Lydia: A New Believer!
Overview and Background Information
Overview of the Workshops:
- Art: make welcome signs by spraying tie-dye purple cloth with Christian symbols.
- Bible Games: Lydia Storytelling and older children will make a matching game for the younger children to play.
- Computers: Children will review the story using Interactive Bible for Kids: Life of Paul CD. Using Kid Pix older children will create an illustrated poem about Lydia while younger children will illustrate the story.
- Cooking: Make hospitality heart cookies to give to Hospice House.
- Drama/Puppets: Create Lydia story sacks with stick puppets to retell the story.
- Storytelling: "Godly Play" style story of Lydia.
- Video: View a clip from the The Great Escape-The Visual Bible for Kids (could adapt and use Acts-Visual Bible). Includes making a Beaded Key Ring or Bracelet.
Scripture References:
Acts 16:13-15,40 (note: this story is not found in the Little Kids’ Adventure Bible.)
Memory Verse:
“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
Bible Notes:
Adventure Bible for Young Readers (4-6)
Life in Bible times: Jewish Synagogues (page 1287)
Life in Bible times: Purple Cloth (page 1292)
People in Bible times: Lydia (page 1292)
Words to Treasure (page 1322)
Theme:
Others will come to know Jesus when we share the good news with them. Showing hospitality to others is a way to share God’s love.
Music:
“Lydia,” and “Everybody Ought to Know,” Circus Spectacular: A High-Flying Gospel Adventure, Augsburg Fortress VBS, 2004; “Family of God,” God Comes To Us, Peder Eide, YaSure! Music, 2001; “I Believe in You Now,” Live the Life, Michael W. Smith, Reunion Records, 1998; “I’m A Believer” and “I Will Follow Him” Hallelujah Hop, Brentwood Kids Company, 1994; “I Give you my Heart,” Shout to the Lord Kids, Integrity Music, 2001; “I Could Sing of your Love Forever,” Big Songs for Little Kids: I Feel Like Praising, Brentwood Records, 2002; “The Roman’s Road,” Verse 2 Verse: Power Disc 4: Keys to the Kingdom, Wonder Workshop, 2003.
Objectives and Life Application (K-3):
- Children will retell the story in their own words.
- Children will locate the story in the New Testament.
- Children will identify the characters in the story: Lydia, Paul, Silas.
- Children will identify Paul and Silas as important missionaries.
- Children will talk about ways to tell others about Jesus.
- Children will discuss ways to show hospitality like Lydia.
- Children will memorize Romans 10:9.
Objectives and Life Application (4-6):
- Children will retell the story in their own words.
- Children will locate the story in the New Testament book of history -- Acts.
- Children will locate Philippi on the map.
- Children will identify the characters in the story: Lydia, Paul, Silas.
- Children will identify Paul and Silas as important missionaries who spread the gospel and helped the growth of the early church.
- Children will discuss the concept of prevenient grace – God’s drawing individuals to Him.
- Children will discuss sanctifying grace – God’s work in nurturing and growing believers and the Church to be like Christ and to glorify God.
- Children will discuss ways to tell others about Jesus.
- Children will discuss the meaning of conversion and baptism.
- Children will discuss ways to show hospitality like Lydia.
- Children will memorize Romans 10:9.
Background Information
(Background information adapted primarily from a post at rotation.org from Silverdale UMC, Proclaim His Name to the Nations, September 2003 and former G.R.E.A.T. Adventure lessons on the Journeys of Paul, 2002.)
This rotation is set during the time of Paul’s second missionary journey after the death and resurrection of Jesus. During this rotation we will explore God’s plan for both individuals and for groups of believers, the Church, the Body of Christ, to know him and to serve him. We will study the conversion of Lydia, the first European convert, as part of God’s plan and purpose for his Church. We will learn about Lydia, her trade, her character and her hospitality. We will attempt to apply the lessons of Lydia to our individual lives.
Roman Influence
In the time of Paul, Rome was beginning its four hundred year rule over the Mediterranean area. Rome was definitely the dominant political power, but previous rulers left their cultural mark. Greek culture, the result of Alexander the Great’s conquests, had an especially powerful influence. The Roman Empire was comprised of a combination of Greek culture and Roman law. Greek was the common language of the cities throughout the Mediterranean, although villagers spoke their own local languages and dialects. Roman rule provided a big advantage for the spread of the gospel -- ease and safety of travel. Roman soldiers established a military presence that limited piracy and bandits. The Roman road system provided a means for safe and fast travel never before possible. Travelers could expect to travel up to 25 miles per day on foot. The Romans were master road builders -- the construction quality of their roads was not matched until the 1800’s. (Some Roman roads are still in use today.) Pilgrims, traders, government officials, runaway slaves, prisoners, letter carriers and countless others traveled the Roman roads making life much more cosmopolitan than ever before. The world was poised for the spread of the gospel message!
Paul, the Missionary
Paul was a young man during the last days of Jesus. He was raised a devout Pharisee and known for his persecution of the early Christians. It was actually on a journey to Damascus where he planned to imprison and/or kill the Christians there, that Paul met Jesus in a blinding light and was changed. Paul went on to become the greatest New Testament missionary, traveling thousands of miles in four missionary journeys, to bring the message of Jesus to others.
Paul’s second missionary journey lasted about three years, from A.D. 49-52. During this journey Paul took on Silas and Timothy as new companions. Their intention was to visit the churches established in Paul’s first missionary journey, but God had other plans. The Bible says that the “Holy Spirit prevented them from entering” some regions in Asia Minor. Then Paul received a vision. “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.)
Paul and his companions, Silas and Timothy, traveled to Philippi. Philippi was named for Philip II of Macedonia, the father of Alexander the Great. It became a Roman colony in 42 B.C. Philippi was located on the Via Ignatia, the great east-west Roman road that ended in what is now the city of Istanbul, Turkey. Philippi housed a medical school; it is possible that Luke, a physician and gospel-writer, was educated there, although we don’t know. The city was also an important religious and commercial center.
After Paul, Silas, Timothy and Luke (author of Acts) had been in Philippi for a few days, they sought a place to worship God on the Sabbath Day. Paul’s routine was similar in each place he visited: first he would preach in the synagogue, presenting the gospel to the Jews there, using his great knowledge of the scriptures to convince the Jews that Jesus was indeed the long-awaited and prophesied Messiah. Usually some Jews were converted, but inevitably most resisted and when opposition arose, Paul took his message to the Gentiles.
There was no Jewish synagogue in Philippi, but a group of God-seeking women met at the riverside for prayer. Even today a visitor can see the ruins of the city gate through which the men probably passed as they walked the mile to the riverside worship place. The fact that there was no synagogue means there were fewer than ten Jewish men in Philippi. So… Paul went to the river to meet with the women there. And it is there that he met Lydia.
Paul Meets Lydia
Lydia was most likely a prominent businesswoman who dealt in the business of purple cloth. Her name probably came from the name of the region of Lydia in Asia Minor consisting of five major cities: Ephesus, Smyrna, Sardis, Philadelphia and Thyatira. She was from the town of Thyatira, a town known for its dyeing business and also making of garments. Thyatira was known for manufacturing purple dye (made from a gland in a marine mollusk called Mulex trunculus. Purple dye could also be made from the root of the “madder” plant; most scholars believe Lydia obtained her purple dye from shellfish.) Purple was the color of royalty and a symbol of Roman citizenship. (“official” Roman togas were made of purple cloth!) We assume Lydia was a wealthy businesswoman, perhaps a woman with some influence in the community. A “dealer in purple dye” would have sold purple-dyed cloth to the upper class citizens of the community. Lydia traveled throughout the region to carry out her business.
Lydia Believes in Jesus
God had prepared the heart of Lydia to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Acts 16:13 says, “We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there.” Verse 14 points out that “The Lord opened [Lydia’s] heart to respond to Paul’s message.” It also says that she was a “worshiper of God” and “a dealer in purple cloth”. We don’t know what Paul said to the worshipers at the riverside, but we can imagine from his other missionary travels and speeches that are recorded in the book of Acts. Maybe he told his own life story of how he was a well-educated Jewish rabbi who had persecuted the sect called “Christians” until he was radically changed on the road to Damascus (see Acts 9) to believe and to obey Jesus, the Son of God. Maybe he told how God had revealed through the Old Testament writings and prophets his plan to send his Son, and how Jesus fulfilled that plan by dying on the cross for our sins and being raised to life on the third day. Whatever he said, it made an eternal difference in Lydia’s life and in the life of her family and community.
How did God prepare Lydia to believe on the Lord Jesus? It is likely that Lydia came to know the God of the Hebrews through the Jews in Thyatira, for there was a Jewish population there. Lydia was a member of a God-seeking group of women, which means she may have been a Jewish proselyte. She knew she wanted to know God; God promises in Proverbs 8:17, “I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me.” In Deuteronomy 4:29, God promises, “You will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.”
The same Spirit that moved Paul and his fellow travelers to come to Macedonia moved in Lydia’s heart. As Paul explained the gospel message to her, she believed and was baptized. Lydia’s story is a good example of God’s prevenient grace – the God’s wooing and drawing us to Christ, before we even know what the gospel is about. When Lydia accepted the gospel message Paul preached, and accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior, she was justified – this is God’s justifying grace. As God’s Holy Spirit continued to work in her heart and life, we see an example of God’s sanctifying grace – helping Lydia and all believers to be transformed into the likeness of Jesus. This is the goal of the Christian life – to become like Jesus!
Lydia’s Hospitality
Lydia responded to God’s grace through generous acts of hospitality. After she believed and was baptized, she invited Paul and his companions to stay at her house. She became a faithful example by opening not only her heart, but her home to God’s people. Lydia’s hospitality in providing for Paul and his companions is one of her most noteworthy characteristics. One of the marks of a faithful believer is a willingness to share and provide for others.
Lydia’s home was the first Christian church in Europe! House churches were central to the spread of the early Church. Women played a prominent role in these early worshiping communities. In the second century, worship shifted to church buildings and religious authority was transferred to bishops and clergy, leading to more of a male-dominated religion.
A Christian home remains a wonderful tool of evangelism today. There is something special about the warm and inviting atmosphere in someone’s home. Many growing churches find that home Bible studies and worship are flourishing and helping to spread the gospel message to others.
God’s Word assures us that God has planned for each of us before birth, even before conception: Psalm 139:16, “your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” God knew and planned for salvation for Lydia. Jesus said in John 6:44, “No one can come to me unless the Father who has sent me draws him…” (this is God’s prevenient grace at work!) God had drawn Lydia to know himself through his Son, Jesus Christ. Our children also need to know that God has planned for each of their lives, that he has planned to draw each of them to himself through Jesus, his Son, and that each one is of great value in God’s sight.
God also says to Israel in Jeremiah 29:11-12, “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.’” These were God’s plans for a nation. Doesn’t God also have plans for each of us to know and serve him? When Paul wrote his letter from a Roman prison to the church at Philippi, more than ten years after his first visit to Philippi, he assured them that “he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6) He also assured them that “…it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.”(Philippians 2:13). Paul said that part of God’s purpose for the church at Philippi, and we can assume also for us, is that they would be “blameless and pure…without fault in a crooked and depraved generation…holding out the word of life…” (Philippians 2:14 – 16)
God has not only prepared for each person to individually know him, but also to show God’s nature by faithful service to him. Lydia immediately served God when she invited Paul, Silas, Timothy and Luke to stay at her house. Lydia served God by declaring the truth about Jesus Christ to their households. Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Each believer, child or adult, can cooperate with God in doing the good works God has prepared in advance for them to do. To do so it is necessary to have an attitude of faith and obedience toward God, choosing to put God first in all things, and choosing to put aside the busy distractions and temptations that keep us from doing God’s will.
Lydia’s home was the first Christian church in Europe. I Peter 2:9 says that Christians, as members of Christ’s Body, the Church, are “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that [they] may declare the praises of him who called [them] out of darkness into his wonderful light.” This was the work of God for the church at Philippi, and it is the work of each member of Christ’s Body, the church, today. Children are also part of this priesthood, this nation, this “people belonging to God” when they believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Children “declare the praises of God” by faithfully learning God’s Word, praying, and obeying what they know of God’s Word. They do it by loving people, obeying their parents and teachers, and by many other means; they are also the Body of Christ.
Discussion Questions: (some need to be simplified for the children)
- Where was Lydia from? (Thyatira in a region called Lydia)
- What did she do? (sold purple cloth, made from dye from shellfish)
- Who was Paul? (great New Testament missionary)
- Where did she meet Paul? (by the riverside in Philippi)
- What happened to Lydia there? (she believed in Jesus and was baptized)
- 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)
- 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)
- How was Lydia’s life changed? (she had the first home church in Europe, she became a follower of Jesus, she shared her home with others)
- How did Lydia show hospitality? (invited Paul and his fellow travelers to stay at her house)Have you ever shared something you had?
- How can you show hospitality to others?
- 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?
Sources:
- Bible Teacher’s Commentary, Lawrence O. Richards, Cook Communications, 2002;
- Davey and Goliath’s Circus Spectacular VBS, Augsburg Fortress, 2004;
- Christian Standard Sunday School Lesson “Lydia Demonstrates Faithfulness,” Dennis Hounshell, First Christian Church, Florissant, Missouri;
- Sunday School Lessons: “The Spirit Moves us to Share our Lives with Others,” Walter Albritton, November 13th, 2005, http://www.walteralbritton.org/sslessons.html;
- “Mighty in Spirit – Hues of Holiness,” In Touch Ministries;
- variety of lessons posted at rotation.org including:
- Faith Trek – “Lydia, Paul and Silas;”
- “Proclaim His Name to the Nations: Lydia Becomes a Christian in Philippi,” Silverdale United Methodist Church, September 2003;
- Hilliard Presbyterian Church, Neil MacQueen and Kim Trimboli,
- Lydia Rotation, St. John’s United Church, October 2004.
A lesson from State Street UMC
This lesson created and copyrighted by State Street UMC, Bristol, VA, 2006. Permission granted for non-commercial, local church use, provided credit is give to the source.
A representative of Rotation.org reformatted this post to improve readability.