We tell others about Jesus
key words
bible reference
Acts 8:26-40
lesson objective
To help the children learn that they can show the love of God by telling the Good News of Jesus.
memory verse
“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God” (1 John 4:7, NIV*).
prepare yourself to teach
Philip, the evangelist of this story, was not one of the twelve, but a Greek Jew converted to Christianity and a faithful servant of the first church of Jerusalem. When the persecution of the Christians in that city began, Philip continued to spread the message of Jesus in Samaria.
An angel of the Lord instructed Philip to come down to the road that crossed between Jerusalem and Gaza. Gaza was a southern city of Palestine, which was 80 kilometers from Jerusalem.
The use of the term “angel of God” indicated that the journey had been originated by God.
Philip could have questioned God or postponed his trip. However, he simply obeyed the voice of God. Philip went to the carriage where an Ethiopian man was reading the book of the prophet Isaiah that spoke of the coming of the Messiah. God had placed them on the same path so that Philip could explain the message to him.
God prepared the Ethiopian to hear the message of Christ and sent Philip to tell him about it. As you prepare for this week’s class, pray to the Lord to prepare the hearts of your children for the message that God has given you to teach them.
adaptation
Thanks to Philip’s obedience, the Ethiopian was able to know Jesus as his Savior and have eternal life. This Bible story has two important teachings for preschoolers. First: There are people who do not know Jesus. Second: There are people who will never know, unless we speak to them about Him.
For these two reasons it is important that we speak to others about Jesus. Through this Bible story, you can sow in your children the desire to preach the gospel of salvation to those who do not know it.
During this stage of development, preschoolers are learning that the world goes beyond them and their families. They are developing the capacity to communicate and talk about the important events that happen around them; they realize the changes and are perceptive to their feelings and emotions.
Therefore, it is the perfect time to teach them that the best way to show others the love of God is by telling them about Jesus.
introduce the lesson
Jesus loves us
For this activity, you will need a sheet of cardboard or paper to make a mural, colored markers, stickers and, if possible, a figure that represents Jesus. On the top of the card write: “Jesus loves us and we love Him”. Place all the materials on a table. Allow the children to draw something that reminds them of Jesus’ love. Then, ask them to decorate the mural using the stickers and markers. Glue the figure of Jesus in the center of the mural.
When the work is finished, tell them: “God wants us to love others. One way to do this is to tell them about Jesus. Let’s stick this sign on the door so that all who see it remember that Jesus loves them.”
teach the lesson
Use some activities to teach the children the Bible lesson.
Philip shares about Jesus
Philip was a man who loved God. He knew Jesus as his personal Savior and preached the Good News of the kingdom of God.
One day an angel told Philip, “Get up and go to the road that is in the desert.”
Philip obeyed and went to the path that the angel had indicated. Then he walked and walked. When he finally reached the place, he saw a man of distinguished appearance. He was Ethiopian and one of the most important officers of the Queen of Ethiopia.
This man loved God and had made a long journey to Jerusalem to worship him. On his way back to his country, he was reading the Scriptures.
This Ethiopian was reading about Jesus. However, he did not understand the meaning of those words because he did not know anything about the Son of God.
Philip saw the man, and God told him, “Get close to his carriage.” Philip obeyed God’s command and approached the Ethiopian.
“Do you understand what you have read?” Philip asked.
“No, how can I understand if nobody teaches me?” the man replied.
Then Philip sat next to the Ethiopian and began to tell him the good news of Jesus. He explained that the Son of God loved him and wanted to be his friend and Savior.
While they were traveling, they found a place where there was water, and the Ethiopian said, “There is water here, can I be baptized?”
Philip answered him, “If you believe with all your heart in the Lord Jesus, of course you can!”
“I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God!” the man replied, very excitedly.
They went down to where the water was and Philip baptized the Ethiopian. When they came out of the water, God took Philip away from there.
The Ethiopian man was very happy and returned home with a transformed heart, with the assurance that Jesus was his friend and Savior.
connect the lesson
Philip and the Ethiopian
Prepare Student Activity Sheet #95-A, #95-B and #95-C before the session. Cut out the three pictures corresponding to this lesson from Student Activity Sheet #95-C and give a set to each child. Hand out Student Activity Sheet #95-A and #95-B. Allow time for the children to write their names, trace the word of faith and color the pictures. Then tell them that in the blank spaces on their activity sheets they should match the corresponding cut outs from Student Activity Sheet #95-C in order to complete the story of Philip and the Ethiopian.
Have the children to Student Activity Sheet #95-B and connect the dots to find out what the Ethiopian official was sitting on.
Encourage the children to take their activities home so they can share today’s lesson with their families and friends.
practice the memory verse
Repeat the Bible verse in different ways, for example: jumping, shouting, applauding, with happy faces, etc. This will help you make learning more fun and your children will review the Bible verse several times.
wrap-up
Pray
Pray for the people to whom they will give their hearts, and for the Lord to allow them to joyfully tell the good news of Jesus.
Encourage
Thank them for their presence in the group and hand them the crafts they made.
Invite
Tell the group you hope to see them again in the next session, and to invite friends to also come.
* Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™