Scripture: for teacher background: Acts
2,3,4 and 9:32-43 and Ch12
Making contact:
Make paper jets with the memory verse
written on them and use them in your introduction.
What would you think if you saw two grown
men playing with a kite every day and writing things down every time it came
down?
At the beginning of last century there were two brothers who did this.
They were the Wright brothers.
They believed that a machine could fly and they
did many experiments. Other people mocked them and even said they should be put
in jail for being crazy.
But they believed and with lots of courage they
invented the first aeroplane. They were RIGHT and the others were wrong.
In the Bible we read about people who also
believed something so strongly that they were put in jail. The question for you
to think about – were they right?
Exploration:
We are going to learn about some friends of
Jesus in the first church. This is straight after Jesus had died, risen and
ascended.
At first His friends were very scared, but then Pentecost happened
and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and they bravely and boldly began
spreading the message.
All these stories are written in the book in the Bible
called the Acts of the Apostles. ‘Apostles’ was the name given to these
disciples of Jesus, meaning ‘leaders’.
The leader of these apostles was our
fisherman friend called Peter – remember him?
On the day of Pentecost he preached to the
people and 3 000 believed and became Christians.
They all prayed together and had lessons
like we are and had communion like Jesus taught them to have.
One day Peter and John were going to the
temple to pray and at the gate was a beggar. He was lame and every day he sat
there to ask for money.
He begged Peter and John to give him money. They
stopped and Peter said:” I have no money for you, but in the name of Jesus
Christ of Nazareth I command you to get up and walk.”
He did!! He jumped and
ran!
He went into the temple and praised God.
Some priests, officers and temple guards arrived and arrested Peter and John
and threw them into jail. The next day they had to come before the High Priest
and others and they were asked how they did this. Peter told them all about the
power of Jesus and how they had crucified Him but He was raised from death.
They didn’t know what to say, so they
released the men telling them that they were not allowed to preach in the name
of Jesus any more.
Peter said that they couldn’t stop speaking
of what they had seen and heard.
Peter and John went back to all the other
believers and they praised God together. They asked God to make them bold and
help them to carry on spreading the Good News. The building where they were
meeting shook with the power of God.
Much later on Peter was arrested again,
this time by King Herod.
His friend James was put to death by a sword and Peter
was going to be next.
Peter was in jail and he was fast asleep with two guards.
He was chained and there were two other guards on duty at the
prison gate.
Suddenly an angel was shaking him to wake him up. The chains just
fell off Peter and he put his sandals on and followed the angel out of the
prison.
He actually thought he was dreaming. The gate opened for him and then
the angel left him. He went to the house where the rest of the disciples were
praying all night for him.
Peter knocked on the door and Rhoda the servant girl
saw who it was. She was so excited that she ran to tell the others but forgot
to let him in.
Eventually he went inside and told everyone what had happened.
They were amazed. The next morning Herod sent for Peter and when he couldn’t be
found in jail, he had all those guards put to death.
Peter traveled everywhere and one day he
was called to go to Joppa because a wonderful lady there called Dorcas had
died.
The people loved her and they all gathered around him and showed him the
clothes she had made for them. He was taken upstairs were her body lay.
He
knelt down and prayed and then he said “Get up!”
She did and everyone was
amazed and praised God. The news spread everywhere.
Quick Quiz
1.What does Peter’s name mean? (Rock)
2.What was Peter’s brother’s name? (Andrew)
3.What was Peter’s occupation? (Fisherman)
4.What did He say about Jesus when Jesus
asked who he thought He was? (Son of God)
5.How many times did Peter deny Jesus? (3)
6.What did Peter walk on to meet Jesus?
(Water)
7.How many people were converted when Peter
first preached? (3 000)
8.What books in the Bible did he write?
(First and 2nd letters of Peter)
9. In whose name did he heal the lame man?
(Jesus)
10. What was the lady’s name that he prayed
would live again? (Dorcas)
Application
He wasn’t afraid even in jail. He
was so secure that he was fast asleep and the angel had to shake him to wake
him up. That is wonderful faith.
We can also grow like
Peter, even if we let Jesus down sometimes, we can also become stronger and do
more and more things in His name.
There will be times
for us when just like Peter and John we will have to decide whether to obey the
voices of people or the voice of God.
The leaders told Peter and John not to
speak about Jesus. God told them to spread the news. Who did they listen to and
whom will you listen to?
A friend might encourage you to steal. Do you listen
to that voice or the voice of God telling you that all stealing is wrong?
Will you keep quiet
about the Gospel if you are ever told to? Is it the right thing to spread the
Gospel? See Matthew 28:19,20
Challenge to Mission
Peter gave his whole
life to spread the Gospel and went everywhere telling people about Jesus. He
knew it was the right thing to do and even if he suffered he carried on anyway.
Who can we tell this week that Jesus loves them and died for them?
There is a work sheet
of pictures showing Peter preaching and healing. There are the 10 quiz
questions too and the memory verse.
Memory Verse
“We cannot stop speaking of what we
ourselves have seen and heard” Acts 4:20
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