34
Paul and the Wall
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Scripture
Focus
Jesus took care of Paul when he was in trouble.
Faith Nurture Goals
- Tell how Jesus took care of Paul.
- Feel assured that Jesus always takes care of us.
- Thank Jesus for his love and care.
Session Outline
Leader Reflection
Preparing to Tell God's Story
Paul's conversion involves a call to do a specific task for the Lord. Jesus tells him to go into the city "and you will be told what you must do" (9:6). Ananias confirms that call by telling Paul that he will become an ambassador of the gospel.
Paul takes up his work for the Lord almost immediately. Within a few days we find him in the synagogue preaching and arguing that "Jesus is the Son of God" and convincing many people that this is true (9:20-22).
You may wonder how Paul is able to do this so quickly without being coached by the other apostles. Remember that as a persecutor Paul had probably been studying the stories about Jesus and the teachings of the early church in order to fight them. He also probably knew all the arguments the Christians presented in their case that Jesus was the promised Messiah. Now not only can he make the same arguments, but he can speak from personal experience as someone who has seen the living Christ. Undoubtedly what he had to say made a powerful impact on the people in the synagogue, and it must have encouraged the small band of Christians in Damascus to hear their persecutor preach.
You may stumble over the phrase "proving that Jesus is the Messiah" (9:22). Don't we accept Jesus as our Savior by faith, not by arguments? Didn't Jesus encourage believing over seeing? That's true; however, the text says that the Jews in Damascus were puzzled by Paul's preaching and arguing, but it doesn't say that any of them became Christians because of it. It only made them want to kill them.
Paul's fellow Jews in Damascus arrange for people to stay by the city gates to catch Paul and kill him. Word also gets out that the governor of Damascus has ordered Paul's arrest. Paul's enemies probably hoped to catch Paul in the process of running away and conveniently get rid of him. If anything, Paul is too brave. The other disciples urge him to run. One night they put Paul in a big basket and lower him by ropes through a window in the city wall. From there he makes his way to Jerusalem.
Arriving in Jerusalem, Paul tries to join the Christian community there. Understandably they are afraid of him and wonder whether he has really become a disciple. Barnabas, who always seems to be bringing people together whenever he appears, introduces Paul to the apostles and tells them what happened to Paul on the road to Damascus.
With the apostles' blessing, Paul continues to preach "boldly in the name of the Lord." Some of his fellow Jews consider his preaching to be such a threat that again they try to kill him. In the end Paul has to leave and, escorted by some fellow believers, he sets off through Caesarea to go back to his hometown of Tarsus.
Wondering
How did Paul’s training and personality help prepare him for his abrupt change from a persecutor to a preacher?
How did he feel going over the wall in that big basket?
Look up Barnabas in a concordance to trace his reconciling activities in Acts.
Teaching
It would be easy to overly romanticize this story of Paul’s escape with your preschoolers, who love superheroes. Keep your focus on Paul’s eagerness to tell others about Jesus—and on Jesus’ love for Paul and the amazing way Jesus enabled Paul to become a messenger of the gospel.
Steps
Materials
Basket collection, beanbag (optional)
Story picture from session 33 (leader’s resources)
Welcome the children and gather everyone around you in your usual circle. Bring with you an assortment of baskets (all sizes) to show the children. Place your collection inside a big laundry basket and set it in the center of your circle. Invite each child to come and choose a basket from your collection to take back to his or her place in the circle. (Keep the laundry basket for yourself.) Give everyone a chance to show the others their basket and suggest what it might be used for. Talk about things we might collect or carry or store in baskets—crayons or markers, silverware, plants, flowers, toys, fruit, candy, sewing things, picnic supplies, and so forth.
Conclude your conversation by talking about the laundry basket and what it might hold—clothes, toys, a pet, maybe even a person? Give the children a chance to climb into the laundry basket to see if it’s big enough to hold them! Then collect their baskets in your laundry basket and promise to tell the group a story about someone, a grownup someone, who found a very good use for a big basket like yours.
Re
formed
formedDeclaring that Jesus is Lord can be a dangerous occupation, even today. His lordship isn’t just over things spiritual, but all things, and all our lives.
Materials
Story picture (leader’s resources)
Take a few minutes to recall Paul’s story from last time. Show the group the two-sided story picture you used to illustrate Paul’s big change from Jesus’ enemy into Jesus’ friend. Can the children retell the story to their friends who were absent last time? Wonder aloud what happened to Paul after that big change. What did Paul do and where did he go? Tell the group you have one story clue for them—it’s the big basket you brought to class today!
If your church building is made of brick, with tall walls, consider taking a quilt outside, finding a place beside a wall, and settling on it for the story. (Take with you your Bible and the Paul picture for this session.) When the story describes the walls around Damascus, take time to look up at the wall of your church and wonder if there was any way Paul could escape over such a tall wall!
Show the children where today’s story is found in your Bible and say your original story call together:
This is the Bible, let’s open it wide. (hands together, palms up, like a book)
Listen to God’s story that’s told inside! (hands behind ears, listening)
Then read the story using the visual provided in your leader’s resources. Follow the story with a few questions that will invite the children to wonder and reflect on Paul’s amazing escape:
- I wonder if Paul was surprised that some people wanted to put him in jail.
- I wonder if Paul was frightened.
- I wonder if Paul knew that Jesus was more powerful than Paul’s enemies.
- I wonder what Paul said when his friends told him to get in the basket.
- I wonder what it felt like to go down, down, down that wall and land outside the city.
- I wonder what Paul prayed to Jesus than night.
- I wonder if there was anything Paul loved more than telling others about Jesus.
Materials
Props: basket, masking tape or sidewalk chalk
Retell Paul’s story by acting it out together. Spend a few minutes deciding with the children which person they’d like to be (remember, it’s OK if they all want to be Paul!). Also decide where you’ll place your city wall, and use masking tape (or sidewalk chalk if you took your story outdoors today) to mark off the city boundaries. Then retell the story in your own words and help the children bring it to life by acting it out. Retell it as many times as you need to in order for each little “Paul” to make his or her escape in the laundry basket.
Faith Modeling
Don’t forget to share with the children about a place you found yourself this week when you needed to remember that Jesus was there too—right beside you, caring for you.
Materials
Song: “God Is Watching over You”
Song: “Just Say Thanks”
Show and Share cards, session 34
Spend some time praising Jesus for his love—and for taking care of you wherever you go, just as he took care of Paul. Invite the children to mention some of the places they’ve been in the week since you were together last. Did they find themselves in any scary places or situations? Invite their stories, then assure them that Jesus was there with them, watching over them just as he watched over Paul. Emphasize that Jesus cares for his friends and is always with them!
Sing “God Is Watching over You” (CD track 11) and “Just Say Thanks” (CD track 20). If time remains, repeat this simple prayer with the children to close your session:
Dear Jesus,
Thank you for your loving care.
You are with me everywhere!
I’m glad that you will always stay
right beside me, night and day.
Amen.
Send the children home with their Show and Share cards. Encourage the children to tell Paul’s story to their families—and promise them another exciting story about Paul the next time you meet.
Easy Extras
Time
10 minutes
Materials
guest storyteller or God Loves Me, book 49 (Over the Wall The Story of Paul’s Escape in a Basket)
If you invited a guest storyteller to come last time, invite him back. You might want to lead in to today’s story by asking “Paul” the storyteller to recall with the children the story of his conversion before he tells them about today’s encounter with his enemies and his escape over the city wall.
Or if you have access to the God Loves Me storybooks about Paul (available from Faith Alive), use book 49 to tell the story of Paul’s escape in a basket. Read through the book, giving everyone plenty of time to look at the pictures as you read. Then give the book to one of the children to “read” to the group again.
Time
10-15 minutes
Materials
six paper dinner plates, “places” pictures printable page, beanbag
To emphasize Jesus’ promise to always be with us, as he was with Paul, play “Everywhere!” Prepare the game by gluing the pictures of familiar places onto separate paper dinner plates. Ask the children to help you cluster the plates picture side up on the floor in the middle of your circle. Take turns tossing the beanbag, trying to land it on one of the pictures. The successful “pitcher” can pick up his or her plate, show it to the group, and invite everyone to shout “Jesus is with us at [place pictured]. Thank you Jesus!”
Time
10 minutes
Materials
black and brown construction paper, cut into half sheets; Paul cutouts printable page; markers; chalk; yarn pieces (10" or 25 cm long); tape; glue sticks; star stickers
If you made story pictures with the children last time, you might want to make another one today that shows Paul’s escape in a basket. Give everyone a Paul/basket cutout and give the children time to color them. As they work, give each child a black background to which you’ve added a brown “wall” on the lower half. Help the children attach their Paul cutouts to a piece of yarn and secure it (through a hole at the top of the wall) on the back side with tape. Add stars to the night sky—and a caption (JESUS LOVES PAUL). Your completed Paul pictures should look something like this:
