See What's New at Pastor John's Blog. Or to Submit --->

Paul's First Journey

Bible Passage: Acts 13-14

Kids Church: April 18, 2021

Volume 11: The Church United. Unit 32: Making Disciples. Session 2 of 4

Leading Parent, please read below for an overview of today's lesson (drop down) ----->>

Paul's First Journey

Jesus’ followers preached the gospel in Jerusalem, and the good news spread to places like Judea and Samaria. More and more people believed, and new churches began as both Jews and Gentiles began to follow Jesus.

Barnabas went to Antioch—a city about 300 miles north of Jerusalem—where he brought Paul to help teach the believers. The church in Antioch grew.

The Holy Spirit told the believers at the church in Antioch to send out Paul and Barnabas to preach the gospel. The church obeyed, and Paul and Barnabas traveled to several cities and all over the island of Cyprus, telling both Jews and Gentiles about Jesus.

Consider Paul, once a devoted persecutor of Christians, now a Christian missionary devoted to obeying God’s call to go and tell others the good news about Jesus. This was Paul’s first missionary journey, and it wasn’t easy. Paul and Barnabas faced rejection in every place that they traveled. Some of the people believed, but some of them were angry. Many people rejected the truth about Jesus. In some places, the Jews made plans to kill Paul.

Paul and Barnabas never softened their message or abandoned their mission. In Lystra, Paul healed a man, and when the witnesses to this miracle began to worship Paul and Barnabas, the two men emphatically gave credit to the one true God. When Paul’s enemies attacked him and left him for dead, Paul continued on. Paul and Barnabas shared the gospel in Derbe (DUHR bih), and many people believed.

The Holy Spirit sent Paul and Barnabas to tell Jews and Gentiles about Jesus. If Paul had not taken the gospel to the Gentiles, many of us would probably not be believers today. God uses people to tell others about Jesus so that people all over the world can be saved.

Opening Prayer for Kids Church Worship

Dad (or Mom) lead your family

Praise God for His attributes: holiness, greatness, grace, love, mercy, etc.
Thank God for sending His Son Jesus to save us from our sins.
Thank God for His goodness, provision, forgiveness, etc.
Thank You God for for sacrificing Your Son Jesus on the Cross to take our just punishment of death. Thank You Jesus for Your obedience to the Father and suffer the pain and death on the Cross. Thank You for the victory over death by raising Jesus from the grave on the third day! Because He is risen, the children of God shall inherit eternal life. Thank You God!
Ask God for His Holy Spirit to prepare our hearts, minds, and spirits to worship God and learn the lesson He has for us today.
God, we are here to worship, adore, and exalt You. Speak and teach us through Your Word. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

You may ask all the kids to take turn to pray as well.

Pledges - recite out loud together

Right hand to your heart

Bible raised high in the air

Praise & Worship singing to God together

Let's dwell on the holiness of God and His expectation of us, too.

Leader - Ask the Big Picture Question

Everyone reply with the Big Picture Answer

Everyone memorize the Scripture verses CSB version

NIV

Leader: As Paul and Barnabas traveled, I’m certain the last part of this key passage was a special encouragement to them. Jesus promised to always be with them through the Holy Spirit. That promise applies for us today! We can trust that we are never alone, especially when we are on God’s mission to make disciples.

Let's all sing “I Am With You Always" (Matthew 28:19-20).

Everyone sing the Scripture song CSB version

Everyone open your Bible and read aloud Joshua 1:9.

Leader: I wonder if Paul thought of Joshua leading God’s people into a new land when he was traveling with Barnabas into new lands to share the gospel. God’s promise to Joshua would have been a comfort to Paul, another great reminder that God is with us wherever we go. Let’s stand and praise God for always being with us as we follow His command to make disciples.

Let’s sing together “Go Tell The World.”

Praise & Prayer Time

Invite kids to pray items below:

Share praises from this past week of what God did in your lives.
Confess and repent of our sins. Pray to God for His holiness and purity in our lives.
Ask God to forgive us, and ask the Holy Spirit to help us in self-control.
Share prayer requests with each other. Pray for each other.
Ask God to give wisdom for parents, school teachers and kids for work, in-person and virtual learning to manage time, technology, and meals for this semester.
Let's pray for the pastors, ministers and elders of our church. And continue to pray that God will raise many good Christian men and women to serve in the church, so that the ones who serve over us would fear the Lord, walk humbly, and act justly.
God, thank You for the example of Paul and Barnabas as they told people about Jesus even when it was hard. Help us have courage to tell our friends and family about Jesus, too. Thank You for always being with us. In the Name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

Bible Lesson Time

Leader - Read the main story point below

Watch the Bible Story video

Christ Connection: Paul and Barnabas’ mission was not easy, but I am so glad they were willing to obey God. Many people rejected the good news about Jesus, but God had a plan for Paul to share the gospel with Gentiles—no matter what troubles he faced. Many people believed in Jesus. The church grew and the gospel spread so that people all over the world could be saved from their sins by trusting in Jesus.

Apply the Bible Lesson

Guide kids to open their Bibles to Acts 1. Challenge them to find the names of all the places that Paul and Barnabas traveled on their first journey. Find each place on a map of Paul’s first missionary journey. Help kids see that the gospel started in Jerusalem, moved to Samaria, and then up to Antioch before spreading into other areas around the Mediterranean.

Choose a volunteer to read aloud Acts 1:8.

LEADER SAY • Before Jesus left, He told His disciples to be His witnesses in Jerusalem, all Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Paul’s first journey was the start of taking the gospel to the ends of the earth.

Ask the following questions. Lead your family to discuss:

(Take your time to ask, let the kids to ponder and answer the following questions)

1. What was the church in Antioch doing when the Holy Spirit said to set apart Paul and Barnabas for the journey, and why was that important? (drop down for answer) ----->>

Lead kids to recall that the church was worshiping, fasting, and praying to seek God’s plan for what they should do. Point out that we should make plans based on God’s leading, not our own ideas and desires.

(Option: Choose a volunteer to read Acts 13:2-3.)

2. After starting at Jewish synagogues in each location, where did Paul and Barnabas go next, and why? (drop down for answer) ----->>

Remind kids that when the Jews rejected the gospel, Paul and Barnabas went to the Gentiles to share the good news of salvation with them. God had chosen Paul to take the gospel to the Gentiles.

(Option: Choose a volunteer to read Acts 13:46-49.)

3. How can we share the gospel with people around us? (drop down for answer) ----->>

Help kids recognize that we can boldly share the gospel because we are filled with joy from the Holy Spirit, who will guide us and never leave us.

(Option: Choose a volunteer to read Acts 13:52.)

Application: Questions from Kids

Leader Say: As you watch this video, think about how they should respond to people who don’t believe in Jesus.

After the video, guide them to discuss a time they were surprised by unexpected kindness.

Sing the Song of Response below

Closing Prayer - Leader

Praise and thanksgiving to God that the Holy Spirit helps us to listen and obey God.
Protection from the COVID-19.
Productive at home this week.
For those who are sick or lost of job.
For our family, our church, our nation our leaders to repent to honor and follow God.

A Missions Moment

Leader: When we read in the Bible that God rescued Peter from prison, we know that God can do amazing miracles. We see God do great things when we look to Him and His power.

Missionaries learn to rely on God’s power and expect Him to do great things. Let’s learn more about a missionary in Toronto, Canada, who is seeing God do amazing work.

Watch the missions video. Then ask kids about the different cultures they saw in Toronto. Take time to pray for the Fasolinos in Toronto and for any missionaries your church supports.

God with Us

Full movie. 1:28 mins.

Page updated

Report abuse