Paul's Second Journey
Bible Passage: Acts 15-18
Kids Church: May 16, 2021
Volume 11: The Church United. Unit 33: A Firm Foundation. Session 2 of 4
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Volume 11: The Church United. Unit 33: A Firm Foundation. Session 2 of 4
Paul's Second Journey
Paul was back at the church of Antioch in Syria. The church had sent out Paul and Barnabas to preach the gospel to Jews and Gentiles in places like Lystra and Derbe. Then they returned to the church of Antioch. Some time passed, and Paul wanted to return to some of the cities he visited on his first journey to see how the new believers were doing.
Silas accompanied Paul on his second missionary journey, which is recorded in Acts 15:36–18:22. The pair traveled through Syria and Cilicia (sih LISH ih uh), encouraging believers and strengthening churches. The number of believers in the churches increased daily.
Paul and Silas obeyed the Lord’s call to go to Macedonia. Two major events happened while Paul was in Macedonia. First, a woman named Lydia became a believer. Paul and Silas had gone to the river to pray. They spoke to the women at the river. God opened Lydia’s heart to the good news of the gospel.
Then, a jailer became a believer. This happened when Paul and Silas were thrown into prison. Late at night, an earthquake rocked the prison. The prisoners could have escaped, but they stayed where they were. This was a huge relief to the jailer. Had the prisoners escaped, the jailer would have been punished. In fact, the jailer was ready to kill himself when Paul shouted, “We are all here!” The jailer asked Paul and Silas how to be saved. They told him, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.” The man believed and was baptized.
Emphasize the Christ connection as you review the Bible story with kids. Lydia and the jailer were saved because they believed in Jesus. Jesus offers us salvation as a gift. He did all the work to save us by dying on the cross. We do not need to earn salvation; we can receive it by repenting and trusting in Jesus.
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.
Let's dwell on the holiness of God and His expectation of us, too.
Leader: Our key passage reminds us that only Jesus can save us. We cannot save ourselves by being good, following rules, or doing nice things. This has always been true. Paul and Silas told the people they encountered the same thing that our key passage reminds us—that we can only be saved through faith in Jesus. There is nothing more that is needed, and there is no other way to be saved.
Let's all sing “In No One Else" (Acts 4:12).
Leader: Salvation comes only through Jesus. It is a free gift from God. For believers, He is our Rock, and all who trust in Him will never be shaken. He is our fortress; we are secure in Him. Let’s praise the only One who gives salvation!
Let’s sing together “Come, Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy.”
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 thank God for our mothers on Mother's Day. Think of one thing you are thankful to God for your mom.
Lord God, thank You that the message of salvation is for everyone. Help us to share the gospel with those around us and around the world, so that many can believe and be saved. In the Name of Jesus we pray, Amen.
Christ Connection: Paul and Silas were faithful to God’s call to go and preach the good news all around the world. They knew that the gospel message is for everyone—not just for the Jewish people, but for Gentiles as well. Lydia, the jailer, and many others were saved because they heard the gospel and believed in Jesus. Paul and Silas preached the same message to all people, no matter who they were: “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved.”
Guide kids to open their Bibles to Acts 16. Explain that the Book of Acts is found in the New Testament—right after the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Today’s Bible story today is found in chapters 15-18.
Choose a volunteer to read aloud Acts 16:14.
LEADER SAY • Throughout Paul’s second missionary journey, Paul and Silas planted new churches. God opened the hearts of many people like Lydia, so that they could hear the gospel message and believe.
(Take your time to ask, let the kids to ponder and answer the following questions)
Help kids recognize that God is the living God. That is what separates Him from any false god or idol. Paul said that God does not need anything since He is the God who gives life and breath to everything that lives.
(Option: Choose a volunteer to read Jer. 10:6-7.)
Prompt kids to describe how all we have to do is confess that Jesus is Lord and trust Him as Savior in order to be saved. It is the free gift of God and not something we can earn.
(Option: Choose a volunteer to read Rom. 10:9.)
Guide kids to realize that the same power that raised Jesus from the grave is living in all believers. Because Jesus is alive, those who believe in Him can live with confidence in God’s promise of eternal life.
(Option: Choose a volunteer to read John 11:25.)
Leader Say: The gospel message that Paul and Silas preached during their journeys is the same today. Everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus will be saved.
Leader Say: As you watch this video, think about what we should do if we don’t feel like trusting and praising God.
After the video discuss what truths they can remember about God.
Pastor Kaiyi is a personal friend of Pastor John and Mrs. Catherine. They left to the mission field on April 29, 2021, and they have safely arrived in Lima, Peru where they planned to commit 2 years in the field. Let's pray for them.
You can read their 1st NEWSLETTER HERE, May, 2021.
Country Peru
Kaiyi and Lisa both grew up in Taiwan and have lived in Houston, Texas for the last 20 years where he has served as the Children’s Pastor at Fort Bend Community Church since 2011. They are serving in Lima, where they will be engaging with the ministry and the local community.
Kaiyi loves working with families and empowering parents to be the spiritual leaders of their homes. He serves as the liaison between Kids Alive Peru and local churches. He also helps direct the children and family mentoring programs. Lisa provides support for various ministry projects in conjunction with caring for their young children.
Kaiyi and Lisa have two children. Sophia is 8 years old and Connor is 5 years old. They both enjoy swimming and listening to stories.
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.
For the Fasolinos and for the church in Toronto.
For Pastor Kaiyi Chen and family settling down in Lima, Peru, and getting ready for the missionary work.
Leader: Salvation comes only through faith in Jesus. That’s the reason we want to tell everybody around the world about Jesus. Without Him, they cannot have eternal life. William Carey, a missionary hundreds of years ago, wanted to make sure that people in India heard about Jesus.
Watch the missions video. Then pray, thanking God for missionaries who first brought the gospel to new countries.
A book reading. 7:30 mins.
A short documentary. 21:45 mins.
A full movie drama. 1:34:49 mins.
An adult class lecture. 48:05 mins.