1st-5th Grade-Bible Bad Guys: July 19th
¯ Saul and Ananias
Main Point: Nobody is too bad for God
to save and as believers we need to welcome everyone into the family of God.
Bible Reading: Acts 9:1-19, Luke 6:27-28,
Matthew 5:43-44
Memory Verse: Psalm 1:5-6
Christianity had a #1 enemy in Jesus’
time and that was Saul. After living his life as a bad guy, an encounter
with Jesus changed Saul’s life and he became Paul--the most important
missionary in all of church history. No one is too bad or too “far gone” for
God to save and we need to be welcoming to everyone no matter what their pasts
may hold.
Main Lesson:
Last week we began by talking about one
of the worst bad guys of all time--Darth Vader! Darth Vadar began his
life as Anakin Skywalker, a young boy who did all he could to become a kind and
selfless Jedi knight. However, Anakin found himself corrupted by an evil
villain, Darth Sidious, and eventually became one himself.
Luke Skywalker, the hero of the Star
Wars movies, was Vader’s son and when he learned that he was the son of an evil
villain he was very upset. Knowing that good can overcome evil, Luke was
convinced that Vader could once again become a good guy and it turns out he was
right! Vader died destroying Darth Sidious and saving his Luke’s life in the
process.
It seems far fetched to think that such
a horrible bad guy like Darth Vader could become a good guy but there is a very
similar story in the bible! This bible bad guy was named Saul and he is the bad
guy we are focusing on this week.
Saul was a Pharisee and the Pharisees
knew the Old Testament very well. When Jesus came into the story and Christianity
blossomed, Saul didn’t believe that Jesus was the Messiah and saw himself as a
defender of the Old Testament. He stood watch as the Jewish people
murdered the first Christian leader, Stephen, and went on a mission to kill
many many more.
Then Jesus stepped into Saul’s story.
Read Acts 9: 1-9
Can you imagine what it would have been
like to come face to face with the man he was fighting against? For three days
afterward he was blind! In that moment Jesus was no longer just a crazy heretic
preaching things Saul thought were false...Jesus was REAL and clearly revealed
as the son of God!
When you come face-to-face with God you can no longer deny who He is or that Jesus is His son who died for our sins. Jesus can change the heart of even the most wicked bad guy and make it clean again.
That was just the first part of Saul’s
story.
Read Acts 9:10-19
Enter Ananias, an early Christian who
lived his life in fear of Saul. Ananias had witnessed many stonings,
including Stephen’s, and knew how wicked Saul was. So when Jesus told
Ananias to go see Saul how do you think he felt?!
However, Jesus had a plan for Saul and
he needed Ananias to help him carry it out. Ananias was most likely very
scared when he went to see Saul but he went anyway and became one of many
believers to extend a loving hand to Saul. Saul’s sight was restored, he was
baptized, and he started to usher in a new chapter in his life...a chapter that
included Saul becoming Paul and championing Christ in such an impactful way
that believers have been touched by his stories for centuries.
Read Luke 6:27-28
Conclusion:
The hardest thing for us to do is to pursue our enemies in love and pray for them. Deep down we tend to want those that bully us and attack our faith to be hurt in the same way or we want to see them brought to justice. Yet, Jesus teaches us thatwe are not to seek revenge. Jesus’
gift of salvation, grace, and the freedom from shame and guilt he bought us on the cross are for EVERYONE--not just those who have done and said only good guy things.
We need to pray for and
love our enemies so that they too can feel the love of the gifts that Jesus
wants to give them.
Discussion Questions:
1. Do you think it is possible for a super evil bad guy to turn good? Why?
2. How do you think Saul felt after his encounter with Jesus? How would you feel?
3. Why is it important to pray for our enemies?
4. Is there someone in your life who may not be a friend or “good guy” that you can pray for?
Coloring page:
Ananias Helps Saul
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| Click here to download & print the coloring page! |
(This lesson is adapted from https://www.childrens-ministry-deals.com)
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