Grades 1-3
Introductory Activity – Easy/Not Easy Poem
Materials: paper, pencils
Invite kids to write Easy/Not Easy poems. The first line begins “It’s easy to….” and kids complete the sentence. The second line begins “It’s not easy to….” Tell kids to continue to alternate Easy/Not Easy statements for at least 6 lines. Ask volunteers to share their poems. Comment that everyone has things they find easy to do and other things that are not easy to do. Tell kids that today they will learn that sometimes people have tell about Jesus when it is not easy.
Live It Out
Game – Roll a Question
Materials: numbered cube, list of review questions (numbered)
Invite kids to sit in a circle. They can toss a numbered cube back and forth or pass the cube around the circle. Randomly call stop. Tell the child to roll the numbered cube. Ask the question that is rolled. Talk about the message that Paul spoke to the people and whether it was easy or difficult for Paul. Repeat the Bible verse with the kids.
Craft – Emoji Bookmark
Materials: yellow construction paper, scissors, clear tape, permanent markers, rulers, pencils
Invite kids to make corner bookmarks. They can measure along a paper side about two inches and then down about two inches to make an L shape. Connect the two ends of the L with a diagonal line to make a triangle. Lead kids to cut out their triangles, trace them on paper, and cut out a second matching triangle. Tell kids to stack their two triangles on top of one another. Then they can tape along the two sides, leaving the diagonal open. Invite kids to use the markers to draw emoji faces on their triangles. Show kids how to slide the open side of the bookmark over a page corner of a book or Bible to mark the page. As kids work, talk about the Bible story. Say the Life Point. Tell kids telling others about Jesus is important, even if it is difficult. Say the Bible verse together.
Grades 4-6
Introductory Activity – Back to Back
Materials: none
Tell kids to find partners and stand back to back. (If you have an odd number of kids, ask an adult to play, too.) Ask kids to tell their partners something that makes them angry. Call: “Switch!” Kids should move to stand back to back with a different partner. They can tell their new partners what makes them angry (the same thing or something different). Repeat for several rounds. Tell kids that in today’s Bible story people became angry at the message they heard.
Live It Out
Game – Write the Answer
Materials: paper, pencils
Group kids into three groups. Ask a review question. Lead each group to write down its answer to the question. Teams should stand when they have finished their answers. Call on a group to give its answer. Tell kids to sit and ask another review question. Say the Bible verse together. Tell kids that sometimes people work in difficult circumstance to tell about Jesus.
Craft – Envelope Puppets
Materials: envelopes, scissors, crayons
Talk about the Bible story. Tell kids they can make puppets of Paul. Lead a kid to seal the flaps of his envelope. Help him cut one of the short ends off of his envelope. Kids can draw faces and clothes on the envelopes to make their puppets. When complete, a kid can slide his puppet on his fingers to move it. Encourage kids to use their puppets to retell the Bible story. Talk about Paul’s message and the crowd’s reaction to his words. Say the Bible verse together. Encourage kids to use their puppets to “say” the verse.
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