God Did What?
Act out the Bible story your children learned this week—the story of Saul being blinded on the Damascus Road. Assign parts and have the children act it out as you read aloud from Acts 9:3-19.
Then talk about it:
What happened to Saul on the Damascus Road? (A bright light appeared, and he heard a voice from Heaven. Saul was blinded.)
Saul hated Christians, followers of Christ. He was on his way to persecute more Christians when the bright light on the Damascus Road stopped him.
What does persecute mean? (treating someone in a cruel or harsh way because of what you believe or do; bad treatment because of your beliefs; etc.)
Jesus told His disciples they would be persecuted. Even though it is never easy, God was with those who were persecuted. God gave them strength to endure.
Dangerous
Play “Cross the Border” game.
In some countries today, it is against the law to have a Bible and tell others about Jesus. In one country, border guards tried to catch those smuggling Bibles by following their footprints in the snow. They sent attack dogs in the direction of the footprints. So smugglers walked backward into the country at night. When guards saw their footprints the next morning, they sent their dogs in the wrong direction!
Mark a starting point and a finish line. Divide into two teams and run a relay race. Each person must run (or walk) backwards to the finish line, then run backwards to the starting line, carrying three or five Bibles (or books).
When Jesus told the disciples to preach the gospel to all the world (Mark 16:15), He knew it would not always be easy for His followers to obey Him. Many Christ followers were hurt and even killed because of their faith.
Bold Christians today still take great risks to share God’s Word with those who haven’t heard it. If North Koreans are caught bringing Bibles into their country, they can be shot or sent to prison. This is called persecution, when people are harassed, bullied, or treated badly (and sometimes even killed) for their beliefs.
Pray for those who are being persecuted to remain strong and true to God even though it is hard. Ask the Lord to give those being persecuted joy and hope and that others will come to know Jesus.
(For more information about the persecuted church, go to www.persecuted.com and click on “Kids of Courage.”)
Hard Questions About Prayer
As you are tucking your children in bed, talk with them about prayer.
Some questions to ask:
How did God answer the people’s prayer and protect them from persecution? (He stopped Saul on the Damascus Road.)
Does God always answer our prayers the way we want? Why or why not? Is God our magic genie?
God is NOT our magic genie. He does not grant all our wishes. God has the power to do whatever He chooses, but we must give our problems to Him and trust Him to do whatever is best. He might choose to do a miracle like He did when He changed Saul’s life and protected the Christians Saul was going to persecute. However, He might choose NOT to do a miracle. We can ask God anything, but we must ask Him to work out His will in the situation. Remember that He is wise and knows what is BEST.