start up get into it go for it teaching tip Additional Notes Xxxx Good News Big Trouble Lesson HOT LESSON 3

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1 Paper Chains (5-6min) Let children make paper chains by linking strips of paper together and taping or gluing them. As they do, talk about how strong real chains are (use these chains to illustrate the story). Touch and Imagine (2-3min) Show the children a length of strong chain (available from hardware stores). Let the children hold and pull the chain. Encourage them to imagine what it would be like to be chained up. Ask: What could break these chains? (Accept responses) Say: In today s story, we will learn how Paul s chains were broken. The Story So Far (2-3min) Ask the children what they have learnt about Paul so far. Use the story telling pictures. Say: Today we will hear another exciting part of Paul s story. Paul in Jail (8-10min) Use the Power Point L3 and outline or story telling pictures 2, Say: After Paul met Jesus he was totally changed and he continued to tell people about Jesus. Because of Paul, lots of people began to follow Jesus. Others were not so happy about what Paul was doing. Some were so unhappy, that they wanted Paul and his friend Silas to be put into jail. That s exactly what happened! They were put in chains and thrown into jail with a guard in charge. Ask: Do you think that was fair? (No, they hadn t done anything wrong) Ask: How do you think Paul and Silas were feeling? (Accept responses) The jail was not a nice place, but Paul and Silas didn t cry or complain. Even though they were in prison when they hadn t done anything wrong, they began to pray and sing to God. Isn t that great! Then, at about midnight, an amazing thing happened. As they were praying and singing, the earth began to shake. All the doors to the prison flew open and the chains of the prisoners came loose. They were free! When the guard saw what had happened he was frightened. He knew that he would be in big trouble if the prisoners escaped. But Paul, Silas and all the prisoners were still there. Paul called out to the guard, It s OK. We are all here! The guard was amazed and rushed into Paul and Silas. He knew that the God they were praying and singing to was very powerful. He wanted to know their God too. What should I do? he asked them Paul and Silas said follow Jesus! Then they told him all about Jesus. The guard at once believed and was baptised with all his family. The guard took Paul and Silas to his home and fed and looked after them. Everyone was filled with joy because they had heard the good news about Jesus. The next day, the rulers sent a message to the guard Tell Paul and Silas that they can go. They have done nothing wrong. Prayer (2-3min) Say: Paul and Silas prayed even when they were in jail. We can pray any time too. Ask the children if they have anything they would like to pray for then pray for them. Memory Verse (3-5min) Have the children sit in a circle on the floor with their arms linked as chains. Invite any children who know the memory verse to say it to the group. Ask the group to repeat the verse then break the chains by unlinking arms. Praise (3-7min) Talk about how Paul and Silas praised God, and how we can sing to God any time. Spend some time singing some of the group s favourite praise songs Explorers Magazine (8-10min) XExplorers Preschool Kindergarten Ages 4 to 6 Strips of paper, sticky tape/glue to make a paper chain Length of chain (available from hardware stores) Story telling pictures 2, 14-20, inverted 4 (upside down desert to become water) (Get into it) Good News Unit 1 X 3 X 27

2 Adventurers Infants Ages 6 to 8 Story telling pictures 1-5, Prepared revision questions of the last 2 lessons Story telling pictures 2, 14-20, 27, become water) (Get into it) Paper plate. Draw a happy face on one side, an angry face on other, attach to a stick (Get into it) Individual words of memory verse written on palm cards, bag Unit Song (3-4min) Develop actions to go with the song I ve Got Good News (CD Track 3). Encourage the children to come up with suggestions. Revision (2-3min) Show story telling pictures 1-5, and briefly review s 1 and 2, focusing on the change in Saul (now to be known as Paul) and his response to telling the good news about Jesus. Paul Tells the Good News (6-8min) Use the Power Point L3 and outline or story telling pictures 2, 14-20, 27. Say: Paul wanted everyone to hear about Jesus. He travelled to many towns with the good news. Ask: What was that message? (Jesus is alive!. We can be God s friends by following Jesus going God s way) Say: Sometimes Paul walked, sometimes he went by boat but everywhere he went he told people the same thing: Jesus is alive! Sometimes people listened to Paul. They were glad to hear the news about Jesus. They wanted to change. Using the paper plate faces, show appropriate side. Say: Paul was happy when people listened (show happy face). Sometimes people didn t want to hear Paul s news. They got angry at what he did (angry face). One day, Paul was with a friend called Silas, in the city of Philippi and they did something that made the people angry (angry face). Say: They got so angry that people began fighting and trying to kill Paul and Silas. They grabbed Paul and Silas and took them to the city rulers. These men are making trouble in our city! they lied. The rulers told their soldiers to beat Paul and Silas and put them in jail. Paul and Silas hadn t done anything wrong, but they were put in chains and thrown into jail. Ask: How do you think Paul and Silas might be feeling now? (Accept responses, but possible responses would be: sad, angry, hurt). What do you think Paul and Silas were thinking now? (Accept responses) Say: Well, they might have been feeling all of those feelings and thinking like that but do you know what they did? They could have given up and become really sad, but they didn t. Instead, they sat in jail and sang songs about Jesus. Paul and Silas knew that even in jail, God was with them and that he loved them. The other prisoners and the jailer were listening to Paul and Silas. Ask: I wonder what the other people thought? Any suggestions? (Allow responses) Say: Let s read from the Bible to hear what happened next. Read Acts 16: Continue: So Paul and Silas told the jailer and all his family the news about Jesus. Jesus is alive! He wants to be your friend and leader. The jailer and his family believed everything that Paul and Silas said. They wanted to change. They wanted to be friends with Jesus too. Paul and Silas were happy, even though they had been in jail. Continue: Instead of being a cruel jailer, Jesus helped this man change too. He found some water and gently washed Paul and Silas sore backs, where they had been beaten. Then he gave them some food to eat. The next day, the rulers sent a message to the jailer, Tell Paul and Silas that they can go. They haven t done anything wrong. Adventurers Magazine (8-10min) Memory Verse: What s In the Bag? (4-5min) Select children one at a time to take a piece of the memory verse from the bag and to hold it up. When all cards have been removed from the bag, read the jumbled verse. Work together with the group to sort them into the right order and read it aloud together. 28 Unit 1 3

3 Unit Song (2-3min) Sing Peacemakers (CD Track 4) or one of the other songs for this unit (Tracks 2-5). Whispering Message (4-5min) Sit the group in a circle. (Alternatively or you may decide to do it in small groups or keep children seated in desks) Select a child and whisper to them: Jesus had risen from the dead, now we can be God s friends. (For older children you can add Paul had a message worth spreading,... at the beginning of the whisper). Instruct the group to pass the message on by whispering it to the person seated beside them. Evaluate how effective the transference was when the last child says it out loud. Say: We have just been whispering the message, but Paul never whispered it. He shouted it out. No matter what happened to him, he kept on telling people the good news about Jesus. Love to Talk (3-4min) Ask: What is it you like to talk about? (Allow 2 or 3 responses, e.g. cars, game boy, sports) Invite 1 or 2 children to talk for 1 whole minute on their favourite topic without saying um, ah, or pausing. Time them and see who can speak the longest, non-stop. Say: Paul loved talking about Jesus. Nothing could stop him. The Gospel Revision (4-5min) Say: When Paul met Jesus, it totally changed his message (and his name), but what is that message? Display the Gospel Bracelet (beads) or Wordless Book (see Unit 1 GodSpace Yellow One or another source). Ask the children to work in pairs, writing down what each colour stands for. Paul Tells the Good News (6-8min) Use the Power Point for L3 and outline or story telling pictures 2, 14-20, 27. See Adventurers 3. Safe in Times of Trouble (8-10min) Say: The good news was so good that Paul and his friend, Silas, were willing to go through anything to make sure people heard the message. Today, we are going to see what happened when Paul and his friend, Silas, were in Philippi (see Paul s Map LT p.21 or magazines). Paul and Silas were in Philippi to tell people about Jesus. Using Bibles or the weekly passage printout, read Acts 16:23-36 (vv are additional background). Select volunteers to each read a verse each. Due to the length of the story you may want to stop and ask some comprehension questions or predictive questions (see L3 Hot Teaching Tip). Continue: Paul and Silas could have run away, but they didn t. When the jailer saw they were still there, he realised they were different from most prisoners. Paul and Silas told the jailer about Jesus. He listened and said that he wanted Jesus to help him change too. Ask: What good came out of this difficult situation? Does God still work like this today? (Accept responses) Drama: Jailer on Trial (10-12min) See Voyagers 3. Make 5 copies of the script (Jailer on Trial - LT pp.26-27) to give to competent readers. Memory Verse Game (4-5min) Using A4 sheets of paper write the verse out, one word per sheet. Prepare each piece by cutting it in half (loosely); some vertical, horizontal, diagonal, zigzag, etc. Mix up the half sheets, hand them out randomly, and everyone has to find their other half! Stand in a circle so everyone can see the words then read it out together. Casually remove half the words. Navigators Magazine (6-8min) XNavigators Lower Primary Ages 8 to 10 Gospel Bracelet/Beads/Wordless Book (GodSpace Yellow One) - Mini one available (updated news) Story telling pictures 2, 14-20, 27, become water) (Get into it) Paul s Map - Tools p. 21 (Get into it) Jailer On Trial Drama - Tools pp Appropriate props (Get into it) Memory verse words written on A4 Sheets and cut in two (Go for it) Unit 1 X 3 X 29

4 Voyagers Upper Primary Ages 10 to 12 How Would You Respond? - Tools p. 28 Gospel bracelet or Wordless book from GodSpace Yellow One Paper for writing questions (Get into it) 5 copies of Jailer on Trial script - Tools p. L3 (Get into it) Ball for memory verse (Go for it) How Would You Respond? (5-6min) Read the scenarios (LT p.28) and ask children to consider how they would respond. Ask: Who has noticed that some people have terrible things happen to them but don t let it get them down? (Allow some responses) Say: Others get angry or upset over the smallest thing and make themselves miserable. Say: It is OK to feel sad, cry, to grieve when life s tough, God cares and is sad that we hurt. Ask: Can we ask God to help us in difficult times? (Absolutely and God wants us to) Discuss: Do you think faith in Jesus can make a big difference to the way we respond? Is it easy to make a response? (No, because it can really hurt inside and we have mixed feelings and confused thoughts) Encourage them to see that although we have to face tough times we can ask God to help us but sometimes the hurt can stay a long time. Link: Saul had been an angry fanatic getting people thrown in jail but today we ll see how he responded when he was thrown into jail when he hadn t done anything wrong. Review Gospel Message (5-6min) Review the good news story. If you made gospel books or bracelets leading up to Easter, show it to the group and ask them to say what each page/bead signifies. Link: When Saul became Paul this was the message about Jesus that he eventually took to many countries. Paul was sure everyone needed an opportunity to hear this good news even though it often resulted in trouble for him. Bible Exploration (10-12min) Give out the class Bibles or the weekly Bible passage printout and ask them to read Acts 16:23-36, looking for the major events that happened to Paul and how he responded. Hand out some paper to write on. Instruct them to make up a How would you respond? question about Paul being put in jail that suggests three options, one of which should be the way they think they d respond in Paul s position. Script: Jailer on Trial (7-10min) Instruct 5 competent readers to present the script (Jailer on Trial - LT pp.26-27) to the class. If possible allow time to read it through beforehand (even a week before if possible). Explain briefly that the script springs from a narrative from the book of Acts in which Paul (the once anti-christian religious fanatic turned Jesus follower) and his fellow believer, Silas, were thrown in jail in a foreign city where they were preaching the message about Jesus. Consider creating a jail scene using chairs or even other children. Ask: How did Paul and Silas respond to being wrongly thrown in jail? (They sang songs and praised God) Why do you think they responded that way? (They were convinced that Jesus was all powerful and since they were committed to Jesus and what he d asked them to do, they believed that if Jesus let it happen there must be good in it somewhere) How Would You Respond? Recap (3-4min) Ask some volunteers to read aloud their How would you respond? question with the three options. Vote on which option represents the way the reader thinks they would respond. Say: Some people get angry or sulky more easily than others. People who are living wholly for God and believe that God is all-powerful, can ask God to help them because they know their life is in God s hands. Although life can be tough we can trust that God will be with us no matter what happens and God wants to strengthen us in the bad times as well as the good. Voyager Magazine (6-8min) Memory Verse (3-4min) Seat the group in a circle (or remain in their seats) and revise the memory verse by saying it together. Hand a ball to one person who says the first word of the memory verse then throws it to another person who says the next word and so on. Repeat till all have at least had the ball once. Get faster. 30 Unit 1 3

5 Welcome & Prayer (1-2min) Welcome the children. Select a few of the older children to pray. Sing (4-5min) Select one of the unit songs (CD Tracks 2-5). Project the words. Love to Talk (3-4min) See Navigators 3. Script: Jailer on Trial (7-10min) See Voyagers 3. Make five copies of the script (Jailer on Trial - LT pp.26-27) to give to competent readers (if possible allow time to read it through beforehand) Paul Tells the Good News (6-8min) Use the Power Point for L3 and outline or story telling pictures 2, 14-20, 27. Say: Paul wanted everyone to hear about Jesus. He travelled to many towns with the good news. Ask: What was that message? (Jesus is alive! We can be God s friends by following Jesus going God s way) Say: Sometimes Paul walked, sometimes he went by boat but everywhere he went he told people the same thing: Jesus is alive! Sometimes people listened to Paul. They were glad to hear the news about Jesus. They wanted to change. Say: Paul was happy when people listened. Some didn t like what he would say. They got angry with Paul. One day, Paul was with a friend called Silas, in the city of Philippi. They were showing what Jesus could do. Some people were angry. Say: They got so angry that people began fighting and trying to kill Paul and Silas. They grabbed Paul and Silas and took them to the city rulers. These men are making trouble in our city! they lied. The rulers told their soldiers to beat Paul and Silas and put them in jail. Paul and Silas hadn t done anything wrong, but they were put in chains and thrown into jail. Ask: How do you think Paul and Silas might be feeling now? (Accept responses, but possible responses would be: sad, angry, hurt). Say: Well, they might have been feeling all of those feelings but do you know what they did? They could have given up and become really sad, but they didn t. Instead, they sat in jail and sang songs about Jesus. Paul and Silas knew that even in jail, God was with them and that he loved them. The other prisoners and the jailer were listening to Paul and Silas. Ask: I wonder what they thought? (Allow responses) Say: Let s read from the Bible to hear what happened next. Read Acts 16: Continue: So Paul and Silas told the jailer and all his family the news about Jesus. Jesus is alive! He wants to be your friend and leader. The jailer and his family believed everything that Paul and Silas said. They wanted to change. They wanted to be friends with Jesus too. Paul and Silas were happy, even though they had been in jail. Continue: Instead of being a cruel jailer, Jesus helped this man change too. He found some water and gently washed Paul and Silas sore backs, where they had been beaten. Then he gave them some food to eat. The next day, the rulers sent a message to the jailer, Tell Paul and Silas that they can go. They haven t done anything wrong. Memory Verse Game (4-5min) Use the A3 sheets of paper with the memory verse written on. See Navigators 3 (Adapt for the large group setting). Sing (4-5min) Select one of the unit songs (CD Tracks 2-5). Project the words. Combined/Large Explorers Group LESSON X X Preschool Kindergarten Ages 4 to 6 Good xxx News, x Big xxx Trouble xxx Data projector, computer, song words 5 Copies of Jailer on Trial script - Tools pp Power Point 3 and outline or story telling pictures 2, 14-20, 27, become water) A3 sheets of paper with the memory verse written on, one word per sheet. Songs Track 2 Have Fun Track 3 I ve Got Good News Track 4 Peacemakers Track 5 God s Holy Book Unit 1 X 3 X 31