Lesson Continued...

Warm Up 

For younger children:

Have you ever told someone about Jesus? If a friend came to you and asked you about Jesus, what would you say?

For older children:

Is it against the law to talk about Jesus where you live? If not, do you think there are places in the world today where it is against the law to talk about Jesus? Today, we're going to learn about a time in the Bible when the early church wasn't allowed to preach about Jesus in public, but they did it anyway!

Bible Mastery 

Scripture for Kids to Read Aloud Acts 4:1-10; 5:17-25

Story Summary

This story is a continuation from the previous story (Peter and John Heal a Crippled Beggar). Be sure to review that story if you did not teach last week.

Peter and John Put in Prison and Threatened the First Time

Peter and John were relentless about making sure everyone around them knew that the miracle they performed was not in their own power, but was because they healed in the name of Jesus and through his power. This got the priests and some of the other religious leaders of the day very nervous. Remember that just before this incident Peter had preached to the crowd on the day of Pentecost and over 3,000 people joined the disciples. According to Acts 4:4, now there were over 5,000 men who were believers. Things were spiraling out of control very quickly for the Jewish leaders. In just 2 short months they had crucified Jesus, watched him appear after his resurrection, and then witnessed the day of Pentecost and the establishment of this quick-growing movement of believers who were meeting every day in homes and in the temple courts. Additionally, the Sadducees were a group of Jews that didn't believe in the resurrection (or life after death). So they also had a theological disagreement with the disciples to begin with.

So the religious leaders confronted them and put them in prison overnight until they could get the whole council together. They asked Peter and John: “By what power did you do this?...And through whose name?” This just gave Peter another opportunity to clearly share with them about Jesus! They really wanted to punish Peter and John, but right in front of them stood this man who was over 40 years old, had been crippled from birth, and now was walking around the temple because Peter and John healed him. What could they do? So they let them go with a stern warning not to preach anymore.

The Believers Pray

Peter and John returned to the other believers and told them about everything that happened. So they prayed to God: "Now, Lord, consider the bad things they say they are going to do. Help us to be very bold when we speak your word. Stretch out your hand to heal. Do miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus." (Acts 4:29-30). 

Notice they didn't ask whether they should continue to speak the word of Jesus. They just asked God to handle the threats and allow them to continue to preach.

The Apostles are Put in Prison and Threatened Again

The apostles did just as they said they were going to do and God answered their prayers. They continued to heal people in Jesus' name and preach to them the Good News. So the religious leaders put them in prison again! This time, during the night, an angel came and opened the prison doors and told the apostles to go back to the temple and continue to preach the Good News! Nothing could stop these early church leaders from preaching about Jesus!

So early the next day, there they were in the temple courtyard preaching again. The religious leaders showed up and asked the guards to get them out of prison to put them on trial. But they weren't there! So they brought them in again and questioned them: "We gave you clear orders not to teach in Jesus’ name...but you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching. You want to make us guilty of this man’s death." (Acts 5:28)

The disciples' response was clear: "We must obey God instead of people! You had Jesus killed by nailing him to a cross. But the God of our people raised Jesus from the dead. Now Jesus is Prince and Savior. God has proved this by giving him a place of honor at his own right hand. He did it so that he could turn Israel away from their sins and forgive them. We are witnesses of these things. And so is the Holy Spirit. God has given the Spirit to those who obey him."

Well, that just about set the religious leaders over the edge. They wanted to put the disciples to death right there! But one of them cautioned them not to. He told them that if what they were saying was a bunch of bologna, the movement would die out soon enough, and putting them to death would just prolong the movement and incite the people. 

So instead of putting them to death, they had the disciples whipped and threatened them not to preach about Jesus anymore. But.... "The apostles were full of joy as they left the Sanhedrin. They considered it an honor to suffer shame for the name of Jesus. Day after day, they kept teaching in the temple courtyards and from house to house. They never stopped telling the good news that Jesus is the Christ." (Acts 5:41-42)

Comprehension Questions

• Why were the religious leaders upset with the disciples?

Peter and John healed a man and they healed him in the name of Jesus

• What did they do the first time they confronted Peter and John about it?

They put them in prison and threatened them not to preach about Jesus anymore

• What did Peter and John do?

They went back to the rest of the disciples and told them what happened

• How did the disciples react?

They prayed to God that he would handle their threats and that God would continue to do miracles and heal people

• What did the religious leaders do the second time they confronted the disciples?

They put them in prison again

• What happened during the night while they were in prison?

An angel came and set them free and told them to go back and preach in the temple courts

• When the religious leaders found them in the temple courts preaching again, what did they do?

They had the disciples whipped and told them not to preach anymore

• How did the disciples respond?

They kept preaching!

• In this story, we learned that the early church would not stop preaching about Jesus, no matter how the Jewish leaders threatened them. They had to obey God, not man. Do you tell others about Jesus and that he died on the cross and rose again so we can have new life?

• Who in your life needs to hear that?

Memory Verse 

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24 (ESV)

Directions

1. Give each child 3 pieces of construction paper and have them cut long strips with each one. Each sheet should create 4 or 5 strips at least. 

2. On each strip of paper, they will write one way they plan to show the world about God no matter how hard it is. When they finish writing on the strips, they can weave them together to make a paper chain as seen in the picture above.  NOTE- when making the two end circle, tell the kids to make them big enough so that they can slip their hands in and out of it.  That way they can reenact the story at home for their family if they want to. 

Directions

1. Give the kids a piece of green, blue, and red piece of construciton paper and have them cute the entire thing into small squares to make the mosaic tiles. 
2. Give the kids one additional piece of construciton paper to use as their background.
3. Give the kids glue sticks and let them create a mosiac picture of a read heart with the blue and green around it as seen in the picture above. This represents God's love for us and that we need to go tell the world. 

Directions

1. Let the kids divide into the following groups, the people, the apostles, the guards, and the council members. They can act out the story using the chains they created in the craft above. 
2. They can repeat this as many times as they want, switching roles each time.

Directions

1. Split into groups. The fewer in each group, the simpler the game.

2. You can start with 4 and then repeat the game with more people to make it more difficult.

3. Have the group stand in a circle, sholder to shoulder.

4. Have each person reach across the circle and grab the hand of someone across from them.

5. Each person must hold hands with two different people and they must not be right next to you.

6. Try to untangle the group.

7. Do not let go of hands or you must begin again.