Scripture: Acts 12:1-19, Acts 9:19-25
Learning Objectives:
- Students will learn that God can provide protection for missionaries.
- Students will learn how the Apostles had to escape to continue to share the Gospel.
- Students will learn that sharing the Gospel doesn’t mean that nothing bad will ever happen.
- Students will learn missionaries may have to sacrifice a regular lifestyle in order to share the Gospel.
Guiding Question: How does God protect His followers so that His good news can be shared?
Materials: A made up jail cell, exterior of 1st century house with door that can shut, “wall”, large basket to lower Paul, scenario cards
Procedure: Read the stories in Acts 12:1-19 and Acts 9:19-25. Give the students the script and have them act out Acts 12:1-19 and Acts 9:19-25. Review with the students how God protected the Apostles and why it was important that the Apostles did not give up even during challenging times. How did this challenging situation become used to share God even further? When are times that God has been faithful to you that you can use to share God and His good works with others?
Have several cards made, each with a challenging everyday life situation on it (peer pressure from friends, finding a job, ill family member, etc). After each scenario is read out loud, ask the students to think of a way that God could be faithful in that situation and make it turn out for good. Have the students explain how God’s faithfulness through that challenging situation could provide an opportunity to share God with others.
Additional Questions:
- How can the students become more confident in sharing their faith?
Supplemental Activity: Let students pair up and practice sharing their faith. One partner can pretend they have never heard of Jesus or only know a little about Jesus and the other partner can share the Gospel/answer other person’s questions.
*insert script