by a government from its citizens. For instance, when you buy a book at the bookstore, a certain amount of tax is added to the price of the book. The government then collects the tax money that you pay on the book. Most grown ups pay taxes on the money they earn at work, on the things they buy, on their homes, on their cars. You get the idea.

In Jesus’ time, Israel was under the control of the Roman empire. People in Israel didn’t like this at all. They were not a free nation. They had to obey Roman laws and submit to Roman authority. And because tax collectors worked for the Roman government, they were a constant reminder that Israel was once again under the authority of a foreign government. Every time a citizen had to pay money to a tax collector, they may have thought really bad thoughts about the person taking their money.

That was probably more than enough to make tax collectors unpopular, don’t you think? But there was something else that made people hate the tax collectors. Many of the tax collectors were also very dishonest, and collected more money than they were supposed to. What do you suppose they did with the extra money they collected? That’s right. They put it in their own pockets and kept it!

So for these reasons Levi was probably not a very popular person in his community. But as we just read in the Gospel of Luke, that didn’t matter at all to Jesus. When Jesus saw Levi sitting in his tax booth, He felt compassion for Levi. Jesus wanted Levi to follow Him and be His disciple. He wanted Levi to give up the life of sin that he was living and enter the kingdom of God. Something about the way Jesus said “follow me” must have made a big impression on Levi, because he immediately left the tax booth—and all the money he had collected that day!—and followed Jesus.

Application: Before Jesus called him to follow, Levi was an outcast. Does anyone know what that means? A person who is unwanted. An unpopular person. Someone no one wants to be around. The world may not care about outcasts, but God does. The world may not see their loneliness, but God does. In fact, God feels very strongly about His children who are rejected by the world.

Psalm 68:6 says, God gives lonely people a family. He sets prisoners free, and they go out singing. When Jesus called Levi to follow Him, He was offering the tax collector a place in His forever family. He was giving Levi freedom from a life of sin. Levi didn’t have to be a prisoner of sin any more! And when we follow Jesus, we are free, too.

The Pharisees Disapprove

Say: Levi must have felt pretty happy when Jesus invited him to follow. Up to this point, people had avoided him all day long, every day. They said mean things to him and hated him for being a tax collector. They gossiped about his sinful life. They never thought that he might be a real person with real feelings. When they were paying their taxes they probably never talked to him about the weather or his family or whether he enjoyed his job or not.

But Jesus had shown him kindness. He even wanted Levi to be part of His extended family of followers. Jesus was the Man so many people wanted to be near, the one many were calling the Son of God, the Teacher who was surrounded by huge crowds everywhere He went. And He had noticed Levi! He had invited him to follow.

So what do you think Levi did after he got up and left his tax booth? Let’s read Luke 5:29-30 to find out.

Say:

Then Levi gave a huge dinner for Jesus at his house. A large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. But the Pharisees and their teachers of the law complained to Jesus’ disciples. They said, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?” - Luke 5:29-30

Levi had received a new life from Jesus. He had been invited to follow Jesus. He had entered the kingdom of God that very day. He was SO happy! So he decided to give a big party to celebrate his freedom and his new life. He wanted to honor Jesus and thank Him for what He had done. But Levi also wanted everyone he knew to meet the man who had seen him and been kind to him and asked him to be part of his family of followers.

Deep down inside Levi had always known that his sin was keeping him from a right relationship with God. But now, because of Jesus, he had a second chance.

But there were people at the party who didn’t think Levi deserved a second chance. They didn’t think that a second chance was even possible for a tax collector. Some of the people at the party were Pharisees and teachers of the law. They thought that the only way to be right with God was to follow a bunch of religious rules. Some of these rules were from the Bible, but most of them were made up by the Pharisees. They thought that anyone who didn’t follow all their rules would never find favor with God.

Tax collectors like Levi were especially looked down upon by the Pharisees. To them, he was among the worst of sinners. Levi wouldn’t even have been allowed to be part of the synagogue or to worship with others. But here Jesus was, eating dinner with a bunch of tax collectors and other sinners, acting like He was their friend. The Pharisees began to complain.

Application: The Pharisees didn’t understand the joyful celebration at all. They didn’t understand why Jesus would be there, feasting with sinners. They didn’t like it that Jesus seemed to be turning their whole religious world upside down.

Most of all, though, the Pharisees didn’t understand that Levi wasn’t all that different from them. Because everyone at that party—except Jesus—was a sinner. The tax collectors were sinners. The Pharisees were sinners. Even the disciples were sinners.

Romans 3:23 says, Everyone has sinned. No one measures up to God’s glory. That includes Pharisees. And that includes you and me. We may not be tax collectors, we may not be thieves or murderers, but we are all sinners. And any sin, big or small, separates us from God.

But when Jesus says to any sinner “follow Me,” and that sinner decides to follow Him, God forgives their sin and gives them a new life. They are part of the kingdom of God! If only the Pharisees had opened their eyes to that truth, they would have been partying instead of grumbling.

Jesus Calls Sinners To Repentance

Say: When the Pharisees complained to Jesus’ disciples, Jesus overheard them. He knew it was the perfect time to teach some truth to the religious leaders who thought they were so much better than the other party guests.

Look with me at Luke 5:31-32. Jesus answered them, “Those who are healthy don’t need a doctor. Sick people do. I have not come to get those who think they are right with God to follow me. I have come to get sinners to turn away from their sins.”

Jesus knew the Pharisees would object to almost anything He said. If He quoted scripture to them to explain why he was eating and partying with a room full of sinners, they would argue with Him. So Jesus did what He did best...He used a parable to communicate deep truth to people who didn’t want to hear any truth at all.

Jesus compared sinners to sick people. When you are sick, really sick, you need to see a doctor to get well. The doctor knows the right medicine to cure your illness. Without the doctor’s care, you will remain sick, and maybe even get worse.

Hold up the two dolls or two pictures of children. Say: I have two dolls (or pictures) here. One is perfectly healthy. The other one, has a pretty nasty cut on her forehead. Let’s say I’m a doctor. But I’m kind of a strange doctor who doesn’t like sick people or injured people at all. I only want to be around people who don’t have anything wrong with them. But doctors are supposed to do things like put on bandages and prescribe medicine, right? So to feel like I’m doing my job, I’m going to take this bandage and stick it on the forehead of the perfectly healthy doll. Apply the bandage to the doll without the cut. I think we can agree that it’s pretty silly for a doctor to only treat healthy people, when there are sick and hurting people out there who really do need a doctor’s care.

Say: Jesus was using this simple example to show the Pharisees how wrong their thinking was. They thought He should only be hanging out with people who weren’t sinners. But Jesus said that it was the sinners who needed Him most. Just like healthy people don’t need a doctor, perfect people don’t need a Savior to forgive their sins.

Let me ask you this. Are there actually any perfect people who don’t sin? No, we all sin. Jesus was the only one who didn’t sin. You’re right we all sin and are wounded by our separation from God. We’re all more like this other doll (or picture). Hold up the doll (picture) with the drawn on cut. This doll is hurting. She has a really bad cut on her head. And she just can’t figure out how to heal the cut on her own. She needs a doctor to make her better. Put the second bandage on the doll (picture) with the cut. There. Our little doll here has been healed. She has a second chance at health thanks to the doctor.

Application: This is what Jesus said He came to do. He said, I have come to get sinners to turn away from their sins. When Jesus says “follow Me” to sinners like Levi and me and you, He’s like a kind, merciful, wonderful doctor. He sees our sin-wounds and our sin-sicknesses and He says, “I can make you better if you will only believe and follow Me.”

There is a word you hear in church sometimes. That word is REPENTANCE. It means to “change your mind,” or to “turn away from sin.” Jesus said He came to call sinners to repentance. He called Levi to repentance, didn’t He? When Levi decided to follow Jesus, he left his tax collection booth behind. Following Jesus required him to repent of his sin and turn away from the life that was separating him from God. Repenting doesn’t mean that you won’t sin any more, but it does mean that you change your mind about what you want to do. Levi wanted to follow the Savior who saw him and loved him when no one else did. Continuing to sin so boldly when he had been given a second chance just seemed wrong. So he left that life behind. He repented.

It is so incredible that Jesus wants to bring imperfect sinners like Levi and like us into His kingdom! His love for sinners leads Him to say “follow Me” to even the worst offenders. And isn’t it great that forgiveness comes from the simple decision to follow Jesus, rather than from obeying all the religious rules that the Pharisees made up?

Jesus died on the cross to pay the price for sin. Levi’s sin. My sin. Your sin. We don’t have to be good or sinless to receive God’s forgiveness. All we have to do is believe and follow Him.

Teacher Note: Self righteousness is a huge obstacle to being a follower of Christ. The Pharisees were plagued by self-righteous attitudes, and their haughty spirits are the reason why they found it so hard to accept Jesus for who He is. It is inevitable that a person who is righteous in his or her own eyes will find no cause to follow Jesus. In contrast, a person who knows their sinful nature and sees how it keeps them from fellowship with God will readily follow Jesus into the kingdom. Their humble spirits allow repentance where once there was just bold and willful rebellion. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. - Matthew 5:3

Key Verse:

But here is how God has shown His love for us. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. - Romans 5:8

Main Point: Jesus calls sinners to follow Him because He loves them.

PPT CUE

Unless otherwise noted the Scriptures taken from: Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version, (NIrV®)

Special thanks to John R. Cross, The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus, GoodSeed International.

3. The Four Soils (Matthew 13:1-23; Mark 4:1-20; Luke 8:1-15)

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Lesson

PPT TITLE

Main Point: We want to have a teachable heart where God’s truth can produce good fruit.

Key Verse:

But still others received the seed that fell on good soil. They are those who hear the message and understand it. They produce a crop 100, 60 or 30 times more than the farmer planted. - Matthew 13:23

Props: Handful of seeds; large basket of fruits and vegetables

Background

Say: People love stories. From the time you were a young child, your parents read stories to you. Stories are passed down from generation to generation. Everyone likes to hear a great story.

Last week we said that Jesus often taught people by telling stories called parables. But Jesus didn’t simply telling stories to entertain or to get people’s attention, Jesus told parables because He wanted to change lives!

An old definition of parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. Parables tell a story using something we see every day to help us understand a spiritual truth that we can’t see with our eyes. When Jesus taught in parables, He used things that the people of His day were familiar with. If Jesus were here teaching with parables today, they would be different because our culture is different. There might be fewer stories about farming, and more stories about computers!

The parable we are going to read today is about planting seeds. Most of the people that Jesus was speaking to were farmers. They understood all about seeds and plants because they grew their own fruits and vegetables. Today, not all of us know about planting seeds, since we can go to the grocery store to buy all of our food.

So, let’s look at how a seed grows into a plant. All seeds contain nutrients and energy inside of a hard, protective coating. First the seed is buried in the ground. When the seed is in good, soft, warm soil, it sends out a little root that goes down into the soil. The root starts to drink up the nutrients that are in the soil. This gives the teeny tiny plant more energy. It gets enough energy to start growing, and then a tiny stalk starts to reach up out of the ground. With the sun shining on the stalk, and nutrients going into the root from the rain and soil, more roots grow, and the plant begins to thrive.

Four Soils

Say: Let’s read together, beginning in Matthew 13:1.

That same day Jesus left the house and sat by the Sea of Galilee. Large crowds gathered around Him. So He got into a boat. He sat down in it. All the people stood on the shore. Then He told them many things by using stories.

He said, "A farmer went out to plant his seed. He scattered the seed on the ground. Some fell on a path. Birds came and ate it up. Some seed fell on rocky places, where there wasn't much soil. The plants came up quickly, because the soil wasn't deep. When the sun came up, it burned the plants. They dried up because they had no roots. Other seed fell among thorns. The thorns grew up and crowded out the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It produced a crop 100, 60 or 30 times more than what was planted. Those who have ears should listen and understand." - Matthew 13:1-9

Say: This parable/story is more about the ground than the sower. Teacher: Have a handful of seeds, and show students how a sower/planter would plant the seed.

Say:/b> A farmer went out to the field to sow seed. He scattered the seed on the ground. Demonstrate this action by scattering seeds on the ground. As he scattered the seed, he noticed that the seed falls on different types of ground.

Some of the seed fell on a path. A path is where many people have walked, and the dirt there is well worn. The ground of a path is harder than the ground on either side of it. The more people walk on a path, the more “packed down” the dirt becomes. The seed that fell on the path could not sink down into the dirt. Before the seed could even take root, some birds came and ate the seed.

Some of the seed that he scattered fell onto rocky places. Ask: Do you see much dirt here? No. Do you think that this is a good place for things to grow? No. Say: It is possible for things to grow on the rocks, but usually, plants don’t live long. Plants must have roots down in the soil. But in rocky places, the hard rocks block the roots. Any seed that started to grow in the thin soil soon withered in the intense heat and died.

Other seed fell among thorns. The thorns grew up and crowded out the plants. Ask: Have any of your parents ever asked you to pull weeds out of your yard or garden? What is the number one rule about pulling weeds? You must get the roots out! If you don’t pull out the roots, the weeds will grow back. Weeds are very strong and forceful. Wherever there are weeds, they take over the good plants. The strong roots of the weeds use up all the nutrients in the soil, and the plants are left with nothing. These plants barely grow at all; they don’t produce fruit or vegetables.

Finally, other seed fell on good soil. It produced a crop 100, 60, or 30 times more than what was planted. Farming experts know just what kind of soil is needed for their crops. They will add the right kind of fertilizer (vitamins and nutrients) so their plants can grow. They want their seeds to grow into large, healthy plants that will give them good fruits and vegetables. If it is done right, a handful of seeds will produce bushels full of good things to eat! Compare your handful of seeds to your basket of fruit /vegetables.

Spirtual Truth (Matthew 13:18-23)

Say: Jesus said that the same seed produced no crop, some crop, or a great crop. The seed was the same in every place, but the condition of the soil was different.

This may seem like a strange story for Jesus to tell. But remember, many of the people who were listening to Jesus were farmers. They knew a lot about dirt and soil. Jesus was talking to them using words and word pictures that they could understand. Jesus wasn’t teaching them something new about farming. He was using what they already understood about farming to teach them something they didn’t know about the kingdom of God.

This is what Jesus was saying to the people: The seed that is sown is the gospel - the good news about Jesus.

The soils are the hearts of the people who make a choice about the message. The condition of a person’s heart can be compared to the different kinds of soils that received the seed.

Say: Now we’ll look at this story again with the understanding of what each part of the story stands for.

Ask: If the seed stands for the truth of Jesus, the Word of God, and the soil is the hearts of people, what would it mean to scatter the seed on the soil? Listen for answers. It is when someone hears the truth through teaching, or reading the Bible.

Say: Let’s look at the four different “soils,” or hearts:

Hard Path: Some of the seed fell on a path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some people hear the truth, but like hardened paths, they do not let it sink into their hearts (Zechariah 7:12). Soon Satan takes the truth away. (In the Bible, birds are sometimes a picture of Satan.) If people do not receive and respond to the word with faith, their opportunity will be stolen by the evil one.

Rocky Places: Next, some of the seed fell onto rocky places. These people hear the message with great joy, but like seeds on rocky soil, they do not let it take root. They seem to be happy to hear about Jesus and His great love, but they do not let it sink into their hearts. On the outside, they may express great enthusiasm, but inwardly, they do not carefully consider it. There were great crowds who followed Jesus, but only a few were His true disciples. When these people face pressure or bad circumstances, they quickly forget about God’s word. A true believer follows Jesus no matter what.

Teacher Note: Some of the “rocky” people may be under the misunderstanding that God will take away all of their problems. Therefore, when problems arrive, they fall away. God’s word never promises that life will be easy, without any trials. He promises something far better. He promises that He will be with us in our problems. He promises that everything will work together for our good - to become godlier and to bring glory to God.

Thorns: Still other seed fell among thorns. Some people hear God’s Word and start to grow and bear fruit. But soon they become worried about the problems of daily living. They may think if they only had more money and more “things” they would be happy. These wrong beliefs take up all the person’s time and energy, just like the weeds steal all the nutrients from the good plants. These people do not focus on living for God, so they don’t produce any spiritual fruit. There is nothing wrong with the sower or the seed. The problem is the soil - the person who hears the Word. He must trust God to deliver him from his worries and greed so that he can grow in God’s Word.

Good Soil: Still other seed fell on good soil. It produced a crop 100, 60, or 30 times more than what was planted. Isn’t it great to know that some of the seed fell on good soil? This represents the people who heard God’s word and believed it. They put their trust in Jesus. Their hearts received the message of the kingdom, and the seed will take root.

But just like when you plant actual seeds into the ground, the message of the kingdom will grow gradually. We don’t plant a seed and see a plant the next day. True growth takes time. And sometimes when we plant seeds, we see different kinds of things that actually grow. Some trees produce fruit; some plants produce vegetables. Some produce lots of fruit, and some produce little. Even the soil that produces a small crop is “good.”

The same is true in the hearts of believers. There are people who hear the same truth, read the same Bible, grow to the same church, but produce different kinds of fruit. Some are missionaries to other countries. Some are simply sharing God’s love with a friend in need. Everyone’s fruit will look different, but if each person allows God’s truth to grow in their heart, it will be the right kind of fruit. It will be kingdom fruit.

Application: Our county government has an office that tests soil. You can dig up a few handfuls of dirt from your yard and send it to them. They will put it under their microscope and see what it contains. In a few weeks, they will send you a report of how good your soil is for growing things. You will find out if there are good nutrients in your yard, or if you need to add something to make the soil just right.

That is very helpful for growing actual seeds and plants, but how can you test the soil of your heart? Jesus gives us the answer: We can look at the “fruit” in our lives. Teachable, faith-filled hearts (like good soil) will produce much spiritual fruit. Last week, we talked a little about this fruit. The spiritual fruit that comes from God’s Holy Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, forgiveness, healing, righteousness, glory, grace, compassion, knowledge and truth. Another fruit is sharing God’s truth with others. So the test for good “heart soil” is checking to see whether there is any of this fruit in your life. If so, you know that God’s word has taken root in your heart. You have believed the truth of Jesus, and your beliefs guide your actions. You have trusted Jesus, so His Spirit lives in you.

It is interesting to note that a plant does not “decide” when to bear fruit. It just happens. In the same way, we can’t “decide” when we’re going to bear spiritual fruit. Fruit comes naturally when we remain connected to the Vine. Jesus said, “I am the Vine. You are the branches. If anyone remains joined to me, and I to him, he will bear a lot of fruit. You can't do anything without Me.” (John 15:5) We must stay connected to Jesus, because without Him, we cannot bear any fruit!

We aren’t responsible to make the fruit. We are responsible to keep the soil in good condition. Good soil has sunlight, water, and nutrients. How do you think we can “water” and “fertilize” our hearts? Read God’s Word, listen to good teaching, pray, listen to God. (Jesus is the Light!) Good soil is also free of rocks and weeds. How can we keep rocks and weeds out of the soil of our hearts? We don’t plant things in our heart or mind that are against God - bad TV show, movies, books and video games.

Now, for the “problem soil.” Sadly, there are three kinds of “heart soil” that don’t bear any kind of spiritual fruit. These people don’t share the truth that is deep down in their hearts. Instead of good fruit, their lives are full of worry, fear, greed, and frustration. They think more about themselves than about the Lord. If this sounds like your life, there is only one way to make a change! Jesus says He is the WAY (John 14:6). Confess: Tell the Lord that your heart has not been good soil. Ask Him to plow up the hard places and replace them with a good, soft heart that will be the perfect place for His truth to take root and grow. Listen to God’s promise:

PPT VERSE

I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. - Ezekiel 36:26 NLT

Additional Teaching for Older Students: We can also see ourselves as the “sower” in this story. As you begin to share the truth of Jesus with others, you will see these four different reactions. Some people will be good soil. They will accept the truth, it will grow deep roots, and they will bear much fruit. But, sadly, others will be like the four problem soils. God wants everyone to follow Him (2 Peter 3:9), but each person has the free choice of whether to accept the truth. Remember that you are not responsible to make the seed grow! (1 Corinthians 12:3) You are just asked to spread the seed (Acts 22:14-15). It’s always right to pray for God to soften the hearts of those you speak to!

PPT KEY VERSE

Key Verse:

PPT MAIN POINT

Main Point: We want to have a teachable heart where God’s truth can produce good fruit.

Unless otherwise noted the Scriptures taken from: Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version, (NIrV®)

Special thanks to John R. Cross, The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus, GoodSeed International.

4. The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37)

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Lesson

PPT CUE

Main Point: We should show love and compassion to others, just as Jesus shows love and compassion to us.

Key Verse:
Here is My command. Love each other, just as I have loved you. - John 15:12

Props: A hand mirror. A globe or world map. A marker and pad of Post It notes.

Background

Say: From time to time when Jesus was teaching, someone would ask a question that was meant to test or trick Jesus. Sometimes the person asking the question just wanted to see how much Jesus really knew about the scriptures. Other times the questioner wanted Jesus to say something that would make the crowd angry with Him.

Today we are going to look at a parable that Jesus told after He was asked two questions by someone who wanted to test Him. Remember, a parable is a small, seemingly simply story that reveals BIG truths about the kingdom of God. In the Parable of the Good Samaritan, we find several tough questions and a BIG answer that reveals an even BIGGER truth about God’s kingdom. Let’s read together in Luke 10:25-37 to see what those questions were, and how Jesus answered them with the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

Teacher Note: The structure of the Parable of the Good Samaritan is defined by two main questions. The first, “What must I do to receive eternal life?” is dealt with in verses 25-28. The second, “And who is my neighbor?” is answered in verses 29-37. In between these two questions, Jesus asks a couple of questions of His own: “What is written in the Law?” and “How do you understand it?”

Jesus asks these questions in lieu of giving an outright answer to the initial query from the scholar who seeks to test Him. The man’s intent in asking the question was probably to compare Jesus’ ideology to that of Jewish law. He more than likely expected Jesus to contradict the Jewish bottom line.

But Jesus, in asking the questioner a question in return, sets out to show that Jewish teaching is not wrong at all, but that the practice of it often is. Once the scholar has answered his own question using scripture, Jesus basically says: “Good answer. Now go do it.” These words, as we will see, prompt the man’s second question and Jesus’ beautifully powerful Parable of the Good Samaritan in response.

What Must I Do To Inherit Eternal Life?

Say:

One day an authority on the law stood up to put Jesus to the test. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to receive eternal life?”

“What is written in the Law?” Jesus replied. “How do you understand it?”

He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Love Him with all your strength and with all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’”

“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do that, and you will live.” - Luke 5:27-28

Teacher Note: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Love Him with all your strength and with all your mind” is from Deuteronomy 6:5, and “Love your neighbor as you love yourself” is from Leviticus 19:18.

Say: The man who stood up to ask Jesus a question was an expert in the Jewish law. The law was the set of rules that God gave to the Israelites through Moses. The law includes the 10 commandments and many other rules found in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy in the Old Testament. The law was God’s way of showing the Israelites how to live a life pleasing to Him, and how to prevent sin from creating separation between God and man. Of course, no one could possibly keep all the laws. People’s sinful nature would continue to destroy their relationship with God. That’s why God allowed people to make sacrifices to atone for the sins they did commit. Does anyone know what atone means? To atone is to make up for something you have done wrong. If I ate your cookies without asking, I can’t undo that; I can’t give them back. I could atone for it by making you some more cookies. In the case of sin, we can’t undo that either. By His grace, God allowed His people to atone for their sin by making special animal sacrifices. By atoning, our relationship with God is restored, or made right again.

By the time Jesus started traveling and teaching, the Pharisees had added so many extra rules to the original law that God had given that people were feeling completely crushed by all the rules they had to keep. All day long they worried about which laws they were breaking and if they were going to be caught.

So you can imagine how interested people must have been when the expert in the law stood up and asked Jesus what someone had to do to live with God forever. It’s really too bad, though, that the man asking the question didn’t think that Jesus could actually teach him anything. The legal expert thought he already knew the answer. He thought that he would be able to show the crowd that Jesus didn’t know the law as well as he did.

So what did Jesus do? He resisted the urge to give the man an answer and said, “You know the law. What do you think it says about this.” Well, the man must have felt really smart when he quoted from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. He said that we needed to do two things. First, love God with everything you have. And then, love your neighbor as you love yourself.

And you know what? The answer the legal expert gave is completely right! Jesus said to him, “OK. You know what the law says. Now do it.”

Do you think this might have made the man nervous? I do. Because the legal expert knew that keeping the whole law is something he could not do. He just wasn’t strong enough or good enough to keep every single rule and regulation all the time. And he knew there could never be enough sacrifices to make up for all the times he broke the law. Jesus knew this too, and wanted to show the man how badly he needed someone to rescue him from his life of sin and disobedience to the law.

James 4:17 says, ...when you know the good things you should do and don’t do them, you sin. Jesus is reminding the man that there is no possible way to love God with everything you have, that there is no way a sinful man or woman can love other people as completely as the law requires.

Hold up the hand mirror so the kids can see your face reflected in it. Say: Jesus is using scripture like a mirror. He is holding it up to the man and asking him to look at his life. He is asking him if he can really keep the law and earn eternal life by obeying all the rules and regulations.

Application: Is it possible for anyone to lead a sinless life? No. Just like the man asking Jesus the question about eternal life, we will always mess up and do something that separates us from God.

James 1:22-24 says this: Don’t just listen to the word. You fool yourselves if you do that. You must do what it says.

Suppose you listen to the word but don’t do what it says. Then you are like a man who looks at his face in a mirror. After looking at himself, he leaves. Right away he forgets what he looks like.

The legal expert was someone who had listened to the law his whole life, but he wasn’t really sure what it meant to actually follow it. When studying the law, he would briefly examine his life—like looking in a mirror—but then he would turn away from it without trying to live like God wanted him to. Immediately, he would forget that his failure to keep the law was sin. He just didn’t want to face what he saw in the mirror.

Who Is My Neighbor?

Say: But when Jesus reminded the man to do what the law said, the man got nervous. He wondered what it really meant to love your neighbor as you love yourself. He wanted Jesus to assure him that he was already doing what he needed to do for eternal life. So he asked another question...“Who is my neighbor?”

Maybe he thought Jesus would say that his neighbors were his close friends and family. Or legal scholars like him. Or his fellow Jews. The man probably wanted to believe that his neighbors were people that were easy to help. People who didn’t require too much time or effort or money.

The man wanted to feel good about what he saw in the mirror. He wanted to look good in front of his friends in the crowd. But Jesus had a deeper truth to reveal to the man. Something that could only be told through a parable, a small story that contains BIG truth about the kingdom of God. Let’s look at Luke 10:29-37.

Say:

But the man wanted to make himself look good. So he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. Robbers attacked him. They stripped off his clothes and beat him. Then they went away, leaving him almost dead. A priest happened to be going down that same road. When he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. A Levite also came by. When he saw the man, he passed by on the other side too.

But a Samaritan came to the place where the man was. When he saw the man, he felt sorry for him. He went to him, poured olive oil and wine on his wounds and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey. He took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins. He gave them to the owner of the inn. ‘Take care of him,’ he said. ‘When I return, I will pay you back for any extra expense you may have.’

“Which of the three do you think was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by robbers?”

The authority on the law replied, “The one who felt sorry for him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do as he did.” - Luke 10:29-37

Say: This parable must have come as a big shock to the legal expert. In the story, the first two men who noticed the victim were Jews like him. First a priest and then a Levite passed by the dying victim on the road, but they just crossed to the other side and kept walking. The victim was obviously very hurt. He obviously needed help. The priest and the Levite were very religious men who knew everything about the law! Yet they wouldn’t help the poor injured man at all. In fact, these two men had just been in Jerusalem, probably to worship God and perform their religious duties in the temple. But they wanted nothing to do with a person who needed their help so badly. They knew the law backwards and forwards, but had no idea what it meant to really keep it. They didn’t know what it meant to have a close, loving relationship with God.

Who remembers who actually did help the man who needed help? A Samaritan. That’s right. A Samaritan came along next. Samaritans were people who lived in the area called Samaria. Now, a Samaritan was not a Jew. In fact, Jews and Samaritans were actually enemies. They didn’t agree on very much regarding religion. But the Samaritan had something that the Jewish priest and the Levite didn’t have. He had compassion. Compassion is really feeling the pain or sadness that someone else feels, and wanting more than anything to help that person. The Samaritan felt sorry for the man who had been beaten and stopped to help him.

Application: The Samaritan didn’t have a first aid kit in his saddle bag. He didn’t have any medical training. He didn’t have a way to call a doctor or an ambulance. But he knew the victim needed help badly. So he got to work and used the resources he did have to take care of him. The Samaritan had a little wine and some oil and a bit of cloth. So he used those to clean the man’s wounds and bandage them up. Then he gently placed the man on his donkey and walked to an inn, where he knew the man could get some rest. Then the Samaritan took out two silver coins to pay the innkeeper to look after the man. Not only that, but he promised to come back in a couple of days to check on the victim and pay the innkeeper more money if necessary.

The Samaritan made a lot of personal sacrifices to help the man who had been beaten. He used his own supplies to treat his wounds. He used his own money to pay the innkeeper. He took a lot of time to help him, and promised to devote even more time to him later. This was no easy thing the Samaritan did! And he did it all without grumbling or complaining.

Hold up the globe or the map. Point to the place on the globe or map where your class is being held. Say: This is where we live. It is easy to think of the people in our neighborhood as our neighbors. It is easy to think of our friends and family as neighbors. It is easy to think of people who are just like us as neighbors. But when Jesus told this parable, He asked, “Which of the three do you think was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by robbers?”

Do you see how Jesus changed the question that the legal expert had asked? The expert had asked, “Who is my neighbor.” But Jesus said the real question should be, “Who am I a neighbor TO?”

The Samaritan had shown real love and compassion to someone in need. The experts in the law had looked the other way. Knowing what the law says is not enough. To love your neighbor as yourself, you have to put it into practice. You have to show love to those in need.

Go And Do As He Did

Say: At the end of the parable, Jesus gave a very simple instruction: “Go and do as he did.” But how can we do that? It is not always easy to love other people the way we should.

In John 15:12, Jesus says this: “Here is my command. Love each other, just as I have loved you.” If we are trying to love other people with our own strength, it is a very hard thing to do. We might be tempted to just look the other way like the priest and the Levite did.

But when we remember how much love Jesus showed for us when He died on the cross, it is our natural response to take that love and pass it on to other people. It’s like Jesus is pouring His love into our hearts, and we pour it back out into the lives of anyone in need. Jesus was the perfect neighbor to us, taking care of us when we were helpless to take care of ourselves, healing our sin-wounds when we were powerless to heal ourselves.

Application: Write the word “neighbor” on a Post It note and stick in on a random place on the globe or map. Say: I just wrote the word “neighbor” on this piece of paper. Did I stick the paper somewhere close to where we’re at? No. Because Jesus wants us to see anyone in need, anywhere, as our neighbor. Wherever we see people hurting, He wants us to show them compassion. Those hurting people might be in your school, or your own home. But they also might be thousands of miles away.

Jesus wants us to always be watching for those who need love and compassion. He wants us to remember what He did for us on the cross. He wants us to remember how much love it took to die for our sins, so that we might live forever with God. And He wants us to show that same love and compassion for others who need it.

As the priest and the Levite proved, that is hard to do if we’re just living by a bunch of laws and religious rules and too busy doing things our own way. But when we believe that Jesus has rescued us from sin and separation from God, we have His love in us. And we can’t help but share that love with our neighbors, wherever they might be.

Teacher Note: “Jesus Christ is the only righteous man to have lived on this earth. He alone fulfilled the law perfectly. And yet He took our sins upon Himself, bearing the curse of death which the law pronounced upon us. And by trusting in His death, burial, and resurrection on our behalf, our sins are forgiven and we receive the free gift of eternal life.

“Since this eternal life is not the result of our good works, but the result of God’s grace manifested in and through Jesus Christ, we have nothing to be proud of, no basis for feeling self-righteous. And because God has been merciful and gracious to us, we can show mercy and compassion toward others. Grace leaves no place for self-righteousness; it is the basis for compassion. That is what Jesus is trying to help this lawyer to understand through the parable of the Good Samaritan.

“And just as this despised and rejected Samaritan became the ‘savior’ of the robbery victim on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho, so the despised and rejected Jesus of Nazareth has become the Savior of all who trust in Him.” —from The Good Samaritan by Bob Deffinbaugh, Bible.org.

Key Verse:

Here is My command. Love each other, just as I have loved you. - John 15:12

Main Point: We should show love and compassion to others, just as Jesus shows love and compassion to us.

PPT CUE

Unless otherwise noted the Scriptures taken from: Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version, (NIrV®)

Special thanks to John R. Cross, The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus, GoodSeed International.

5. The Hidden Treasure and the Pearl (Matthew 13:44-46)

Related Media

Lesson

PPT TITLE

Main Point: The Kingdom of God is worth far more than anything else.

Key Verse:

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure that was hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again. He was very happy. So he went and sold everything he had. And he bought that field. - Matthew 13:44

Props: Small plate of fruit, dark glasses, bandana; Strand of pearls (artificial is fine)

Background

Say: This summer we have been studying the parables that Jesus taught. Parables are stories about everyday people and things that help us understand spiritual truths.

Two weeks ago, we read as Jesus compared the kingdom of God to a mustard seed. The seed starts out really small, but in time it grows to be one of the largest plants in the garden. This is like the kingdom of God because it grows in the hearts of believers, and it grows throughout the world as more and more people enter the kingdom.

Last week, we read Jesus’ parable about the four soils. In this parable, we learned that different people hear God’s truth and accept it in different ways. Ask: Who can remember the four different soils Jesus talked about? Hard path, rocky places, thorny, and good soil. Say: The hard path was a symbol for people who hear God’s word but ignore it. The rocky places stood for the people who like hearing God’s word at first, but they don’t let it take root in their hearts. When problems come, they forget all about God’s word. Next, the thorny soil stood for those people who trust God’s word and begin to bear fruit. But then they let greed and worry take over their heart and mind, and that chokes out the truth that they know.

Finally, there was good soil. This stood for the people who hear God’s word and believe it fully. They put their trust in Jesus. Their hearts receive the message of the kingdom, and the seed takes root and produces lots of spiritual fruit. We want to be the kind of good soil that Jesus talked about. We want to have a teachable heart where God’s truth can produce good fruit.

Hidden Treasure

Teacher Note: These parables are not a plea for us to sell all we have in order to obtain the kingdom - for we truly have nothing to offer God (Ephesians 2:5-9). Instead, they are a call for us to desire the kingdom above all else. Consider the words of Jim Elliot, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” The emphasis is not on what we give up, but on the unfathomable new life that is being offered to us.

Say: Jesus often used parables to teach what the kingdom of God is like. This week, we’ll look at a parable in which Jesus told how much the kingdom of God is worth.

Before we read the parable, I want to tell you another true story. In 1998, a man named James Hill found a small cave full of emeralds on his family’s property in North Carolina. The total weight of the emeralds was about 3,300 carats. (Just as a comparison, the diamond on a woman’s wedding ring may be about one-quarter or one-half of a carat.) It turns out that Mr. Hill’s emeralds were some of the best quality emeralds in North America. When they were cut and polished, they were worth millions of dollars. Was this a big hidden treasure? It sure was, and it was right in the man’s own backyard!

Now, let’s turn to Matthew 13:44 and read what Jesus said about hidden treasure. Jesus told a parable about a man who found something in a field that he did not own.

PPT KEY VERSE

Jesus said:

We are not sure what this man was doing in someone else’s field. Maybe he was a hired helper for the man who owned the field, or maybe he was just passing through. Or maybe the field was for sale and the man was looking it over before deciding whether to buy it. Whatever the reason he was there, he found an amazing treasure, maybe similar to the emeralds. This was a great surprise! Instantly, the man knew that the treasure was incredibly valuable. He was full of joy over this discovery. He went home and sold everything he owned: his house, his furniture, his jewelry, his sheep and goats. Then he took all the money that he had made, and he bought that field. Clearly, the treasure in that field was worth more than everything else that the man owned.

When the man found the treasure, he could have covered it back up, gone about his business, and forgotten all about it. But that’s not what he did. The treasure was too great to forget about! The man was so excited to know that he could possibly own that treasure. He probably laid awake each night thinking about the treasure until it was his. Notice that the man sold EVERYTHING. He was left with nothing. He knew that the treasure was better than his home and his belongings. The treasure was so important to him, that he joyfully gave up everything else in the world to gain that treasure.

Kingdom Treasure

Say: Jesus began His story with the words, “The kingdom of heaven is like...” Let’s talk about the kingdom of heaven for a minute. (Matthew uses the phrase “kingdom of heaven” while the other authors use “kingdom of God,” but they are one and the same.) The kingdom of God is wherever the will of God is done. Because each of us sins, none of us can do the perfect will of God. On our own, we cannot be part of God’s kingdom. But Jesus came to make the kingdom available to everyone (Mark 1:15). Jesus takes away the sin of everyone who trusts in Him (John 1:29). The person has a change of heart, and he or she truly wants to do God’s will. By the grace of God, He sends His Holy Spirit to live inside of that person, and he or she is then able to do God’s will. That person is part of God’s kingdom.

New life in God’s kingdom is much more than going to heaven when we die - although that will be wonderful! Kingdom life is here and now. It is knowing the Father, the King. It is listening to His voice. It is having His peace, His joy, His love, and His power. It is the best life possible. Jesus said, “I have come so they can have life. I want them to have it in the fullest possible way.” (John 10:10)

Life outside of the kingdom of God is way less than God intended it to be. It is not full life because it is life that is separate from God (Isaiah 59:2). Teacher: Call up a volunteer. Put dark glasses on her and tie the handkerchief LOOSELY to cover her nose and mouth (bandit style). Life outside the kingdom is sort of like this. I have this beautiful fruit. But with those dark glasses on, you can’t see all the nice colors. When I peel it, you can’t smell it like I can smell it. I can take a bite and taste the amazing flavors. But you aren’t quite able to taste it. Jesus came and offered the kingdom. Everyone who chooses to trust in Him has kingdom life - life to the fullest! Take off the glasses and bandana and allow the volunteer to eat the fruit. Thank your volunteer.

Jesus compared the kingdom of God to the hidden treasure. The kingdom of God is the treasure. The kingdom of God is FAR more valuable than anything in this world. There is nothing that even compares to a loving relationship with the Creator of the universe!

Application: When we discover that we can enter God’s kingdom, we have a choice to make, just as the man in the field did. We can see the treasure and we can just go back to our old way of life. Or we can see God’s kingdom, full of peace, love, forgiveness, freedom, and joy, and want that more than anything else.

Jesus is not saying that you must go out and sell everything you own. He is saying that you should be willing to. He is saying that NOTHING compares in value to the new life that the King wants to give you. You should not love anything or anyone more than you love the King, God Himself. If you belong to the kingdom, you have the greatest treasure! This treasure is freely given by God, the King, to everyone who trusts in Him.

Pearl Of Great Value

Say: Jesus continued by telling another, similar parable.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a trader who was looking for fine pearls. He found one that was very valuable. So he went away and sold everything he had. And he bought that pearl. - Matthew 13:45-46

Teacher: Show your pearls. Pearls are very valuable. Ask: Does anyone know where pearls come from? Listen for answers. Say: Pearls come from oysters. These are underwater animals that live inside of a shell. The shell has two parts that are hinged together like this. Place your hands together like an oyster shell. The oyster opens its shell to let water and food in. And sometimes a piece of sand or shell gets in. The oyster creates a coating that covers the sand or shell. As time goes on, the sand is coated with more and more layers of this coating. Eventually, after several years, it ends up looking like a beautiful, shiny stone called a pearl. The bigger and more perfectly round the pearl, the more valuable it is.

Pearls were especially valuable in Jesus’ day. Treasure seekers searched the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, and the Indian Ocean to find oysters with pearls inside. Not every oyster has a pearl, and not every pearl is big or round.

The man in Jesus’ parable found a very valuable pearl. This story is very much like the first parable. But in this parable, the man was actively looking for the treasure. This man was like the people who had listened to God’s promises of long ago, and were waiting for the Messiah, the Savior, to come. Even though these people had been looking for God’s kingdom, when they found it, it was far greater than what they had expected.

Just as in the first parable, the valuable pearl was a symbol of the kingdom of God. And like the first parable, the man gladly gave up everything he owned to get the pearl. He, too, knew that nothing he owned could compare to the great treasure he had finally found.

Application: The point of these two parables is the great value of being a part of God’s kingdom. Jesus is not pointing out what we must give up to enter His kingdom. He is telling us that it is worth more than everything else. Both men GLADLY, JOYFULLY gave up everything else to claim their new found treasure. Jesus makes it clear that we should not let anything keep us from entering the kingdom of God. And when we know the value of what we have as members of the kingdom, shouldn’t we share it with everyone we know?

Mr. Hill, the man who found emeralds in his backyard, hired guards to keep watch over his treasure. Why? As we can imagine, he was afraid that when people heard about his discovery, they would sneak onto his land and grab whatever pieces of emerald they could find. The problem with his emerald treasure was that there was a limited supply.

But our treasure - our immeasurably better treasure - has no limit! As we learned two weeks ago, the kingdom of God will grow and grow! Jesus wants it to grow! He promises that it will grow - and God ALWAYS keeps His promises! God wants ALL people to believe in Jesus and enter into His kingdom (1 Peter 2:9). Share your treasure!

Key Verse:

PPT MAIN POINT

Main Point: The Kingdom of God is worth far more than anything else.

Unless otherwise noted the Scriptures taken from: Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version, (NIrV®)

Special thanks to John R. Cross, The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus, GoodSeed International.

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6. Elisha and the Widow’s Oil (2 Kings 3-4)

Lesson

Background/Review

Moab Revolts (2 Kings 3)

The Widow’s Oil (2 Kings 4:1-7)

The Shunammite Woman (2 Kings 4:8-37)

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1. Jesus Sends the Holy Spirit (Acts 2)

Lesson

Background/Review

A Big Promise (John 14)

Jesus Taken Up Into Heaven (Acts 1:1-11)

PENTECOST (Acts 2)

GOD’S POWER (Acts 3, 5)

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2. Saul Meets Jesus (Acts 9)

Lesson

Background/Review

Young Saul

Saul Persecutes The Believers (Acts 8)

Saul Meets Jesus (Acts 9:1-9)

Ananias Goes To Saul (Acts 9:10-19)

God’s Lavish Grace

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3. Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13; 14)

Lesson

Background/Review

Barnabas

Barnabas Speaks Up For Paul (Acts 9:26-31)

Paul & Barnabas Sent Off (Acts 13)

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4. Paul and Silas (Acts 16)

Lesson

Background/Review

Called To Macedonia (Acts 16:1-15)

Paul And Silas In Prison (Acts 16:16-40)

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5. Shipwrecked (Acts 27-28)

Lesson

Background/Review

God’s Plan For Paul

Paul’s Missionary Journeys

The Arrest Of Paul (Acts 21)

Shipwrecked (Acts 27)

From Malta To Rome (Acts 28)

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1. A Doctor Comes to Heal the Sick (Luke 5:27-32)

Lesson

Background

Jesus Calls An Outcast

The Pharisees Disapprove

Jesus Calls Sinners To Repentance

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3. The Four Soils (Matthew 13:1-23; Mark 4:1-20; Luke 8:1-15)

Lesson

Background

Four Soils

Spirtual Truth (Matthew 13:18-23)

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4. The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37)

Lesson

Background

What Must I Do To Inherit Eternal Life?

Who Is My Neighbor?

Go And Do As He Did

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5. The Hidden Treasure and the Pearl (Matthew 13:44-46)

Lesson

Background