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Lydia: A New Believer!

Drama and Puppet Workshop

Summary of Lesson Activities:

Children will create their own storytelling pouch with stick puppets.

For scripture, objectives, and background - see above.


General Tips for Drama Workshop Facilitators:

  • You may wish to organize costumes or puppets ahead of time to cut down on a flurry of activity and possible hurt feelings. Have props ready ahead of time. This is especially important for the younger children. The older children often are very creative with props and costumes.
  • You will want to limit the amount of time the children are allowed to dress-up. (They can easily spend the entire class time selecting costumes!)
  • Be sure that all children are involved in some way. Some children are intimidated by the prospect of being on a stage. Offer them alternative roles as well as the children who do not have main parts. They can always be “sound effects” or “crowds” or stagehands to help change scenery, or video camera operators (for the older children). Remember as well that children can draw the backdrop for the drama on the blackboard or videotape the plays (older children).
  • To eliminate competition, you may wish to place the names of characters in a hat and have children choose their parts.
  • Be sure to explain the activity to the children and ask for questions.
  • Even though videotaping the activities may seem unnecessary, videotaping seems to encourage better behavior from the children.
  • Have fun and make this fun for the children!
  • The purpose of the drama workshop is not to create a polished performance. Through the activity, children will explore the story in depth. Feel free to pause and discuss details as they arise, add more information (using the Background information and resources) and answer questions along the way.


Preparation and Room Set Up:

  1. Review the Background Information, Behavioral Covenant, Teaching Tips and Lesson plan.
  2. Preview the Rotation Music CD. Play the music as children arrive and during journaling.
  3. Set up tables for puppet-making activity.
  4. Make one male and one female puppet as samples for the children to see.
  5. Cut the muslin into 18 X 18 inch squares, using pinking shears to minimize fraying.
  6. Cut the fabric scraps into rectangles for the puppet clothing – 2.5 X 6 inches using pinking shears (older children can do this on their own, prepare them ahead for younger children).
  7. Fold the fabric rectangles in half with the fold at the top. Snip an opening about .5 inch down from the center of the fold and across the fold on each side. This will allow the head of the craft stick to come through. (Older children can do this part on their own – prepare them ahead of time for younger children).
  8. Cut some purple fabric into 3 X 5 inch rectangles.
  9. Get a carpenter friend to help prepare the stands. Cut 1 X 1 inch wooden blocks from a 1 X 4 piece of lumber. Use a band saw to create a slice in the middle of the block about halfway down. The slit should be wide enough for the base of the craft stick to slide in so that the stick stands upright and is secure. Make one block for each craft stick puppet.


Please start on time!

Time Guidelines:
Welcome and Introductions 10 minutes
Bible Story 10 minutes
Puppets 20 minutes
Reflection/Closing 10 minutes

Supplies:

  • Simple script of the story
  • 18 X 18 inch squares of muslin – one for each child
  • Markers
  • Purple yarn or ribbon (12 inches per child)
  • People-shaped wood craft sticks – 2 per child (do an online search - the ones pictured are 5 3/8" long and come with both male and female)
  • Fabric scraps (including purple fabric)
  • Yarn scraps (brown, black, tan)
  • Scissors
  • Craft Glue
  • Chenille sticks
  • Masking tape
  • Wooden blocks 1 inch X 1 inch



Lesson Plan

Opening:

Early Arrival Activity:
Have children draw a river with people gathered nearby on the blackboard.

Welcome the children and introduce yourself. Make sure everyone is wearing a nametag. Please include the shepherd in introductions. Give the children a simple one or two-sentence synopsis of the day’s activity.

Prayer: Please begin your class with prayer each week. Pray your own or use the prayer printed below.
Dear God, Thank you for this day and for everyone who is here today. We thank you for the great stories of your people in the Bible. Be with us as we learn more about you through them. AMEN.

Important Teacher Notes:
Each workshop includes the Bible story. One of our primary goals is to improve the children’s Bible literacy! If children did not bring their Bibles from home, use the classroom Bibles. Shepherds should help the children locate the stories. Use the handout “Helping Children Learn to Use their Bibles” and the Background Information to help you introduce the story.

Remember that as the rotation progresses; the children will become more familiar with the story. When this happens, allow the children to tell you what they know. The children should still locate the story in their Bibles every week. Use the bold headings in their Bibles to guide your discussion. You may want to review some of the Bible notes as well. Be sure to fill in any missing information and add additional details using the Background Information to help you. One of the greatest advantages of this model is that children who come regularly learn the story in great depth.

Each lesson contains more Background Information and discussion questions than can be used in one session. Remember, children are studying this story for four weeks! Be sure to follow the time guidelines and leave ample time for the activity.

Dig:


Introduce the Story:
After Jesus was raised from the dead and went to heaven, his followers continued to gather together to tell his stories and to worship God. One of Jesus’ followers was a man named Paul. Paul had originally hated Christians – in fact he put them in jail and even killed some, but he was changed when he had a vision of Jesus. Then he became the greatest of all the apostles. Paul and his friends traveled on many journeys to share the good news of Jesus with others.

One night Paul had a dream. He saw a man standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia… Help us!’” (Acts 16:9-10) Paul realized that God had called him to preach the good news in Macedonia. (Macedonia is a region in modern-day Greece.)

So Paul with his friend, Silas, Paul traveled to Philippi.

Whenever Paul visited a new town, he always looked for the synagogue so he could preach there.
There was no Jewish synagogue in Philippi, but a group of women who loved God met at the river for prayer. So… Paul went to the river to meet with the women there. And it is there that he met Lydia.

Christians are people who believe in and follow Jesus. Where would we find a story about the early Christians in the Bible? (New Testament) This story is found in the book of Acts. This book tells about the “acts” of the people who were the first followers of Jesus. Let’s find the story in our Bibles now.

Bible Study: Grades K-3
“This story is not found in the Little Kids’ Adventure Bible.” Help the children locate the Introduction page to the Books of History (facing page 363).

Because this story is very short, plan to read the story from the Adventure Bible for Young Readers. Read Acts 16:11-15.

Bible Study: Grades 4-6
Have children locate Acts 16:11-15. Read as the children follow along.

Review the following Bible notes with the children:

Adventure Bible for Young Readers (4-6)
Life in Bible times: Purple Cloth (page 1292)
People in Bible Times: Lydia (page 1291)

Memory Verse: Each rotation we encourage the children to memorize the Rotation Memory Verse. Review it with the children at this time. Please record in the Memory Verse notebooks all children who memorize the verse and recite it by heart to a shepherd, teacher or Mrs. Jaymie. Children will be recognized at the conclusion of each rotation for memorizing these verses.

“Say with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord.’ Believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead. Then you will be saved.” Romans 10:9

The Bible tells us that this is what we must do to be “saved.” Being saved means that we will have eternal life, we will live with God forever, even after we die. But it’s not just about after we die; it means we can be close to God now. Because God loves us, God offers this gift to us for free – all we have to do is accept it. Once we do, we are called Christians. If we ask, God forgives us for the sin, the wrong things we have done. God’s Holy Spirit comes into our hearts and helps us grow closer and closer to God. The Holy Spirit helps us grow more and more like Jesus.

Have the children with their own Bibles highlight the memory verse using the highlighters provided. Please do not mark in the classroom Bibles.

Discuss:

  • Where was Lydia from? (Thyatira in a region called Lydia)
  • What did she do? (sold purple cloth, made from dye from shellfish)
  • Lydia believed in God, but not in Jesus. How is this different? (Jesus is the One sent from God to make us right with God, through dying and rising again Jesus made a way for us to be forgiven for our sins – when we believe and accept this)
  • Why do you think Lydia believed the message about Jesus? (God had prepared her heart)
  • Why is baptism important? (it shows that we belong to Jesus, for infants it is a promise parents and the church make to raise a child to know and love Jesus, for believers it shows others that we believe in Jesus and have been forgiven of our sins)
  • Have you ever taught someone about Jesus?
  • Who teaches you about Jesus?
  • How can you become a Christian? (believe in Jesus, confess your sins, accept that Jesus died and rose again for you)
  • Have you believed in Jesus to forgive your sins and be your Savior?
    (For older children and after the rotation has progressed)
  • What is prevenient grace? (God’s Spirit drawing us to Him, before we actually understand about God)
  • What is justifying grace? (being made right with God – justified – when we believe in Jesus)
  • What is sanctifying grace? (the continued work of God’s Spirit within us, to help us grow more like Jesus)
  • What is the goal of the Christian life? (to become like Jesus, sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit within us, transforming us so that we are like Jesus)


Lydia Puppet Sack:
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Directions:

  1. Set out the supplies on a table.
  2. Give each child two craft sticks (1 male, 1 female)
    a. Paul
    b. Lydia
  3. Have children decorate the faces of the craft sticks, adding yarn for hair if they like.
  4. Use small fabric scraps to add clothes to the stick puppets. These can be attached by tying yarn around them or by using small pieces of chenille sticks.
  5. Set aside the puppets to dry.
  6. Make a backdrop for the puppet show using the muslin squares. Give each child a muslin square. Have them use markers to draw a river scene on the muslin. (tape the muslin to the table to make drawing easier) Have children write “Lydia Believes” and their name on the backdrop.
  7. When finished, invite the children to use their story set to act out the story as you read the script.
  8. To store, place the stick puppets in the center of the backdrop. Bring up all four corners of the backdrop to the center and tie with purple ribbon or yarn.
  9. Encourage the children to tell the story to their family and friends this week.


Option: If you have additional time, children may make more women puppets and Silas.
Give children a small wooden cross and a seashell to place inside their puppet sacks.

Modifications for K-1 graders:
Cut the fabric scraps for clothes before the children arrive.
When acting out the story, have all the children follow along as you read the dialogue and demonstrate.

Reflection:

The last 10 minutes should be reserved for Journal and Reflection time. This is an opportunity for processing and reflection about what the children have learned. Ask the shepherds to pass out the journals and pencils/pens and the journal sticker for the day. (Note: Journal questions are color-coded for each age group – purple for K-1, red for 2-3 and blue for 4-6.) Workshop leaders and shepherds should sit down with children in small groups to facilitate discussion and writing in Faith Journals. Memory verse stickers are also included for each lesson. Children may also copy the memory verse and illustrate.

Journal Questions:
Grades K-3: Draw a picture of Lydia with her purple cloth.
Grades 4-6: What have you learned about God from this story?

Closing prayer: Gather the children together in a circle. Review with them one word or concept that they learned during today’s session. (faith, believe, evangelism, hospitality are some suggestions) Encourage them to come back next week and to bring a friend, especially a friend who does not have a church home. Remind them to bring their Bibles. Ask for prayer requests and close with prayer. Perhaps one of the children would like to pray? Or ask the children to pray out loud or silently one at a time. Have them say “Amen” when they are finished so the next child can pray. Remind them to memorize the Rotation Memory Verse.

Clean-up: Encourage the children to help you clean up. Return all props and other materials to the appropriate place in the prop closet or the storage cabinet.

Release children only to parents or by prior permission of parents after signing out on class clipboards.


Script: Lydia Believes!
Paul and his friend Silas were missionaries. They traveled many places to tell others about the good news of Jesus. They wanted everyone to know about God’s amazing love and how God had sent Jesus to the world so that we could be forgiven and be close to God. They even sailed in a boat to a faraway place called Macedonia so they could tell others about Jesus.

(move Paul and Silas puppets around as if traveling)

One day they came to a town called Philippi. There weren’t very many Jewish people living there so there wasn’t a synagogue. “Where can we worship?” they wondered. They walked around the town and they came to the river. There were women there. They were praying. So Paul and Silas began to talk to them. They told them about Jesus and all he had done. They told the women how Jesus had been born and about all the miracles he did. They told them how he had died on a cross and then rose again on the third day.

(bring Paul and Silas to the river to be with the women)

Now one of the women there at the river was named Lydia. She was from a city called Thyatira. She made beautiful purple cloth and sold it. When Lydia heard Paul and Silas talking about Jesus she knew it was true. She believed with all her heart that Jesus was God’s Son, the one who came to save us. She asked Paul to baptize her right there in the river! She was so excited! She felt new and wonderful inside. By being baptized Lydia showed everyone there that she believed in Jesus. It showed that Lydia was part of God’s family.

(pretend to dip Lydia in the water to baptize her)

All of the people in Lydia’s family decided to follow Jesus and they were baptized, too! It was a wonderful day for Lydia! She must have been very grateful to Paul and Silas. She invited them to come and stay at her house. What kinds of things do you think Lydia asked Paul and Silas? Do you think they talked about Jesus? I imagine Lydia and her family had lots of questions for Paul and Silas about what it meant to be a follower of Jesus. They probably talked late into the night about Jesus!

Paul and Silas left to continue their travels – there were still many more people who needed to hear the good news of Jesus.

(move Paul and Silas away from the river)

Lydia was so excited about being a believer in Jesus that she wanted to share it with everyone. She opened her heart to Jesus and her home to others! Soon many people were coming to Lydia’s house to worship. Lydia’s house was the very first church in Europe!

(bring puppets together and bow them down as if worshiping)

Lydia was changed that day at the river. Before she had just known about God. But now she knew about how much God loved her and how he sent Jesus to be her Savior. She had accepted Jesus’ love for her and understood that he died for her sins. Now Lydia was a believer in Jesus. She was a Christian.


A lesson by Jaymie Derden from: State Street UMC
Bristol, VA

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

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Last edited by Luanne Payne
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