Lesson Continued...

Warm Up 

What is the brightest thing you can think of?

Today, we're going to learn about a man in the New Testament that saw a very bright light that changed him forever!

Teach the Story

This story picks up after Stephen was stoned. Saul (see note below on "Saul vs Paul") was continuing to persecute the church. He even went to the High Priest and had him send letters to the synagogues in Damascus warning them that any followers of Christ (or "the Way" as it was referred to here) would be bound and brought to Jerusalem for trial. Saul was presumably on his way to Damascus to make good on his threats when something dramatic happened...

Saul is Blinded 

As Saul was traveling, suddenly a bright light shone around him. A voice called out to him by name! "Saul, Saul, why are you opposing me?" Saul knew this was supernatural - not an ordinary light and voice. So he called out and asked, "Who are you, Lord?". It was Jesus! “I am Jesus,” he replied. “I am the one you are opposing. Now get up and go into the city. There you will be told what you must do.” (Acts 9:5-6)

There were men traveling with Saul and they heard this too, but they didn't see anything. And then Saul got up from the ground, opened his eyes, but he couldn't see anything! He was blind for 3 days and couldn't even muster the strength to eat anything. The first part of God's plan to get Saul's attention was complete. Now, he enlisted the help of someone else to finish the job.

Saul meets Ananias

God spoke to man named Ananias (who lived in Damascus) and told him to go to where Saul was staying, the home of a man named Judas on Straight Street. God told Ananias that he had already given Saul a vision of a man with his name coming to lay his hands on him so he could see again. Initially Ananias was scared. Don't forget about the letter Saul had sent to Damascus ahead of his trip there!

But God reassured him that Saul had been changed by his experience on the road to Damascus. So Ananias obeyed and went to the house where Saul was staying. Ananias laid his eyes on Saul and confirmed to him that the man he saw on the road there was in fact Jesus.

Just then something like scales fell off Saul's eyes and he could see again! He was baptized, began eating again, and regained his strength.

Saul has Changed!

Immediately, Saul began meeting with the believers in Damascus and preaching in the very synagogues he threatened to kill Christians in. Finally, Saul's great passion and intellect was being used for Jesus instead of against him. Many of the believers still feared him, though. Surely someone like Saul couldn't just change that suddenly, could he?

The Jews that were living in Damascus were not happy about this at all! They began to think about ways they could kill Saul. Saul found out about it and the Christians in Damascus helped him escape the city in a basket they lowered through a hole in the wall. Paul went back to Jerusalem, but the Christians there were afraid of him too! But a man named Barnabus helped the believers in Jerusalem accept what happened to Saul. He told them all about Saul's journey to Damascus and his experience there. So Saul stayed in Jerusalem and boldly spoke about Jesus and told his story. The Jews in Jerusalem didn't like him anymore than the Jews in Damascus, though. So the Christians in Jerusalem had to help Saul escape there too and he ended up back in his home of Tarsus for a while. 

In later lessons, we will learn about this man Saul (also called Paul) and his huge impact on expanding the early church throughout the Middle East and into Europe.

**Note: Saul vs. Paul

Saul is also referred to as Paul in the New Testament. Some mistakenly assume that Saul's name was changed at the point of conversion to Paul. While this is a very common occurrence in the Old Testament when God calls someone out for a special work (Abram to Abraham, Jacob to Israel), we have no indication that this is what happened here. The early mentions of the man in Acts are almost exclusively "Saul", while the later mentions and all the later books are exclusively "Paul". But the only clue we have of a transition comes in Acts 13:9: "Saul, who was also called Paul"...

Saul is a Hebrew name. Paul is a Greek name. Perhaps since Paul's ministry focused on the Gentiles (and Peter's focused on the Jews), he decided to use his Greek name instead of his Hebrew name. Or maybe he really did go through a name change and he himself chose to mark his conversion by changing how he was named. Or perhaps God did indeed tell him to change his name, but it was just not recorded anywhere in scripture.

Regardless, we should teach our students that Saul in the New Testament is the same person as Paul. We should primarily call him Paul, since that is how is referred to most commonly.

If you think your children can handle it, have them close their eyes as you teach them the story. Ask them to imagine what it must have been like for Saul those 3 days when he couldn't see anything. Also, imagine what it must be like to be someone blind from birth?

Bible Mastery 

Scripture for Kids to Read Aloud Acts 9:1-19 

Comprehension Questions 

• What did Saul say in his letters to the synagogues in Damascus?

Any Christians there would be captured and taken to Jerusalem

• Where did Jesus appear to Saul?

On his way to Damascus

• What did Saul see?

A very bright light

• What did Saul hear?

A voice saying, "Saul, Saul, why are you opposing me"?

• What did Saul's companions see?

They didn't see the bright light, but heard the voice

• What happeend to Saul after Jesus spoke to him?

He couldn't see anymore

• Where did Jesus send Saul?

Into Damascus

• Who did Jesus send to speak to Saul?

Ananias

• What happened to Saul after Ananias laid his hands on him?

Something like scales fell off his eyes and he could see again

• What did Paul do after he could see again?

He met with the other believers and preached in the synagogues

• What did the other Jews in Damascus try and do to him?

They tried to kill him

• How did Paul escape?

Other believers helped him escape in a basket lowered through a hole in the city walls

• Where did Paul go next?

Jerusalem, where he had to flee again because the Jews there wanted to kill him

• In this story, we learn that after Saul became a believer, he was baptized, began meeting with other believers, and was telling everyone he knew about Jesus. What about you? Are you a believer in Christ? Have you been baptized? Do you meet with other Christians? Do you tell others about Jesus? 

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 a paper plate

2. Let them decorate one side as Saul talking about how they should make that face based on the story.

3. Let them decorate one side as paul talking about how they should make that face different based on the story.

4. They can tape a stick on the bottom for easy turning. 

Directions

1. Let the kids look at the kids Bibles, build some people from the story and some scenes from the story, and act it out with a partner. 

Directions

1. Pair the kids off and have one person in the pair be the "navigator" and the other person put on the blindfold and try to walk through the obstacle course. 
2. They can swap jobs and repeat so the everyone has a turn!

Directions

1. Give the kids a blindfold and tell them to draw something on the paper blindfloded. They can show off their drawing after. If there are more kids than blindfolds, have them take turns with a partner. 

2. They can play this as many times as they want! Just give them a different object to draw each time.