The Call of Paul and Barnabas

Passage

Familiarize yourself with this passage:

Acts 13:1-12

Paul and Barnabas have returned to the church in Antioch, with John Mark, after having delivered gifts of help to the church in Jerusalem. Now the church in Antioch was praying and fasting to see what God would have them do next. During this time of prayer, the Holy Spirit speaks to the church and tells them to set apart Barnabas and Saul for the work God had prepared for them. The Spirit promised to guide them to the right places. So Saul and Barnabas sailed to the island of Cyprus. They arrived at Salamis and shared the gospel with the Jews there. They then traveled all throughout the island preaching the Good News, until they finally arrived in Paphos. Once in Paphos, the proconsul, Sergius Paulus called for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. (This is where Saul starts referring to himself as Paul, using his Roman name instead of his Jewish name) They received opposition in the form of a man named Elymas, a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet. Elymas tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. Paul became filled with the Spirit and proclaimed to Elymas that he would become blind for a time because of the evil deeds he was doing for the devil. Immediately, Elymas became blind! When the proconsul saw this he became a believer in Jesus Christ because of the teaching about the Lord.

Object Lesson:

Pack Your Bags

Supplies needed:
• White board
• Dry erase markers
Directions:
1. Before class, draw a suit case on the white board.
2. During class, start your story time by directing the children’s attention to the drawing on the white board.
3. Tell the children that they are going on a trip, but they will not know where they are going or how long they will be gone. Assuming there will be food and water wherever they go, ask the children what items they would pack in their suit case. Draw these items on the white board, in and around the suit case. (ie: passports, clothes, camera, bible, journal and pens, favorite toy, phone, a map…)
4. Tell the children that they are about to hear a story of some men who when on a trip without knowing where they were going or how long they would be gone.

Places on the Map

*This activity is used for those who are going through the book of Act, story by story.  It is intended to show the children the key locations of the stories as well as to track Paul’s missionary journeys.
Supplies Needed:
• String
• Scissors
• Sticky tack, tape, or thumb tacks
• List of the cities from today’s story:
          Antioch
          Salamis
          Paphos
          Cyprus
Directions:
1. Before class, make sure the map you are using as today’s story locations written in their appropriate places. If you are using a map you made, be sure to write in these locations.
2. Pre-cut the lengths of strings needed to fit between the cities in the order that they appear in the story.  Set aside the string for future stories. (You will want to use the same color string for the entirety of each missionary journey.
3. During the story, point out the cities on the map as you mention them to the children. As Paul moves from place to place during the story, take the appropriate string segment and fix it to the map. (ie: from Antioch to Salamis; from Salamis to Paphos).
4. Save your newly edited map for future lessons!

Memory Verse:

Acts 13:2

While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “ Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

Jesus Connection:

God has placed a call on everyone’s life. Just like when Jesus appeared to Saul and called him to repentance, everyone everywhere has been called by God to repentance. (Acts 17:30) The proconsul heard Jesus calling in his heart and responded to Jesus’ call by believing in him! (Acts 13:12) For those who respond to God’s call to repentance, God also calls them to serve him. The Holy Spirit called Paul and Barnabas to a work that God had prepared for them. (Acts 13:2) They responded to this call by going into all the world, sharing the Good News of Jesus with everyone they met, allowing those who heard of Jesus to respond to God’s call on their lives.

Songs

This Little Light of Mine

This little light of mine,
I'm gonna let it shine.
This little light of mine,
I'm gonna let it shine.
This little light of mine,
I'm gonna let it shine,
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

All around the neighborhood,
I'm gonna let it shine.
All around the neighborhood,
I'm gonna let it shine.
All around the neighborhood,
I'm gonna let it shine,
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Hide it under a bushel, NO!
I'm gonna let it shine.
Hide it under a bushel, NO!
I'm gonna let it shine.
Hide it under a bushel, NO!
I'm gonna let it shine,
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Don't let set Satan [blow] it out,
I'm gonna let it shine.
Don't let Satan [blow] it out,
I'm gonna let it shine.
Don't let Satan [blow] it out,
I'm gonna let it shine,
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Let it shine till Jesus comes,
I'm gonna let it shine.
Let it shine till Jesus comes,
I'm gonna let it shine.
Let it shine till Jesus comes,
I'm gonna let it shine,
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Games and Activities:

Memory Verse Game:

Supplies needed:
• White board
• Dry erase markers
• Tape
• Soft balls
Direction:
1. Divide the memory verse into 10-12 segments (2-3 words in each segment).
2. Before class, make some squares on the floor at one end of the room with tape. Make the same number of squares as you divided the memory verse into. Put numbers in each square to correlate with the number of segments in your verse.
3. Have the children stand of the opposite side of the room, behind a line of tape.
4. Give the children a chance to throw the soft balls at the squares on the floor. One child at a time and one throw per child.
5. If a ball lands inside a square, write the appropriate segment of the verse on the board. If the ball lands outside the squares, or in a square that has already been revealed, that child is finished and goes to the back of the line to try again next time.
6. Repeat throwing the ball until all segments of the verse has been revealed.

God is Calling:

Supplies Needed:
• Bibles
• Verse passages for people who were called by God
Exodus 3:1-2, 10
1 Samuel 3:1, 10
Judges 6:11,14
Isaiah 6:1-8
Jonah 1:1
Matthew 4:18-22
Matthew 19:16,21
Ect….
Directions:
1. Write each reference on a separate small piece of paper before class.
2. Make sure each child, or small group of children has a bible.
3. Give each child of small group of children a reference to look up. If your children are too small to read or find the verses by themselves, you can look up the verse and read them for them.
4. Tell the children that the Bible is filled with stories of men and women who were called by God to do special thing. They are going to discover a few of those people today.
5. Read each set of verses out loud, one at a time. After the children hear the verses, ask them who God called.
6. After all the verses have been read, remind the children that God calls all of us for special things, just like he called these men and women of the Bible a long time ago.

Crafts:

Sponge Boats

Supplies Needed:
• Dish sponges
• Straws
• Duct tape in various colors
• Scissors
• Foam stickers
• Permanent markers
Directions:
1. Using scissors, cut two corners off of the dish sponge so that there is a point on one long end. Your sponge should now look like a house.
2. Using scissors, fold the sponge in half the long way, and make a small cut in the course side of the sponge, big enough for the straw to stand in, but not all the way through the sponge.
3. If you are using bendy straws, cut of the top part of the straw that has the bend. Discard this part.
4. Choose a color of duct tape. Tear off a long piece. Fold the tape in half so that you now have half the length.
5. Using scissors, fold the tape in half the long ways and make two small cuts, one near the top and one near the bottom, big enough for the straw to fit through.  This is the mast of the boat.
6. Decorate the mast with foam stickers and permanent markers.
7. Fit the straw through the cuts in the mast. Work the straw into the cut in the sponge. You now have a tiny sail boat that is fully water proof!

Coloring Page: