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This topic is for posting ALL Workshop lessons and ideas related to Paul and Barnabas.

Due to the broad subject, readers may need to adapt the following for their particular story focus.




Paul & Barnabas in Lystra

Drama Workshop

Shadow Pictures

Scripture Reference:

Acts 14:8-20

Rotation Objectives:

At the end of the Rotation, kids should be able to…

  • Retell the story of Paul and Barnabas in Lystra.
  • Recognize that God gives us courage to tell others about Him.
  • Realize that God wants us to tell others about Jesus.


Set up:

  • Read Acts 14:8-20 for yourself.
  • Set up the room by hanging a large white sheet tautly in one corner with a bright light aimed at it from behind. Leave enough space behind the sheet and in front of the light for the kids to move around. Also, have space for kids to stand next to the sheet while they are waiting for their turn to act. Optional: Set up a video camera to record the drama.

Lesson Plan:

Explain that the kids are going to tell the story of Paul and Barnabas in Lystra using shadow pictures. The kids will go behind the sheet and stand in front of the light. This will create shadows on the white sheet that will illustrate the story. They do not have to talk or even move that much. They simply need to create picture that will match the line from the story. (You may want to go behind the sheet the show them how it works.)

Read through the script once quickly and assign the parts. When everyone is ready, have the kids stand behind or near the sheet. Dim the lights so that the shadows show up well. Read each line and pause to give the kids a chance to act it out.

Characters: Paul, Barnabas, crippled man, crowd, Priest of Zeus, Jews, disciples

Script:
In the city of Lystra, there was a crippled man who couldn’t walk.
Paul and Barnabas came to Lystra and began to preach the good news about Jesus.
The crippled man listened to them and had faith to be healed.
Paul looked at him and said “Stand on your feet.”
Immediately, the man jumped up and began to walk.
The crowd began shouting: “The gods have come in human form!”
The priest of Zeus tried to offer sacrifices to Paul and Barnabas.
Paul and Barnabas tore their clothes and shouted: “Don’t do this. We are just men like you!”
They tried to tell them about Jesus who gave them power to heal.
But the people did not want to listen.
Some Jews came from Antioch and turned the crowd against Paul and Barnabas.
The crowd stoned Paul and dragged him away.
After the disciples had gathered around him, Paul got up and went back to tell the people more about God.

If you have time, you can do the drama again and trade roles or watch the video recording so the kids can see themselves.

Questions for discussion:

  • Do you think Paul was brave or crazy to go back into the city after he had been stoned? Why?
  • If you had been Paul or Barnabas, what would you have done?
  • How was God working in this story? (Healed the crippled man, healed Paul, gave Paul and Barnabas courage, etc.)
  • How do people react when you tell them about Jesus?
  • How does God help us when we are telling people about Him?



Paul & Barnabas in Lystra

Art Workshop

Making Greek and Roman Style Art

Scripture Reference:

Acts 14:8-20

Rotation Objectives:

At the end of the Rotation, kids should be able to…

  • Retell the story of Paul and Barnabas in Lystra.
  • Recognize that God gives us courage to tell others about Him.
  • Realize that God wants us to tell others about Jesus.


Set up:

  • Read Acts 14:8-20 for yourself.
  • Locate pictures of ancient Greek and Roman art that depicts the gods. Do a little research about the Greek gods, particularly Zeus and Hermes.

Lesson Plan:

Begin by briefly telling the story from Acts 14:8-20. Show the kids the pictures that you found and talk about what the people believed about these gods. The ancient Greeks and Romans used art to help them worship their gods (who were not real). Our God is real. How can we use art to help us worship our God?

We are going to make two projects that imitate ancient pottery like the Greeks and Romans would have made. Only instead of honoring ancient false gods, our pottery is going to honor Paul's One true God.

Art 1: Greek Pottery Designs
I used the instructions from Amy Woods at https://kinderart.com/art-less...eek-pottery-designs/

Art 2: Greek Story Vases
I used the instructions from Doreen Diorio at Diorio, Doreen. “Greek Story Vases.” KinderArt.
https://kinderart.com/art-less...y/greek-story-vases/

When you are finished, allow the kids to show off their work and explain how their art honors God.

Questions for discussion:

  • How can we use art to help us worship God?
  • What are other ways that we can honor God?
  • What are other ways that we can tell people about God?
  • It can be a little scary to tell other people about God. What can we do if we are afraid to tell people about Jesus?
  • How are we like clay? What shapes us? What does God use to try and shape us?

References:


Lessons written by Deborah Ward from: Williams Lake Church of the Nazarene
Waterford, MI

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

Last edited by Luanne Payne
Original Post

DVD - “Paul & Barnabas” (New Superbook Series)

A classmate embarrasses Chris by inviting students to a Bible study group. Superbook whisks the kids away to journey with Paul and Barnabas on their mission to spread the message of Jesus. They witness Paul's miracle, blinding an evil sorcerer and converting the Roman Governor to a believer in Jesus. The job becomes too much for disciple John Mark, who abandons the work and returns to Jerusalem. Paul and Barnabas continue spreading the Gospel against all manner of adversity including Paul being stoned and Barnabas and Paul separating over a disagreement. Chris takes their example to heart and when Superbook returns him to school, he, Joy, and Gizmo stand up for the boy and his Bible study group. Chris takes a small, first step, on a journey towards pronouncing the Gospel as the power to Salvation.

Lesson: Pronounce the Gospel as the power of God to salvation. (Animated - approx. 28 mins)

See Rotation.org reviews of the "New Superbook" DVD Series for more details on this series link.

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