Kids Church

LESSON FOR: September 24-25, 2022 – Week 4 of Series

POWER TRUTH: I will do what is right, not what is popular.

POWER VERSE: Let us never tire of doing right, for at the proper season we will reap our
harvest, if we do not grow weary. ~ Galatians 6:9 OEB

OBJECTIVE: At the end of the series, kids will realize that they will have to make godly
choices that often go against what is popular and accepted in this world.

INTRODUCTION

How would you feel about helping a dangerous bad guy who had hurt many of your friends and
family? That would certainly be scary and considered an unpopular move by everyone. Well,
that is exactly what happened in the Bible story we will learn about today.
CONNECT
Guided Blindfold Obstacle Course

Materials: Blindfolds, traffic cones, timer

Instructions: Let’s have a game! I only need two players per team. One player from each
team will be blindfolded. S/he will have to go through an obstacle course while blindfolded.
His/her partner will guide him/her by giving instructions (e.g. one step to your right, two steps
forward, etc.). One team will go first and will be timed. After the first team, hosts will rearrange
the traffic cones. Then the next team will have their turn. The team that navigates the course
the fastest, wins!

Closing Spiel: Great job, players! To those who were blindfolded, how did you feel not being
able to see where to go? It was probably a bit scary. You had to depend on your partner’s
help. In our lesson today, we will meet Saul, who suddenly became blind and couldn’t see
where to go. We will also learn about Ananias, who was given instructions by God to find Saul.
Ananias didn’t know where Saul was, he had to depend on the instructions
from God.
WORD

Acts 9: 10-19 CEV

Saul was a man who hated Jesus and Christians. He asked permission from the leaders of the
Jewish priests to hunt and arrest Christians. While on his way to Damascus to do his evil work,
he had an encounter with Jesus and became blind.
Acts 9:10-19 CEV 10  A follower named Ananias lived in Damascus, and the Lord spoke to him in
a vision. Ananias answered, “Lord, here I am.”

11 
The Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the house of Judas on Straight Street. When you get
there, you will find a man named Saul from the city of Tarsus. Saul is praying,  12  and he has seen
a vision. He saw a man named Ananias coming to him and putting his hands on him, so he could
see again.”

13 
Ananias replied, “Lord, a lot of people have told me about the terrible things this man has done
to your followers in Jerusalem.  14  Now the chief priests have given him the power to come here
and arrest anyone who worships in your name.”

15 
The Lord said to Ananias, “Go! I have chosen him to tell foreigners, kings, and the people of
Israel about me.  16  I will show him how much he must suffer for worshiping in my name.”
17 
Ananias left and went into the house where Saul was staying. Ananias placed his hands on
him and said, “Saul, the Lord Jesus has sent me. He is the same one who appeared to you along
the road. He wants you to be able to see and to be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
18 
  Suddenly something like fish scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see. He got up and
was baptized.  19  Then he ate and felt much better.

Ananias was rightfully apprehensive about answering God’s call to minister to Saul. Saul had
been hurting Ananias’ friends, some had even died already. Not only would he be risking his
life, this move would be considered unpopular by Ananias’ family and fellow believers.

In the face of all apprehensions, Ananias chose to obey God. He went to find Saul and pray for
him. Saul was healed and could see again! Later on, Saul went by his Roman name, Paul, and
became one of the greatest missionaries ever. He even wrote the most books in the Bible.

POINT: Everyone needs Jesus

No matter who it is – a seemingly good person or a very bad one, everybody needs Jesus!
Sometimes, it’s harder for us to want a bad person to become a Christian because we feel that
they don’t deserve to go to heaven. But we forget that nobody does, even us.

That’s why even when it doesn’t seem like a popular move in our eyes or even to others, let’s
tell whoever we can about Jesus. It doesn’t matter whether they are nice or mean people, let’s
try. That mean classmate who is always making fun of you? Continue to be nice to him and
invite him to Kids Church. That tita (aunt) who always says hurtful things to you? Show her that
you are able to overlook offense and tell her that Jesus loves her.

When you can’t tell people outright about Jesus, show them, influence them, and finally, pray
for them. You never know how God can change them and use them for His glory. (Preacher
can tell a story about a person he personally knows who was the most unlikely to be saved.
But that person gave his life to Jesus and is doing great things for God right now.)
To the parents watching, be intentional during your family prayer time to pray for people. We are
called to be intercessors (1 Timothy 2:1). At an early age, you will be training your kids to have
compassion for people and the desire to see others come to the saving knowledge of Jesus.

POWER TRUTH: I will do what is right, not what is popular.

POINT TO JESUS

Saul was physically blind for three days, but he had been spiritually blind all his life, until Jesus
met him. His physical blindness just matched his spiritual blindness. Jesus not only removed
the darkness from Saul’s eyes, but also the darkness in his life. That darkness
is sin. And it is only through the blood of Jesus that the darkness in our lives
PRAYER can be removed too.

Dear God, thank You for appointing us for salvation. Like Saul, we certainly don’t deserve
heaven. We are grateful for Your grace and mercy. Please help us to have compassion for
people, to pray for others, and especially to tell everyone about You. In Jesus’ name, Amen!

CRAFTS
Prayer Pockets

Materials: Small envelopes (1 per child), pieces of board paper (that can fit in the envelope),
craft and coloring materials to decorate the envelope

Instructions: Distribute one envelope to each child, along with coloring and craft materials
(stickers, sequins, etc.) Allow the children to decorate their own envelope. Go around and write
"[Name of child]'s Prayer Pocket" (e.g. Amanda's Prayer Pocket) on each envelope.

When the kids are finished decorating their prayer pockets, distribute the small pieces of board
paper. Ask them for the names of 3-5 people they would like to pray for. Maybe they can
include someone who has not been nice to them, someone they don’t like, or even a person
they have seen on TV or online who doesn’t seem to be a nice guy. Help them to write the
names of these people on the small pieces of board paper, one name per piece. For younger
kids who don’t know how to write yet, let them draw the person or anything that reminds them
of the person on the card (e.g. tablet for the mean kid in Roblox, a microphone to represent a
famous celebrity who says bad words).

Spiel: In our story, Ananias did the unpopular thing by praying for Saul. Saul was feared by
Christians because he persecuted them, having many imprisoned or severely hurt. Despite his
fear, Ananias obeyed God. Our craft will encourage us to do the same thing. We wrote (or
drew) the names of the people who are not nice or who we don’t like. Then every day, you can
pick one name out of your prayer pocket and pray for that person. No matter how mean they
are, they need Jesus too! That is why we will pray for them to know God and have their lives
transformed by the gospel.
 QUESTIONS

Huddle Question: Is there someone that you think is so evil that you don’t want to be
spending the rest of eternity with him/her in heaven? What do you think is the best thing to do?

Family Con: What makes a person bad and why should you pray for him/her?

Classroom Questions: (Please pick appropriate questions for your class’ age group)

1. What was Saul doing at the beginning of the story? (Answer: Saul was hunting and
arresting Christians.)
2. What happened to Saul while on his way to Damascus? (Answer: Saul had an
encounter with Jesus and became blind.)
3. In Damascus, Jesus told Ananias to go to Saul and pray for him. Was Ananias a friend
of Saul or was he afraid of Saul? (Answer: Ananias was afraid of Saul.)
4. Even if Ananias was afraid of Saul, he went anyway. Why do you think so? (Answer:
Ananias believed in Jesus and wanted to obey Him.)
5. What happened after Ananias prayed for Saul? (Answer: Saul was able to see again.)
6. Is there someone that you think is so evil that you don’t want to be spending the rest of
eternity with him/her in heaven? What do you think is the best thing to do?
7. What makes a person bad and why should you pray for him/her?