To Live is Christ (Paul): Weeks Five

We've done a lot of studying Paul this year, and will be next year too. Last week, Paul and Silas were in jail for telling people about Jesus. The kids acted the story out while making chains out of fruit roll ups. It was really fun. I gave the kids 7 minutes to build a make-shift jail out of chairs, blankets, whatever they could find in that room (it's amazing what kids can find when you tell them to build something!). I should have taken a picture of this jail--it was amazing! I would never, ever want to be inside of this jail. We stuck a Paul and a Silas inside the jail, tied their hands and feet together, and made them sit there while we read the story.

In the story, Paul and Silas are walkin' around, tellin' people about Jesus and are thrown in jail. While they're in jail, they still talk about Jesus (some nerve, eh?). Then, one day as they're praying in their jail cells, the chains fall off their arms and legs, the door to the jail cell opens, and they're free. But what do they do? Nothing. They sit there, and continue to pray. At this point, the kids and I are both going "huh?"

So, we find out as we read that the jailer comes, sees that Paul and Silas stayed, and is blown away by how they followed the rules (basically. See, parents, this is a lesson you can get into!) So he takes them home, and Paul and Silas convert his entire family into Christians. Talk about some good repercussions for obeying the rules!

So, the kids ate their chains, we talked about Paul and Silas, we freed Paul and Silas from jail, and then we showed another "That Will Leave A Mark!" video. We talked about how Paul made his mark by staying in the prison and then converting the jailer's family. Then we talked about what the kids can do to make a mark in the lives of the people around them. They loved the makeshift jail!