Paul's Travels

Science Station

Workshop-specific Goals

• Be aware that the devil tries to trick us into not trusting God.
• Realize the importance of knowing right from wrong.

For scripture and background - see above.

Preparation

1. Review Background notes. The Bible story is found in Acts 13: 6-12.
2. Gather the materials.
3. Refer to schedule and decide how you will make adjustments for the different ages.
4. Each of the students has their own passport, which is kept in the teaching box for the summer. At the end of class, you or the guide should hand out the passports. The students will have the opportunity to write/draw on the passport page. There is also a space for you to put their passport stamp. Check the supply list for the proper stamp (the stamp applies to the lesson).
5. Look at the passport page for your “city” for the background information and question of the day that the students will be getting (copy at end of lesson).
6. Tape the map onto the wall and locate the city/region you are teaching about today so you are ready for the first part of the lesson. so you are ready for the first part of the lesson
7. You may or may not have time to do all the experiments. Decide which ones you want to do first in case you run out of time.
8. Perform the experiments before class so that you know how they work!!!
9. Have the DVD cued up to the menu page, so you can select Chapter 13.

Materials List:

• Bibles (supplied in teaching box)
• Large map of Paul’s journeys (tape to the wall)
• Construction paper star to place on the map
• Tape
• Passport stamp of eye
• Inkpad
• Pencils, markers, crayons
• Student passports (kept in teaching box for the summer)
• TV/DVD player
• “The Visual Bible: Acts” DVD
• Compass Activity: 3 Sewing needles, Small bar magnet, 3 small circular pieces of cork (like from the end of a wine bottle cork), 3 small bowls of water to float the cork and needle.
• Oil and Water Activity: Cup of water, cup of oil, 3 clear plastic jars with lids, food coloring
• Fire balloon Activity: two round balloons (not inflated), several matches, cup of water
• Candles and Water activity: 2 aluminum pie plates, 2 quart-sized glass jars, 2 candles (about half as tall as the jars), matches, water, food coloring

Lesson Plan

Opening:

Make sure you have your nametag on. Introduce yourself to the students.

Open with a prayer .

We would like to have a consistent opening and closing to each class, especially since the teacher and station changes each week. Please start the class by having everyone make the sign of the cross and say: “We make our beginning in the name of God the Father—and God the Son—and God the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Dig:

Introduction & Bible Story:
Please make sure that the students hear and “get” the Bible story as well as the application of that story to their lives. The Bible story is the MOST important part of the lesson—it is much more important than the activity associated with this station!

Say: This summer for Sunday School we are going on a Mediterranean cruise with the Apostle Paul. Every week we will visit a different port and learn something about Paul’s life or his teachings. This week we are visiting Paphos. Locate this city/region on the large map and put the construction paper star with the appropriate name on the map. After the first week, you could ask the students some of the other places that they have “visited” and what they did and learned.

In our story today, Paul and his companion Barnabas have just started out on their first missionary journey. They left the city of Antioch and sailed to the island of Cyprus and made their way to the city of Paphos. This story for today is found in Acts 13: 6-12. (Even though we are going to watch the Bible story on a DVD, the older students could follow along in the Bibles, so have the students open their Bibles to Acts 13: 6-12). The video we are going to watch is taken word for word from the Bible, as you will see as you follow along. There are several main characters: Saul & Barnabas (dressed in plain clothing) and a sorcerer and false prophet (dressed in red). Turn on the DVD—choose chapter 13 from the menu page (if possible, forward to verse 6 or as close as you can get). Watch through verse 12 (only about a minute) and stop when you see the ship.

Verse 7 says that the proconsul, the Roman official, wanted to hear the word of God from Saul and Barnabas. What does verse 8 say that the sorcerer Elymas tried to do? (turn the proconsul from the faith). Paul tells the sorcerer that he is a child of the devil, full of deceit and trickery. Pretty strong words. What happened next to the sorcerer? (became blind, unable to see the light of the sun). When the proconsul saw this, he was amazed at the teaching of God and by what had happened—and he believed.

The proconsul was listening to 2 different people—Paul (who was telling the truth) and Elymas the sorcerer (who was trying to trick him and keep him from faith). Sometimes, the devil might try to use things or people to try and trick you and make you wonder about your faith. How do you know who to listen to? What helps you know the difference between right and wrong (God’s word, Holy Spirit, Jesus in our hearts, pastors and teachers, parents who believe in God).

We’re going to do a few science activities to help us understand the importance of knowing the right way and listening to God and not the devil.

Activities:
Divide the class into 3 groups. They will work together in their smaller groups to do the experiments.

1) Compass Activity http://www.madsci.org/experime...ve/860218908.Es.html

Have any of you ever been hiking out in the woods. What tool might you use to help you know the right direction? (a compass) A compass helps you know the right direction to go, so that you don’t get lost.

Say: Today we're going to make a compass. There are 3 sets of materials, so divide the class into 3 groups. We’ll start by making the needle magnetic. Run the magnet over the needle about 30 times—ALWAYS IN THE SAME DIRECTION. Very carefully stick the needle through the cork from one end of the circle to the other—NOT through the middle of the cork. Put the cork/needle into the water, so that the needle is parallel to the water. The needle should point to the north. Gently turn the container and see what happens—what happens to the needle? (keeps pointing in the same direction—which is north).

Say: A compass needle always points to the north. You can rely on it to show you north, so that you can read your map and know where you are going. What can we use or read to keep us going in the right direction? (Bible) God’s word—the Bible—shows us the right way to go and gives us direction for living a Godly life. But we have to read it and use it if we want it to help us stay on the right path. Just like a hiker has to use his or her compass to help find North and the right direction.

2) Oil and Water Activity http://www.scifun.org/HomeExpts/layeredliquids.htm

Have you ever heard someone say "oil and water don’t mix"? We’ll do a little experiment about this and then talk about how it relates to our Bible story.

First, pour some water into each group’s plastic jar and then add a few drops of food coloring. The groups can GENTLY shake to mix. Then pour some oil into each jar. What happens? (should see 2 separate layers: colored water and oil)

Tightly screw the lids on the jar. Each group should shake their jar so that the 2 liquids are mixed. Then they should set the glass down and see what happens. What happened? Do oil and water mix? (the 2 liquids should separate out again).

These 2 liquids are like God’s love and truth and the devil’s tricks and lies. They are totally separate—they don’t work together. Why don’t they ever work together?

3) Fire Balloon Activity http://www.scifun.org/HomeExpts/FIREBALLOON.html

(The teacher will be the only one performing this experiment since it involves flames. They should not try this at home without an adult). CAUTION: Be careful when handling matches to avoid burning yourself or causing accidental fires.

Balloons can bust pretty easily. You know that we have to keep them away from sharp things or flames. In this experiment, we are going to hold a balloon right in a flame without breaking the balloon.

Blow up one of the balloons and tie it shut.

Pour ¼ cup of water in the other balloon, blow it up and tie it shut.

Light a match and hold it under the first balloon. Allow the flame to touch the balloon. What happens? The balloon breaks, perhaps even before the flame touches it.

Light another match. Hold it directly under the water in the second balloon. Allow the flame to touch the balloon. What happens with this balloon? The balloon doesn't break. You may even see a black patch of soot form on the outside of the balloon above the flame.

Why does this happen. The flame heats both balloons. The rubber in the balloon without water becomes so hot that the rubber is weakened and then pops. The water in the other balloon absorbs most of the heat from the flame, so the rubber doesn’t get as hot. Therefore, it doesn’t get weak and it doesn’t pop.

Let’s say that the devil is the flame and we are the balloons. What is the devil trying to do to us? (trying to destroy our faith in God) What is the water that protects us from the flame/devil? (our faith in God)

Candles and Water https://www.rotation.org/topic/...e---science-workshop

(The teacher will be the only one performing this experiment since it involves flames. They should not try this at home without an adult).

Before class begins, stick one candle in the center of each aluminum pan with a little bit of melted wax.

With this experiment, we are going to think how we live our lives and who influences us. God wants us to believe in Him and trust Him and follow His word. Can we do this all by ourselves? (No, we need God’s help. If we didn’t need God’s help, then Jesus would not have needed to come and save us from our sins). What does the devil want us to do? (sin, not believe in God)

Put a few drops of food coloring in a cup of water. Place the 2 pie pans on the table--these are the world around us. Pour some water into each of the pans—this water is how God wants us to live—to live a Godly life. Put a glass down over the candle in pan 1. The glass is us. What happens? (Nothing). No water in us/the glass means no Godly living (just what the devil wants).

Point to the other pan/the world and the water/Godly living. We are going to do something a little different now. Light the candle—this is our faith in God. Put the glass over the lit candle. What happens? The water goes up into the glass. When we have faith, God helps us to live a Godly life.

Reflection:

Pass out the passports to the students. Have each student write their name on the cover. Read the key point and the question for the day. Give them a few moments to write/draw in their passport. While they are doing this, go around and stamp in to each passport.

Closing Prayer:

We would like to have a consistent opening and closing to each class, especially since the teacher and station changes each week. Please end the class with this benediction from Numbers 6: 24-26 (CEV). Make the sign of the cross and say:
I pray that the LORD will bless and protect you, and that He will show you mercy and kindness. May the LORD be good to you and give you peace. Amen.

Age Adaptations
PreSchool students: Show DVD. Main focus of discussion with them should be that God wants us to believe Him and follow Him, not the devil. You could do the compass activity (pointing us to God) and the oil and water (God’s way of life and devil’s way of life don’t mix). Several other activities you could do about following God’s directions for your life:

• Play game like Simon Says or Red Light, Green Light—need to listen to God by reading Bible stories
• Giving directions. Give them directions to do something simple. The first few times you give the directions, make it hard for them to follow. You could whisper very lightly or even mouth it. You could bang loudly on the table so they can’t hear you. Then you could say it in a normal voice. Talk about paying attention to God and learning about Him in church and Sunday School and at home.
• Devil tries to trick us by lying to us. Give them statements and ask them if this is something God would say or the devil. Examples would be: pray, hit your brother, etc.

Resources/Bibliography
“Paul: Travels, Teachings and Letters Lesson Set” by Augustana Lutheran Church previously posted at rotation.org

See each activity for that reference source.

A lesson by Cathy Walz from: St. John Lutheran Church

A representative of Rotation.org reformatted this post to improve readability