STORY AT A GLANCE

Gra

de

s 3-4 Leader Guide

Supplies:

Holy MolyDVD

Holy MolyLeaflets

Connect Bibles Pencils Scissors

CLOSING PRAYER

Fewer kids?Have kids pile all the balls on one staff. Try shaking the prison bars to the beat of the song you sing.

More time?Invite each pair of kids to partner with another pair of kids. Learn both pairs’ “God’s power is great” rhythms.

More kids?Have several kids combine their cut-out slips to make larger balls. How big can the ball be and still get through the bars?

Dear God,Help us shake things up as we learn about Jesus in song. Let us not be afraid of breaking out of our shells to proclaim the good news to others.

Amen!

Less time?Have kids write or draw in just 1 or 2 of the spaces, but cut out all 4 strips.

ACTIVITY TIPS

PAuL AND SILAS

Grades 3-4. Paul and Silas Leader Guide. Holy Moly. wearesparkhouse.org. © 2013 sparkhouse. All rights reserved. May be reproduced for local use only provided each copy carries this notice.

Silas• Travels with Paul to

help him spread the gospel.

• Called Silvanus in Paul’s letters (2 Cor 1:19).

• A leader of the early Christian movement (Acts 15:22-27).

• Roman citizen like Paul, so has rights most Jews don’t have.

Jailer• Locks up Paul and Silas in an

extra secure jail cell.

• Could be executed if his prisoners escape, so very grateful Paul and Silas don’t run away.

• Baptized along with all his family after hearing about Jesus.

Romans• Live in Philippi, a Greek city near

Thessaloniki.

• Paul helped Christians in Philippi and writes them a letter after he leaves the city. That letter is the book of Philippians.

Paul• Also known as Saul, a persecutor of Christians,

before his conversion (Acts 9:1-20).

• Calls himself Paul while traveling around Roman Empire to preach the gospel to Gentiles (non-Jews).

• Argues with other Christians because he says new converts don’t have to follow Jewish laws.

• Arrested in Philippi for breaking the law forbidding Jews to convert Roman citizens.

• Beaten up and imprisoned, but sings praises to God until an earthquake opens his cell door.

Prison• A holding place for

people awaiting trial or punishment. Time in prison wasn’t, itself, a sentence.

• Full of other prisoners who hear Paul’s message.

KEY VERSE Suddenly there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened.

Acts 16:26

Earthquake shakes, prison breaks. Chains undone for everyone!

(10-15 min.)

(5-10 min.)

(20-30 min.)

CREATE

(5-10 min.)

DISCOVER

RELATE CONNECT

Pick up prison bars. Choose a song to sing together. Break out in singing and shaking.

Crumple each strip into a loose ball.

3

5

Get ReadyThere are many ways to break out. Invite kids to guess what a volunteer is doing to complete the phrase, “Break out . . .” (a guitar, in song, of jail).

• What does it mean to break out?

• Why would someone suddenly start singing?

• When do you sing?

• Do you sing when you’re alone? With a group?

Introduce the Characters• Jesus is no longer living on earth; his followers are

spreading out to tell others about him.

• After Saul became Paul, he and his friend, Silas, start teaching people about Jesus.

• Roman authorities arrest Paul and Silas and throw them into prison.

• The prison guard knows that if prisoners escape, he will be severely punished.

Watch to see what Paul and Silas do

when they are locked in jail.

If time permits, watch it again!

Play the Paul and Silas Video

Talk about the Paul and Silas Video• Why were Paul and Silas in prison?

• How did they tell others about Jesus?

• Have you ever had to stay somewhere you didn’t want to be?

• Music can make us dance (shake our bodies). What was shaking in the prison?

• I wonder why Paul and Silas didn’t leave after the earthquake.

• Paul and Silas are freed. What did they do to free their guard from his worries?

• I wonder why the guard was baptized.

Open the Connect BibleHelp kids find and mark Acts 16:26 on page 1276.

• Paul and Silas used song to comfort others while in prison. The Bible is filled with stories of the power of music and song. Psalms is an entire book of songs. How many chapters are in Psalms?

Do the Acts 16:25-34 Connect Bible activity on page 1275.

• No matter what others did to Paul and Silas, they were not going to lose their faith. Has anyone asked you about your church? What did you tell them?

• Invite pairs of kids to create a rhythm for the words, “God’s power is great.” Try all the rhythms at 1 time.

BAR NONE!: Kids turn prison bars into a musical staff and break out in singing and shaking.

Write or draw about music in your life.

1

Fold inside out. Cut along the solid blue lines to form 4 strips.

2

Put balls on prison bars.

4

Holy Moly!Paul and Silas were held inside prison bars. The lines (bars) and spaces on a music staff hold notes for songs.

• I wonder how Paul and Silas knew the notes for songs.

• Where and when do you learn songs about God? Jesus?

• What song would you sing to teach someone about God?

Holy Moly!Music has great power. Earthquakes have great power. Nothing is greater than God’s power.

• How many lives were changed by the earthquake’s power?

• What other Bible stories can you think of where people experience God’s great power?

• Where do you see God’s power in your life?