Aim to learn that God was always with Paul, helping him

Aim
* To learn that God was always with Paul, helping him
* To learn that God is always with us, helping us. God can help us when we listen to our conscience

Materials
*Bible story
*Visual Aids
– pictures from ‘Postcards from Paul’, by Hazel Scrimshire and James P. Smith
– map showing Paul’s first journey
* worksheets
* ‘Paul over the Wall’ game
* Sticky tape

Key words
Jew – the Israelite people who were descended from Abraham and the chosen people of God
Gentile – not a Jew.
Convert – to change from one belief to another.

Lesson Outline
1. Review the story of Saul
2. Paul’s First Journey
3. Discussion
4. Activities – worksheets, games (Paul Over the Wall, In and Out the Basket)
5. Review the aims
6. Prayer

1) Review the story of Saul
Ask the children what they remember about Saul
Saul travelled to Damascus, to find and arrest Jesus disciples On his way, he was suddenly struck by a blinding light. He fell down and heard the voice of Jesus saying, “Saul, Saul, why are you
persecuting me?” When he got up he was blind. His soldiers helped him into Damascus. For three days he wouldn’t eat or drink. Jesus appeared to Ananias, one of the disciples, and told him to go
to Saul. When Ananias arrived, he laid his hands on Saul and he got his sight back. Then he baptized Saul as a new disciple.

2) Paul’s First Journey
This is the story of Saul (later called by his Greek name ‘Paul’) and his experiences as he travelled from one place to another, teaching people about Jesus. Many non-Jews (Gentiles) listened and
became followers, but the Jews opposed him. They drove him out of towns and even tried to kill him. The story shows both the danger he was in and how God helped him.

1. Damascus – Jews plotted to kill Saul. He escaped in a basket down the city walls
2. Jerusalem – Barnabas helped followers accept Saul. Jews again wanted to kill Saul so he left
3. Tarsus – Went to his hometown for safety
3. Antioch – Went with Barnabas. Called Christians for the first time. Saul now called Paul
4. Cyprus – God wanted them to go to other lands. In Cyprus many became Christians
5. Turkey- Gentiles welcomed them. Jews opposed them and they had to leave
6. Lystra – Paul healed a crippled man, but was stoned and knocked unconscious
7. Antioch – Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch to report to church there

3) Discussion
Bring out the point about the difficulties Paul had and how God was always with him. Relate the story to the children’s own lives. Sometimes things go wrong, but God is always with us, protecting
us and guiding us to do the right thing. When we listen to our conscience, this is God speaking to us 

4) Activities
* Worksheets
– Draw Paul being lowered in a basket. Answer the questions
– Find 10 differences between the pictures
– Find the way down the wall

* Make and play ‘Paul Over the Wall’ – Take turns drawing a number and moving Paul down the wall that number of spaces. The first player to get Paul on the ground wins.

* In the Basket, Out of the Basket – Place a long piece of tape on the floor in the middle of the room. Have the children stand on the left side of the tape. This will be “in the basket”, the right side
will be “out of the basket”. When you call out “out of the basket”, the children will jump over the line to the right side, when you call “in the basket”, they will jump to the other side. Continue
calling commands. If a child jumps in the wrong direction, or does not make it over the line, he or she is out. The last person left wins. You can try to confuse the kids by calling out two of the same
commands in a row, calling the commands quickly or pointing to the wrong side when you call a command.

5) Review the aims of the lesson
To understand that God was always with Paul, helping him
To understand that God is always with us, helping us. God can help us when we listen to our conscience

6) End with a prayer