Lesson 1: Paul meets Jesus.
Passage: Acts 9:1-9 - Saul was on a mission to find the followers of Jesus and take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. On his way to Damascus, he suddenly saw a bright and blinding light which caused him to fall to the ground. He then heard a voice that said, “Saul, Saul, do you persecuting me?” Saul asked who it was, and the voice replied, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Now get up and go to the city and you will be told what you must do.” When Saul got up he couldn’t see anything, so the men traveling with him had to lead him by hand to the city. He was blind for three days and didn’t eat or drink anything.
Big Idea: Jesus changes hearts and minds.
For Teachers:
Lesson plan.
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Welcome — Activity Leader
Have the children sit in a circle on the circle time rug. Welcome them to class.
Warm Up Activity: Find the hidden object — Activity Leader
Start by having the kids close their eyes (they can also lie on the floor with their faces down) while you hide an object in the room. Give the children a few minutes to find the hidden object. They must be silent during their search.
If they haven’t found the object in the time given, you can give them a clue or hide the object in a new spot.
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today we are starting a brand new series! For Christmas we were learning about what some of the different Bible characters had to say about who Jesus was and what he meant to them. Now we’re going to be learning about a Bible character who came after Jesus but who still got to meet Jesus in a very special way. That character is someone named Paul.
Let’s watch our video to find out more about him…
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Who was the Bible character that we learned about in the video?
What was Paul like before meeting Jesus? What kind of mission was he on?
How did Jesus end up meeting him on the road? How did Paul react?
How do you think meeting Jesus changed Paul’s life? What was his new mission after that?
What are some ways that Jesus can change our hearts like he did for Paul?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
"Dear God, thank you for the lesson we learned today about Paul and how his life changed completely when he met Jesus. Once he was fighting against Jesus but then he ended up becoming a follower of Jesus and spreading his message everywhere he went. Thank you that we know that Jesus can change people’s hearts and minds, including us! In Jesus' name, Amen."
Activity: Saul to Paul Craft— Activity Leader
Kids will assemble and colour the pieces to create the face of Saul/Paul.
If a child is not interested in the activity, allow them to move to free play.
Dismissal: Collect tags and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
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Welcome — Activity Leader
Have the children sit in a circle on the circle time rug. Welcome them to class.
Warm Up Activity: Quiet Place Tag — Activity Leader
One child is chosen to be “it” and is blindfolded. Everyone else will try to move around silently in order to not get tagged. Once they are tagged they are “it”. No running so that nobody gets hurt.
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today we are starting a brand new series! For Christmas we were learning about what some of the different Bible characters had to say about who Jesus was and what he meant to them. Now we’re going to be learning about a Bible character who came after Jesus but who still got to meet Jesus in a very special way. That character is someone named Paul.
Let’s watch our video to find out more about him…
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Who was the Bible character that we learned about in the video?
What was Paul like before meeting Jesus? What kind of mission was he on?
How did Jesus end up meeting him on the road? How did Paul react?
How do you think meeting Jesus changed Paul’s life? What was his new mission after that?
What are some ways that Jesus can change our hearts like he did for Paul?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
"Dear God, thank you for the lesson we learned today about Paul and how his life changed completely when he met Jesus. Once he was fighting against Jesus but then he ended up becoming a follower and spreading Jesus’ message everywhere he went. Thank you that we know that Jesus can change people’s hearts and minds, including us. Please help us to stay open to change even when it’s uncomfortable or hard. In Jesus' name, Amen."
Activity: Saul to Paul Craft — Activity Leader
Kids will colour in the picture of Saul/Paul and cut out the eye strip and the lines on the sides of his face in order to slide the paper through and see the changes in his expression.
Dismissal: Collect tags and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
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Welcome — Activity Leader
Have the children sit in a circle on the circle time rug. Welcome them to class.
Warm Up Activity: Quiet Place Ball Throw — Activity Leader
One child is chosen to be “it”, is blindfolded, and stands in the middle of the room. They can turn around but cannot walk around. The other students have 5 seconds to move around the room as silently as possible. The person who is “it” throws a ball and tries to tag somebody. They get three chances and the first to get tagged by the ball is the next to be “it”.
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today we’re starting a brand new series on the life and ministry of the Apostle Paul.
Has anyone heard of Paul before? What do you know about him?
Let’s watch our video to find out more…
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
How would you describe what Paul was like before meeting Jesus?
What happened during his encounter with Jesus on the way to Damascus?
How did Paul react to this encounter? How did it change his life and mission?
Do you think that it’s easy or hard for a person to change? Has there ever been a time when you changed your mind about something?
What are some ways that we can stay open to letting Jesus change our hearts and minds?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
"Dear God, thank you for the lesson we learned today about Paul and how his life and perspective completely changed after meeting Jesus. Thank you that Jesus has the power to change our hearts and minds. Please help us to stay open to learning and growing and being transformed by you, just like Paul was transformed into a brand new person. In Jesus' name, Amen."
Activity: Spot the Differences Activity Pages — Activity Leader
Talk about some of the differences that people would have seen in Paul’s life after his experience meeting Jesus.
Word search pages will also be available.
Dismissal: Collect tags and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
For Parents:
Follow-up questions.
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What was the story you learned about in class today?
What was Paul like before meeting Jesus? What was he trying to do?
How did he end up meeting Jesus? What do you think that was like for him?
How did Jesus end up changing Paul’s heart and mind? What was his new mission after meeting Jesus?
What are some ways that Jesus can change our hearts and minds?
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What was the story you learned about in class today?
What was Paul up to in the beginning of the story? Why do you think he hated Jesus and his followers so much?
What happened next? How did Paul end up meeting Jesus? What do you think that must have felt like for him?
How did Jesus end up changing Paul’s heart and mind? What was Paul’s new mission after that?
Have you ever changed your mind before? Do you think it’s easy or hard to admit that you were wrong and that you’ve changed?
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What was the story you learned about in class today?
How would you describe Paul’s character and mindset at the beginning of the story? What was his original mission?
What was the story behind his encounter with Jesus? How do you think it must have felt for him to experience that?
How did Paul end up changing as a result of meeting Jesus? What was his new mission from then on?
Has there ever been a time when you’ve changed your mind? What are some ways that we can stay open to change?
