Use this children’s Sunday School lesson to teach kids about believing in Jesus and sharing our faith with others.
Needed: Bibles
Intro Activity: Christian Story Interview
Have students pair up and ask each other the following questions. They’ll then present their partner’s answers as a reporter. They can write the answers down if they want.
What is your name?
How old are you?
When did you first hear about Jesus?
When was the first time you went to a church?
When was the first time you came to this church?
What happened to make you start coming to church?
Why do you believe in Jesus?
Lesson
(Note: Always allow students enough time to think about and to give their answers to the questions before clarifying the teaching.)
(Read Acts 9:1-2.)
“Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.”
What was Saul going to the city to do? (He was going to arrest all the people who believed in Jesus.)
(Read Acts 9:3-9.)
“As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?’
“‘Who are you, Lord?’ Saul asked.
“‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ He replied. ‘Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.’
“The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.”
What happened to Saul that made him change his mind? (He saw a bright light that blinded him, and Jesus talked to him from Heaven.)
Did Saul believe in Jesus after Jesus talked to him? (Yes.)
But you’ve never heard Jesus talk to you. Can you still believe in Him? (Yes.)
How can you believe in Jesus if you’ve never heard Him talk to you? (The Bible tells us about Him, and we can feel His Spirit living inside of us.)
(Read Acts 9:10-12.)
“In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, ‘Ananias!’
“‘Yes, Lord,’ he answered.
“The Lord told him, ‘Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.’”
What did Jesus want Ananias to do? (To go see Saul and heal him of his blindness.)
Do you think Ananias would want to go see Saul, or would he be afraid to go see him?
Ananias would probably be afraid to go see Saul because Ananias was a Christian, and Saul was coming to the city to arrest the Christians. Saul was the bad guy.
(Read Acts 9:13-16.)
“‘Lord,’ Ananias answered, ‘I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to Your holy people in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on Your name.’
“But the Lord said to Ananias, ‘Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for My name.’”
Even though Ananias was afraid to go see Saul, did Jesus still wanted him to do it? (Yes.)
Some things scare us, too, just like Ananias was scared. But Jesus wants us to be brave and do things that are scary sometimes. Remember that Jesus can help us against anything that we’re afraid of.
(Read Acts 9:17-22.)
“Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, ‘Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’ Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength.
“Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. All those who heard him were astonished and asked, ‘Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?’ Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah.”
What did Saul do after he believed in Jesus and was healed of his blindness? (He started preaching and telling other people to believe in Jesus.)
Do you think God wants us to tell other people about Jesus too? (Yes.)
Since we believe in Jesus, we should tell other people about Him so that they can believe in Jesus and go to Heaven when they die.
Game: Saul Sees the Light
Tell the students that they are going to pretend to be Saul. Tell them to spread out and act like they are walking to the city to arrest all the Christians.
Dim the lights and tell the students that when you turn on the light, they have to pretend that Jesus is appearing to them and get down on their knees as fast as possible and shout, “I believe!”
The person who kneels the fastest gets to control the light next.
Game: Disciple Tag
Choose one student to be It. When they tag someone, that person links hands with them and joins their team. They continue adding people to their team, linking hands with each one until all but one student is part of their chain. That remaining student becomes It for the next round.
Play two or three rounds and then, explain that when we tell people about Jesus, we want them to believe in Jesus too. If they do, they become a Christian and join our team. Then, they help us tell more people about Jesus.
Closing Prayer
Jesus, we thank You for appearing to Saul and helping him to believe in You. We thank You that we can believe in You too. Now, help us to share our faith in You with other people. Amen.
You can also find this lesson for Kindle or in print in my book, Paul: The Odd Apostle.