YOUTH LESSON Paul the Preacherapril 28, 2008

YOUTH LESSON
Paul the PreacherApril 28, 2008

“The Gods Have Come to Earth” – Acts 13 – 14

The church at Antioch flourished. Saul and Barnabas stayed for a year, teaching the young Christians. Because he was living among Gentiles, Saul was known by his Roman name, Paul.

One day, as the Christians were fasting and praying together, God made it plain that he wanted Paul and Barnabas to leave Antioch and take the gospel to other lands.

Both men realized that there would be many hardships ahead. There would be danger on the high seas, and danger on land. They would have to cross mountains and marshes, face angry mobs in the towns and brigands in the desolate countryside. But God, who was telling them to go, would be with them all the way.

The Christians at Antioch prayed that God would bless them, and then saw them off on the first stage of their journey.

First they crossed the sea and preached on the beautiful island of Cyprus, which was Barnabas’ home country. Then they sailed to the mainland that we now call Turkey.

Whenever they arrived in a city, Paul looked for a Jewish synagogue and first preached there. His hearers would know the Old Testament and understood when Paul announced the good news that Jesus was the Messiah.

But many refused to listen and angrily turned the two out. So they preached instead to the Gentiles, which made their own countrymen even more angry.

Often Paul and Barnabas were threatened and beaten up. One day they arrived in Lystra, where few people had heard about the true God. Paul explained the good news in a way that they would understand. But when he healed a man who had been lame all his life, the crowd grew very excited. They began to jabber together in their own dialect, which the two visitors could not understand.

Then, to their horror, they saw priests of Zeus, the father of the Greek gods, leading a procession and bringing thea m garlands and a bull to be sacrificed.

‘The gods have come down to us,’ they were saying. They had decided that Barnabas was Zeus, and Paul, who did all the talking, was Hermes, the messenger of the gods.

‘STOP!’ Paul called out. ‘We are ordinary people, like you! We want to tell you about the true God!’

At last he persuaded them to stop their ceremony.

After many exciting adventures, the two men retraced their steps, encouraging and helping the young Christians in every city. They chose leaders for the new churches. It did not matter that they had no fine church buildings. A church ismade of people, who are joined together by their love for Jesus and for one another.

A Few Key People in Acts

Paul – New Testament writer and missionary; originally named Saul; early persecutor of Christians before his conversion (7:8-8:3; 9:1-30; 11:25-30; 12:25-28:30)

Barnabas – name means “Son of Encouragement”; traveled as a missionary with Paul and then with John Mark (4:36; 9:27; 11:22; 5:39)

Notes: ______

Questions: (You may have to use your Bible to find some answers.)

Who sent Paul and Barnabas on their missionary journey? ______
Where was the first place they went? ______
What was Paul and Barnabas’ goal concerning the church? ______
What are “Missionaries” ? ______
What does “persecute” mean? ______
How did the Jews treat them? Explain. ______
How did the Gentiles treat them? Explain. ______
Is Acts in the Old or New Testament? ______
Which book of the bible comes after Acts? ______
Read Ch. 13:8-11. What happened to Elymas the sorcerer? ______

Draw a Picture of Paul teaching in the box below.