Paul Before Rulers - Sunday July 4, 2021

Sunday July 4, 2021 (Vol 12, Unit 35, Session 1)

Hi there, and thanks for joining us this week. The following blog is here to be a tool for you to review the previous Sunday’s Children’s church lesson and help your kids grow in their faith. Please feel free to use as much of it as you choose. You know your kids and are the best possible teacher for them. God has given you the power of the Holy Spirit to enable you to do more than you think possible (Eph 3:20). So, let’s have some fun and teach our kids from the scriptures. 

Parent Devotional – Running the Race

Philippians 3

Paul was in custody in Caesarea, the capital of the Roman province of Judea. The Jewish leaders had brought serious charges against him, so Paul now stood before Felix, the governor. Felix listened to Paul’s defense but delayed a ruling. He met with Paul off and on for two years. When his time as governor ended, Felix left Paul in prison because he did not want to upset the Jews.

Festus succeeded Felix as governor. The Jews presented their accusations against Paul and asked Festus to bring him to Jerusalem. They hoped to ambush Paul as he traveled and kill him. But Festus invited Paul’s accusers to make their case in Caesarea. When Festus heard Paul’s case, he asked if Paul wanted to be tried in Jerusalem. Paul, knowing his rights as a Roman citizen, appealed to be heard by Caesar.

Several days later, King Agrippa visited Festus and heard about Paul. He asked to listen to Paul’s defense himself. Festus wasn’t sure how he would justify his sending Paul to Caesar without substantiated charges, and he hoped this hearing would provide stronger evidence against Paul. Festus told Paul he was out of his mind, but they determined Paul could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.

With these events, Paul was positioned to go to Rome, just as God had said he would. (See Acts 19:21; 23:11.) God had chosen Paul to take the gospel to Gentiles, kings, and the Israelites. (See Acts 9:15-16.) Paul was confident that Jesus has the power to save people from sin, and he was willing to do whatever it took to share the gospel.

As you teach kids, prompt them to consider how Paul might have felt as he spoke before rulers and remained in custody for two years. Lead them to consider how God was at work to keep His promises. 

Parent Guidance and Instructions 

As we begin to explore this week’s lesson, take a moment to pray and remember the verse from Deuteronomy about teaching your children the scriptures. Deuteronomy 6:9 says: “You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” Maybe you do not have time to sit and have an hour of Bible time all at once, or perhaps your children are too young to sit for that long. Consider the key points of the lesson and ask God to give you opportunities to speak them into the hearts of your children throughout the week. Let the Bible become a part of your day-to-day. Be blessed this week, my friends!

Each week we include songs, activity pages, the bible lesson video, memory verses, and possibly a craft or 2. We pray this will help you find ways to engage your kids spiritually. It is written in script form from the K-2nd grade lesson, so you can read directly from it or change it to suit your children. Take some time to look at and print the activity pages and the additional activities and information (found in the links at the bottom of the page) to review the lesson so you can adjust as needed. I have included the Bible and Discussion questions along with a breakdown of the Gospel in the Older Kids Activities pages and loads of activities and crafts on the Preschool Extra Activity Pages. Once you are ready, go ahead and start with these songs if you would like, or pick some of your favorite worship songs and then jump right in! Have fun! And remember, this does not need to be done in one sitting! Feel free to break it up over the week. Please contact me if you have any questions or suggestions. We would love to hear from you!

Opening

“Blessings and Bummers”

Let’s get started. Tell me, what have you seen the Lord doing in your lives this week? What have your greatest blessings been? How about your biggest challenges?

Parents share your blessings and bummers, encourage the kids to do the same.

Prayer

Let’s go to the Lord in prayer: Father God, Thank you. Thank you for providing for our needs. You are so good to us even though we do not deserve it! Thank you for continuing to bless us, Lord. Thank you for being patient with us. Thank you to our friends as well as our families. Most importantly, we thank you always for sending Jesus to live a perfect life and die to pay for our sins. Thank you for raising Him from the dead and promising us life with you forever if we believe in Him. Please help us be thankful for all you do for us and look to you in all that we do. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

(Please add to or customize prayer time to fit your family)

Praise the Lord for hearing our prayers! 

Let’s chat!

Prompt kids to discuss a time when they got in trouble.

Say • Usually when we get into trouble, it’s because we did something wrong or unwise. Today, we’ll learn about a time Paul was arrested even though he had not broken the law. How do you think Paul felt? 

Optional Session Starter Activity 

Pick one of two options or do both; this is your party. (You can find these on page 2 of the optional activity pages attached at the bottom of the post.) 

Big Picture Question

As we follow Jesus on earth, we must press on toward the prize. But what is the prize at the end of the race? That brings us to our big picture question. What will happen for all Christians in the future? Does anyone think they know the answer to our big picture question? Think about what the answer might be, and we’ll discuss it after the Bible story.

Review

Paul’s life and ministry were filled with difficult challenges. Thankfully, Paul used his suffering to share the good news about Jesus with others. Paul helped believers grow in their faith and press on to fully know Jesus. This week we’re starting a new unit about standing strong in our faith all the way to the end of our lives. Paul was no stranger to being arrested because of his preaching the gospel. Today we will learn about how Paul used his arrest to spread the gospel even more. Our story is called “Paul Before Rulers.”

Bible Lesson

Paul had been arrested in Jerusalem but had been moved to Caesarea for safety. Felix, the governor, met with Paul multiple times over two years to speak with him. Being in prison for years may sound rough, but God was working through Paul even while he was captured. Paul had the opportunity to share the gospel with the governor for two whole years!

When Festus—the next governor—took over Paul asked to be heard by Caesar. Remember, when Paul was first arrested in Jerusalem, God had told Paul that He wanted Paul to share the gospel in Rome. Now, God was giving Paul the opportunity to use his arrest to travel there! But that also meant Paul had to stay a prisoner even longer.

Paul was willing to do hard things to share the gospel. He didn’t care about his own comfort or safety as much as he cared about obeying God to preach the gospel to everyone. Part of Paul’s courage came from his understanding of the future God has promised believers. What will happen for all Christians in the future? One day, all Christians will see Jesus in His glory and live with Him forever.

God can use difficult circumstances in our lives to continue His plan, too. There will be times in your life when you face scary, sad, or difficult situations. In those moments, you can take comfort knowing that God is at work. God always keeps His promises. 

Christ Connection

God had chosen Paul to take the gospel to Gentiles, kings, and the Israelites. Paul met with people again and again to tell the good news about Jesus. He wanted everyone to believe that Jesus is Lord. Because Jesus has the power to save people from sin, Paul was willing to do whatever it took to share the gospel. 

Bible Time! 

Distribute a Bible to each kid. Help them find Acts 24-26. Show the group how to use the Table of Contents in the front of their Bible to find the page numbers of the books of the Bible. Remind the kids that Acts is in the New Testament right after the four Gospels.

Ask the following questions. Lead the group to discuss:

·       Who had planned to kill Paul? (the Jews, Acts 23:15)

·       How often did Paul and Felix, the governor, meet to talk about faith? (many times for two years, Acts 24:27)

·       Who did Paul tell Festus he wanted to see? (Caesar, the emperor of Rome; Acts 25:10)

·       How was prison a blessing from God for Paul? Guide the kids to think about what Paul’s enemies wanted to do to him. Remind the kids that as long as Paul was being held by the Romans, the Jewish religious leaders who hated him could not achieve their goal of killing Paul.

·       Why was Paul willing to stay in prison when he hadn’t broken the law? Direct kids to think about Paul’s understanding of God’s promises. Paul knew that God wanted him to go to Rome to share the gospel and asking to speak with Caesar is one way Paul could do so. Paul also knew that the rewards of obeying God are worth giving up anything the world can offer us, such as wealth, comfort, or power.

·       Have you done difficult things to share the gospel? Help kids think critically about their lives. Ensure they know that this is a safe place to talk about their feelings. Encourage all the kids who admit they haven’t done anything difficult to share the gospel and pray over the group that God will give them courage and opportunities to share.

Say • Paul was willing to do hard things to share the gospel. Paul knew that Jesus alone had the power to save people from sin. Paul trusted God’s plan.

Key Memory Verse

Read the verse together. 

Paul wrote this key passage to the church at Philippi to encourage them in their faith. When God calls us to salvation, He begins a good work in our hearts. God will keep us, and the Holy Spirit will continue working in our hearts to make us more like Jesus. 

Memory Verse Activity: 

Before the session, write each word or small phrase of the key passage on separate sticky notes. Practice reciting the key passage aloud as a whole group several times. Give each kid a sticky note to stick on the front of their shirt. Challenge the kids to work together to put themselves in the correct order. Practice reciting the key passage aloud once in the correct order. Mix up the sticky notes and play again as time allows.

Say • Paul seemed like the perfect Christian. He shared the gospel all the time! But even Paul was being made more like Jesus every single day. God had called Paul to salvation through Jesus’ death and resurrection. The Holy Spirit was continuing the good work of the gospel in Paul’s heart every day.

That is all I have for this week. Let’s pray together: 

God, thank You for sending Jesus to rescue us from our sins so we can live with You forever, sharing in Your victory. Thank You for giving us strength to press on in following You with confidence even when we go through hard things in life. We have hope and look forward to spending eternity with You. Amen. 

Thanks for joining us! I hope to meet you here again next week!

Thank you, Lifeway’s Gospel Project, for allowing us to publish this material.

Additional Activities and Information