STORY AT A GLANCE

Gra

de

s 3-4 Leader Guide

Supplies:

Holy MolyDVD

Holy MolyLeaflets

Connect Bibles Scissors Markers

SauL BecomeS PauL

ananias• Jewish disciple of Christ

living in Damascus (Acts 9:10).

• Has a vision from God telling him to help Saul, but is reluctant after hearing all the awful things Saul has done to Christians.

• Helps Saul see again by touching him and filling him with the Holy Spirit.

• Learns how to evangelize, or spread the gospel, through his words and actions.

christians• Members of a fragile new

movement.

• Persecuted for following Jesus, who Rome executed as a criminal.

• Afraid of being killed by men like Saul, so many flee Jerusalem, where the persecution began (Acts 8:1).

Jesus• Ascends to heaven 40

days after his resurrection (Acts 1:3-12), but appears to Saul in a vision.

• Picks Saul to spread his message. Gives Saul a chance for a new, better life.

Saul/Paul• Devoted Pharisee who persecutes

early Christians.

• Sees a vision of Jesus on the road to Damascus. Blinded for 3 days.

• Proclaims the word of Jesus after being healed.

• Writes much of the New Testament in the form of epistles (letters) that help define many Christian beliefs.

• Uses Jewish name Saul when persecuting Jewish Christians; uses Greek name Paul when preaching to Gentiles.

conversion• When someone adopts new

beliefs.

• Saul/Paul continues to see himself as a Jew and follows Jewish laws after being converted. Christianity isn’t a separate religion yet.

KeY VeRSe The Lord said to [Ananias], “Go, for [Saul] is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel.”

acts 9:15

God transforms persecution by Saul to proclamation by Paul.

unfold the strip, then refold it to form a green-bordered hexagon showing Paul’s happy face.

6 Holy moly!We all wear many faces. God loves us no matter what faces we are wearing.

• When do you wear an angry face? A happy face? A worried face?

• How might you pray when you are angry? Happy? Worried?

cLoSING PRaYeR

Fewer kids?Invite kids to make a human train during Connect. All eyes are closed except the leader’s, who is trusted to reveal where they are going.

more time?Kids take turns using their faces and body actions to provide clues in a game of Guess How I’m Feeling!” (happy, excited, scared, mad, tired, and so on.)

more kids?During Get Ready ask kids to find a partner. Partner 1 poses like a statue. Partner 2 closes eyes. Partner 1 makes a small change. Partner 2 opens eyes and tries to identify the change. Switch roles.

Dear God,People change, but your love is always the same. Help us see and cheer for positive changes in ourselves and in others.

amen!

Less time?During Connect ask kids to close their eyes to imagine something they would like to change. Ask them to reveal their answers.

ACTIVITY TIPS

Grades 3-4. Saul Becomes Paul Leader Guide. Holy Moly. wearesparkhouse.org. © 2013 sparkhouse. All rights reserved. May be reproduced for local use only provided each copy carries this notice.

coNTINueS...

(10-15 min.)

(5-10 min.) (5-10 min.)

DIScoVeR

ReLaTe coNNecT

(20-30 min.)

cReaTeGet ReadyInvite kids to think about what it means to change.

• Can you think of some things that change every day?

• Why do these things change?

• What are some things that change more slowly, like the seasons or maybe your height?

• Some things, like mountains, seem to never change. Is that really true?

• Have you ever changed your mind?

• Why do things change?

Introduce the characters• Even after Jesus’ life on earth, leaders of other religions

are afraid of him.

• They think their religion is right and people who follow Jesus are wrong.

• Those leaders have soldiers arrest Christians.

• Saul is a leader of the soldiers.

• He enjoys arresting followers of Jesus, who are very afraid of him.

Watch to see how God calls the man who

avoids being captured.

If time permits, watch it again!

Play the Saul Becomes Paul Video

Talk about the Saul Becomes Paul Video• Why were people afraid of Saul?

• Describe how he was different when he became Paul.

• I wonder if everyone believed Paul was really transformed (changed).

• When have you had a hard time convincing somebody you have changed?

• Have you ever tried to hide who you are or what you like, so others will leave you alone?

• What does it mean to be true to yourself?

open the connect BibleHelp kids find and mark Acts 9:15 on page 1263.

• Look in the table of contents in your Bible to find the section called “Letters of Paul.” Most of these letters are written by Paul, but some may have been written in Paul’s name to honor him. How many books are in this section? Read the names of the “Letters of Paul” together.

Do the Acts 9:1-20 Connect Bible activity on p. 1263.

• God revealed himself to Saul. Reveal is a special word. One meaning is “uncovering something that is hidden.” Ananias helped uncover Saul’s eyes. Cover your eyes. Trust someone else to lead you to a new place, where they can reveal something special to look at.

Draw or describe how you look when afraid/worried or

when happy/safe.

unfold the strip, then refold it to form a yellow-bordered hexagon showing Saul’s frantic face.

5

1

Face IT!: Kids make a triflexagon that shows the changing nature of Saul.

Fold all 9 purple fold lines forward and backward.

3

cut out the triflexagon pattern.

2

Fold strip to form red-bordered hexagon showing Saul’s angry face.

4

Holy moly!Each face shows a different side to your personality. People look at faces for clues about how to treat or react to others.

• What different faces do you think Saul or Paul made?

• How many different faces can you make?

• What face do you want to show the world?