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Acts

nUf BaCnCnOUND

sv i-trNnrrrra

iiians *e
lord ri-ent back to

2:4247;9:I-22

Vhen was the true church of Christ born? The acfftsJnl of Cris occasion is given in the second chapter of Acs. The Holy Spirit v,es gii-en to ihe disciples of
Christ as their Comforter to live within them when
heaven. The Holy Spirit came upon the people on Penrecost. Those who were nearby began to question what hai -':ken pbce. Peter rose, recorded in Acts 2. \ilhen Peter finished speaking there -;'ere added about 3,000 to the few believers (Acts 2:41). These new believers studied what the apostles tauget rhem. They had fe1-

Srsir &1r*ronv VrnsE

Now you are tbe body of Christ,

and standing with the other 11 apostles, he preaci;d the serrnon that

is

and each one ofyou is a part afit.

1 Corinthians 12:27

[rssoru Foeus
It is God's plan for us to be pait
of His family, the Body of Christ.

lowship with one another. They prayed. They broke bread rogelher. This is thought by some Bible students to mean that they cc=rlemoiaied the Lord's Supper. Then in the last verse of the chapter the nanle -rhurch- is given to this group (K/tr). This was the first church as described br Luke. tee writer of the
book of Acts. They started a gteat missionary entelprise n'hich was:l dkea response to the last command of the Lord Jesus in Acts 1:8. The early church, as it is described in the book of -{r:s, \\ as 3 powerful witness of the resunection of the Lord Jesus Christ and ol ti:-: x-hich *re Holy Spirit would accomplish in the life of anyone who would yiekl io the l{olv Spirit. whenevei those who believe in the Lord Jesus Clr,'-** depend wholiy upon Him, they find the same power. The Lord promised thai ihe con:rng of the Holy Spirit would bring power to those nho receive Him. Th:l power is ours for the asking. We, too, as Christians. arc a part of the Body oi Cfuisr Our union with Him is as close as that of the eaf church. The Lord promised that He would build His churci: and He will keep His promise. The church will triumph until Christ comes ag:.in. You and I can triumph, too, if we will let the Lord work in our iives to *=lie us be$er examples ol the way in which the members of the Body of Ciri-q *ould acr. both toward Him and toward other members of His Body.

Brnrr Arms
During this session, the student may
1. SUMILA.RIZE how Paulbecame a

member of God's family;

2. TELL that'every believer has an important part in God's famiiy; 3. PIAN a way to contribute to God's family; 4. CHOOSE to become a neinber of God's family, as the Holy Spirit leads.

SprmN6
AssrmnrY
(1G15MINUTE'

(For complete Opening fusembir- dpq duction Guide found in the Directar s Pack.)

o. rhe Skit Pro-

In the skit for Session 9, Sasry r*ds her Bible and finds out about Jesus' death. She goes L*cii to Bible Times and meets some first-century believers n-ho tell her that Jesus has risen. She enjoys worshiping ;rd sharing with other
members of God's family.

ErurrREsT

&2"

OccupalcN

CENTER:

BurrDERs
(15-)5

Frsnrnu*N
A volunteer dresses in Bible Times clothes

MrNU-TEt

@
of these activities. The Occupation Center (marked *) is used for a1l age levels-Primary, Middler and Junior. \fle recomriend that this center be implemented by a special
coordinator.

In small groups, lead srudents to complete one or more

1, MrmoRY VERsE

Acnvrv:

SaNp WnmNc
Materiak: Bible, index cards, felt pen, wet sand, fwo large baking pans or cookie sheets, rwo pencils, newspape$. Prep*ration: Letter words to 1 Corinthians 12:27 on index cards--one word on each card. Make rwo sets. Stack each set of cards in crder. Fill each baking pan or cookie sheet with wet sand. Place on tables or floor or on ground if playing outside. Place newspapers under pans. Place stacks of index cards face up across room from pans (see sketch).

p r the of Galilee. anydisciples. I work on Sea Jesus' is to one guess my occupation? (Fisherman.) My catch fish tc sell at the marketplace. To cat, :ts of fish I need other fshermen to work with m, : row our boats out on the lake and stretch a net be n the :rke it boats. One side of the net has corks attached ' float. The other side of the net has metal s rrs to ' of us make it sink to the boffcm of the lake. Then s row the boafs to shore while others hold th, '. The net drags in the water between the boats an tches fish as it moves toward the shore. We all wor. ;ether I sell to drag all the fish onto the beach and sort t] ,ter at the fresh fish on the shore, or salt them to s
the marketplace.

', as a (For complete instructions inateBible Times fisherman. rials, see the Bible Tinzes Accupation Centersbroci .n the Direclor's Pnck.) I fishConuersatian Sugestions: Person playing the al of erman says, I do the sanne kind of work as

an,

tttt
@*

oocc

3. RssrancH CrNre n: Tlms LtNr

Materiak: Bible, Time l"ine pictures from
sou,rces,

pnofsad

dcatds AA

st'atk--*

fififi^

&

paper, photocopier, crayons or felt tacks. Optional-stapler. Preparation Photocopv Tine Line piclures, possible. (Optional: Make one set of Tine Line each student. Staple picrures together to form bo' How to Use: Pass out Time Line pictures. Stu the pictures and attach them to the wa1l in the c< (Optional: On each picture, students write one or that sum up what that Bible character leamed r plan; i.e., Abraham-trLrst, Paul-God's family, e each Bible character and ask, How did (Abra God? In what way did he fit into God's plan? 33:11 from the Bibie" Say, Ever since the be time God has had a plau for the world and plan is for us to know I{im, follow Him and His farnily.

Ie pe

ry Re:1pe or

ged
:.)

il

,res foL

s color

t order. ) wolds )oint to

i God's

obey

J Psalm

ring of
us. His

part of

How tr: Usa Repeat verse several times with students. Divide class into hvo teams. Each team lines up nerl fo a pan of sand At a signal, rne member of each team runs to stack, takes the top card, runs back to pan and uses pencil to wdte

Eoruus Acrrvrw: Blc FtcruRE BIB!.8 6amg'a

How to
Use; Students

e prayers)

Mateials: Game boad, game cards and

Teacbing Resout'ces, marker for each player,

first word of verse in sand. Team members say word aloud

then player "erases" word. Team members take turns running to get cards and writing words of verse in sand. First team to complete process and say the entire irerse is the wimer. Ask. In what way is God's family like a body? Volunteers answer. Just like a body has many parts, each having a different iotr to do, pod's family has a variety of members who each contribute something uniqile.

instn rns fuom numi cube.

thinkwere the most important events in Gci ;].an for the wodd? (fesus coming to earth, dying for us ,'rd rising from the dead.) Now that Jesus has alread.'" ::ome to earth, what is God's plan for us? (To believe in jesus and follow Hirn. To show iove to others. To teli other: of God's
pian.)

play ganie. Ask,

Wi

o you

45

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05

lievers were concerned. To escape fiom Paul, many fo1lowers of Jesus moved away fiom their homes in Jerusalem and went to other cities.

MINUTi'

Paur Mrrrs Hls rllantn

It seemed like Paul was witming, but soon L.r many cities there were groups of believers who met together to pray and study the Scriptures and worship God. They met together for meals. They even shared clothes and money with people in need. And because of all this love being shared, every day more and more people were believing in Jesus and joining God's family-the body of Christ. Paul was in Jerusalem and he heard that the number of believers was growing by ieaps and bounds in a city called Damascus. This made Paul furiousi So, he headed to Damascus, planning to affest as many Christians as he could find there. (Point to Jerusalem and Damascus on rnap.) As he went toward the city, something happened that would change not only his life, but the lives of millions of people. Out of nowhere, a light more sudden and powerful than lightning flashed and knocked Paul to the ground. (Attacb Picture B.) As Paul sat there slunned, a voice asked him, "Why do you persecute me?" At this point, Paul asked a .Who are you?" The very important question. He asked, voice replied, "l am Jesus." Paul was flabbergasted, Jesus told Paul to go to Damascus where he would receive further instructions. Paul did as he was told. Jesus was the last person in the world Paul expected to meet on the road to Damascusl It was the most amazing thing that had ever happened to him. And if that wasn't enough, Jesus made sure that Paul would take some time to think about their meeting. As Paul walked the rest of the way to Damascus, he had to be led by his lriends-because Paul was now blind from that brilliant light. FAUr's

Materiak:Blbles, Session 9 Pictures A-C and Blble Lands rnap from Teachfug Reslu,rces, Session 9 Bible Beat papers, penciis, chalk and clulkboard or butcher paper, crayons or felt pens, tape or tacks, paper, photocopier. Optional-photocopy of Paul Time Line piclure f.rom Teaching Resources"

a
Hue Affer

b@ ffi
More

ffiffiffi ffiffi ru][ff i[II

Color Tine Line picture.

At+er

Preparation;Photocopy Pidures A-C from Teaching Resources. Color the pictures and cut them out. On paper or chalkboard, draw three large bodies without heads (see sketch a). As you tell the story, volunteers attach heads (Pictures A-C) to bodies when indicated (sketch b). Optional: (Mark the following passages in your Bible: Acts 2:42-47; 9:7-22. Refer to these passages as you tell the story. Note: To avoid confusion, this story will use only Paul's Roman name, and not his Jewish name, Saui, which he used before hiS'conversion and in the early years of his ministry.)

FAUL JCItN5 600's FAm!tY uo^'*r'rt

Most of you have probably been involved in some kind So you know that most sports involve team. A team works best when every player ^ or her job is and does it. Then, being on a knows what his team is a lot of fun. God's family is like a team. Everyone has a job to do. Everyone is important. And God's family will be togethei long after all the sports teams have played their last games. Now just like youi favorite team has a rival, there are opponents that the family of God must face. One of the first opponents God's family faced was a man named Paul. (r4ltacb Picture,4.) Paul had an attitude about the people in God's family. He wanted to put them ali in jai1. Some days he would just as soon have killed them ail. Paul was a member of a religious group called the Pharisees. They were the ones who had put together the plan to. have Jesus killed. Of course, God used this plan to do

of sport or watched sports on TV.

Ntw Femrtv

Damascus lived a faithful Christian named Ananias. Three days after Paul met Jesus, Ananias had a dream in which the Lord told him to go see Paul. Now Ananias knew Paul had come to anest Chdstians" So he was not very excited about going to see such a dangerous fellow. But Ana-

In

something very good, even though the Pharisees didn't mean it that way. You can imagine that when Jesus rose fiom the dead and more people than ever began to lollow Him, the Pharisees' opposition got even worse. So, their
leaders gave Paul the authority to arest any Christians he could find. The word got around and Paul became one of the most feared men in Jerusalem, at least as far as the be46

nias obeyed God and went to meet Paul. Ananias put his hands on Paul's eyes and immediately Paul's blindness was healed. Then Ananias took Paul out to baptize him. And so Paul, the Christian-hater, became a member of God's family. (Anacb Picture C) You may have heard that Paul went on to become a famous preacher who helped countless people become members of God's family. He even wrote some of rhe books in the Bible. Yes, you could say that Paul was a very important part of God's plan. But then, every member of God's famiiy is important. Every member has a part in God's plan. Take Ananias for example. What if Ananias hadn't gone to meet Paul that day? Maybe Paul wouldn't have become such a devoted follower of Jesus Christ so quickly. Just like every part of the hr:man body is important,

every Christian is an irnpoftant part

of the Body of

Christ-God's family. And if you're not a member of God's

family yet, don't worry-. It's not too late to ioin! That's one of the good things about God's family. There's always room for morc. (Optional: Attacb Paul Time Line pbture to wall.)

Students turn

Io

page 4, then name specific people they

know who help God's family. (VBS staff, Sunday School teachers, choir members, etc.) Ask, What can you do to help God's family? Students complete activities. Briefly
share ways you enjoy doing your part in the family of God.

Lt FE APPLI(ATIoN

r,r

*'*rtrl

Pass out Bibies, Bible Beat papers, felt pens and pencils. To review Bible story, volunteers read the parts of M.C.

Scriber and Ananias on page 1. Optional: Srudents complete and discuss page 2 and the top of page 3. Then students turn to page 3 and complete "Body Language." Repeat verse aloud with snrdents. fuk, What would

you have to do differently if you had no arms? No legs? No eyes? (Volunteers answer.) You need erery part of your body. Every part is importanl Why do you think the Bible compares the people in God's family to the parts
of
a

fuk, What events led Paul to become a-member of Gods family? (Volunteers answer.)'We probably Tvon't hearJesus'voice or see a blinding lig t, but God spealis to us through the Bible. His Word tells us that it's God's plan for us to become members of His famity--+he Body of Christ In God's family each of us is waoted, each of us is important, each of us has something to contritrute. Teil when you--or another adult-will be available to taik individually w-irh anyone interested in becoming a member of
God's family. (See "leading a Chiid to Christ," p.

10)

body? (Each ol us is an important part of God's family.)

ffirs*s Tssqss

Amawnwffirwn'ssas
(1 HR. 10

MlN"T01

HR, 40

MlN)

people often caried their small personal belongings in pouches. The pouches had long straps N'hich were worn over one shoulder and across the body. In a t.vpical traveler's pouch you might have found coins, food and even stones for protection against wild animals.
g@;

The following activities are ali-school centers, to be

planned and implemented by special coordinators.

ta*;st***.' LENtLt
page 9 or refer

StBtH g i&u$ }NA(KS 0",.

*'*rm

Students gather in kitchen or dining area to prepare and eat traditional Barley Stew with Lentils. For rnstructions, see

STBLE

TiMEt

fV$usxe oo,o nn,r*rl

ta the Snack

Grt'ide

in the Director's Pack.

For complete instructions, see the Bible Times Music brochure in the Director's Pach"
How to Usej Shldents gather in large room. They watch as percussion player demonstrates his or her instruments. Percussionist leads students in playing rhythm instruments to various rhythms. In Bible Times, avariety of percussion instruments were used to worship God" Cymbals were used in Old Testament times and were probably played only by men. The tambourine seelns to have been used laryely by women and was often used in processions, dances and feasts. Another percussion instrument was

first Christians didn't eat meat every day like many of us do. They got protein from eating lots of grains and beans. Today we will make a stew using barley (a grain) and lentils (a bean).Paul and his friends probably ate stew like this;
Canuersatiarz Sugestiorts: The

[0strNG uo^,*ur,,r
M ate ri ak : Bible, Mini -Mn s i c al e songbook and cassefi e, casselle player, word chart for song. PIay'tfin i-Musicale cassetle as children .eather.

the sistrum, ametal, rattle-like instrunent shaken in

time with the music. Shrdents play rhythm instruments as they sing favorite Mini-Mrxicale songs.

Sdng: Sing "Yesierday, Today and Tomorron."

Bible Memory Verse If I wanted to find a Yerse in the Bitrle about treing part of God's farnily, the Body of
Christ, where should I look? (1 Coiinthians 12:27.) Invite
everyone, students and adults, to recite 1 Corinthians 12:27.

Sl$LE TlAAgs RA$T$ oo-,0^,*rrrl AAoNrv Foucn AND CotNt

For compiete craft instructions, see "Money Pouch and Coins" in Bible Times Craftsfor Kids (see back cover). Children hammer fish sinkers to make coins and put them in an over{he-shoulder pouch like those used ln Bible Times.
Conuersation Suggestions: What do ]'ou use to caffy your belongings to and frorir school? In Bible firnes,

Prayer: Dear Go{ thank You that each ofus can be an imporlant part of Your family. It's good to knox'we be-

long together. Help us all to do our parl In Jesus'

name! amen.

Anncuncements/Disroiss: Announce final events for

AmazingJaurney to Bible Times.If you are planning to present tlre Mini-Mnsicale, remind studenis of tile time and date. Encourage students to inviie tireir families and friends.

4/