We reviewed where Paul's journey has taken him and saw how he is moving west from Asia into Europe to fulfill the call to spread the Gospel to the whole world. We discussed that the Gospel is the good news about Jesus. We were reminded that Jesus is the savior of the world and his death on the cross can take away our sins so that we can stand in the presence of God. We discussed how most of the Jewish leaders did not believe that this was true and they were angry when Paul and others would teach this to the people.
We learned that Philippi was a Roman colony and that a lot of traffic from Asia would pass through the city as it traveled to Rome. Philippi was a wealthy city due to the many gold and silver mines that were found there. It did not appear that Philippi has a Jewish synagogue since Paul & his companions went outside the city gates to find a place to worship. We picked up the details of Paul's stay in Philippi in Acts 16:11.
The kids noticed immediately that Barnabas is not on this journey and that Paul has a new companion named Silas! They wanted to know where Barnabas went... (a lesson for another time!). We learned that Paul had a vision that led him from Asia to Macedonia and discussed how Paul did not plan to go this way, but listened to God's call and direction.
We saw that Paul met Lydia near the river when they went to worship God. She was a dealer in purple cloth and a worshiper of God. Paul spoke to her and the other women about the gospel and Lydia responded to Paul's message by being baptized. She invited
Paul's group to stay at her house. We learned about a slave girl that had a spirit that allowed her to predict the future. She followed Paul around shouting "These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved." Paul finally became so troubled (annoyed, perhaps?) that he cast the spirit out of the girl. The slave girl's owners became angry at Paul & Silas because they had no way to make money with her anymore. They stirred up the city and had Paul & Silas put in prison. Around midnight, as Paul & Silas were praying and singing, an earthquake shook the prison and opened the doors and broke their chains. The jailer was going to kill himself because he thought they had escaped. Paul assured him they were all still there and the jailer believed the message of Christ and was baptized. When the city officials learned that Paul & Silas were Roman citizens, they were afraid because they had been beaten and jailed without proper authority. They begged them to leave the city.
The younger kids did not want to be put in jail during our game! The older kids did a great job answering the review sheet remembering what we discussed and looking up answers in their bibles. We took ribbons of different colors to weave through a section of chain to remind us how the good news of Jesus can save us from the chains of sin. The various colors represented different aspects: Black for our sins, Red for the blood of Christ, White for how Jesus' blood can make us clean, Blue for heaven and Green for how we can continue to grow in Christ.
Great job to Alex Marker, Luke Ricke and Ashley Hartley for quoting the memory verse! We have one more week to focus on 1 Peter 3:15, so encourage your kids to work on it... A bonus buck for saying the entire verse!
Don't forget to bring your bible and work on your memory verse!
"But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." 1Peter 3:15
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