Worship hee Worship Theme - Parkway Churchbfwbc.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/session_11.pdf · 132 KidsOwn Worship • Spring Quarter Worship Theme: God uses his power to reach

11Session

Worship Theme:

Weaving Faith Into Life:

Paul’s Jailer Believes in JesusActs 16:16-34

132 KidsOwn Worship • Spring Quarter

Worship Theme: God uses his power to reach us.

Weaving Faith Into Life: Children will praise God for the way he uses his power to reach us.

Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies

Let’s Praise God!

(up to 25 minutes)

Sing• “He’s the King” (track 13)• “Everybody Ought to Know” (track 6) • “Confess With Your Mouth” (Romans 10:9) (track 23)

• “That You May Believe” (John 20:31) (track 18)• “A New Creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17) (track 25)• “His Great Love” (Romans 5:8) (track 14)• “If We Confess” (1 John 1:9) (track 17)

KidsOwn Worship Kit:Songs From FaithWeaver

Classroom Supplies: CD player, life-preserver ring, Life Savers candies, bowl


Let’s Learn the Point!

(up to 25 minutes)

Earthquake!Hear the Bible story to learn that God uses his power to reach people.

God Finds MePlay a game to learn that God always knows where we are and uses his power to reach us.

* Love ReachesPractice reaching, thank God for reaching us, and share God’s love.

Session 11 • KidsOwn Worship 133



(up to 25 minutes)

* God’s Power Reaches UsIdentify where God’s power is needed and trust him to bring help.

KidsOwn Worship Kit:Songs From FaithWeaver: “Persevere!” (James 1:2-3) (track 24)

Classroom Supplies: CD player, marshmallows

* Power!Draw powerful pictures and thank God for reaching out to them.

Classroom Supplies: Paper, markers

God Can Do It!Watch a demonstration and discuss how God finds ways to reach us.

Classroom Supplies: Balloon, pin, pitcher, glass, water, 3 feet of string


Let’s Pray! (up to 10 minutes)

The OfferingOffer their gifts to God.

KidsOwn Worship Kit:Songs From FaithWeaver: “Confess WithYour Mouth” (Romans 10:9) (track 23)

Classroom Supplies:Offering bowls, CD player

Thank You, GodThank God for reaching us with his powerful love.

Classroom Supplies: Ball of string

“Let’s Go!”Praise God for using his power to reach us.

KidsOwn Worship Kit:Songs From FaithWeaver: “Let’s Go!” (Ephesians 2:10) (track 7)

Classroom Supplies:CD player

* Starred activities can be used successfully with preschool and elementary children together.

Customize your session to fit your needs. You can separate preschoolers and elementary children for Section 2.

Or, if you keep the children all together for the entire worship session, we suggest you choose from the starred activities.


Paul and his companions were probably on their way to the place of prayer where they had met Lydia when they ran into a demon-possessed slave girl. This slave girl was apparently considered to be inspired by Apollo, the god who gave oracles. The words she spoke under the influence of the power within her were thought to be the words of Apollo, and she was in demand for telling people’s fortunes.

Why did she follow Paul and his team, shouting out the truth about them? She may have done this to create commotion and confuse people. Paul couldn’t accept the words of someone controlled by a demon. Had he done so, the gospel he was preaching could have been assumed to be linked with the girl’s utterances, thereby hindering people’s understanding of Paul’s message.

When Paul cast the demon out of the girl, she lost her ability to tell fortunes. Therefore, her owners saw Paul’s actions as an attack on their property. They saw Paul and his companions as Jews propagating outlandish beliefs. On the basis of the owners’ accusations, Paul and Silas were flogged and put in jail.

This time when God freed his servants from jail, he essentially freed everyone in the jail. Why didn’t everyone flee? Perhaps they stayed because of the impression Paul and Silas had on them when they were singing hymns at midnight in spite of their chains!

The Romans dealt severely with jailers who were unable to deliver their prisoners at the appointed time. Assuming that all the prisoners had escaped as a result of the earthquake opening the gates, the jailer thought he would die at the hands of his superiors. Taking his own life seemed a better choice at that point. Only a shout from Paul stopped him. When the jailer realized that all the prisoners were still there, he was ready to accept Paul’s message. And Paul’s message was clear: “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.”

It was not against any rule for the jailer to take Paul and Silas to his own home. The jailer was commissioned only to produce the prisoners when they were called for. After what had happened that night, he probably didn’t fear that they would try to escape. Instead, he took care of their wounds from the flogging, gave them some good food, and rejoiced in the salvation he had received. Paul and Silas undoubtedly realized that the flogging and imprisonment they had endured were worth the joy that salvation had brought to the Philippian jailer!

Bible Background for Leaders


Devotion for LeadersThe jailer and his family weren’t won so much by the words Paul and Silas spoke. Paul and Silas were the real deal. Their attitudes and behaviors reinforced their message. The vibrancy and realness of your relationship with Jesus is capturing the attention of others around you.

Weaving Faith Into Your Life: The young slave girl was said to be possessed by an evil spirit. She was being controlled by this spirit force. A believer is filled with God’s Holy Spirit. Are you allowing yourself to be controlled by his presence? Are you helping your students find the freedom they‘re seeking from the grip the world may have on them? Make a conscious effort to yield yourself to God’s Spirit more and more, and watch how he can use you as you minister to your students.


Why We Worship for LeadersNo matter how far we stray from God, his powerful love reaches us and draws us to redemption. This redeeming love is evidenced throughout history as God orchestrates incredible events to bring his wandering children back to him. Today we see a demonstration of this loving, powerful Creator reaching out to a common, hard-working man—a guard in the Philippi prison.

When Paul and Silas were in jail, God reached the jailer by demonstrating his power in an earthquake. Because of the faithful actions and testimony of Paul and Silas, the jailer’s life was spared, and he and his family became believers. Today we worship God because he uses this same power to reach us. God’s power is infinite and always has the same result—he reaches us and brings us closer to him. Let’s worship God for that!

Easy Prep for LeadersLet’s Praise God!—Place a bowl of Life Savers candies on a table near the entrance. You’ll need at least one piece of candy for each child. Also, purchase an inexpensive life-preserver ring from a party store or borrow a real one from a community pool.

God’s Power Reaches Us—Provide several bags of marshmallows.

God Can Do It!—You’ll need an inflated balloon and a pin. You’ll also need a small pitcher with a spout, filled two-thirds full with water; a glass; and a 3-foot long string. Practice the demonstration once or twice so you can do it smoothly.

Preschool Activities—Refer to the preschool pages for preparations.

Let’s Praise God!Play Songs From FaithWeaver as children arrive. Greet each child by name. Offer each one a Life Savers candy, and say, “God is our lifesaver!”

Hello, everyone! Today we worship God because he uses his power to reach us. He loves us with a great and powerful love. Let’s start our worship by singing about our great King.

Sing “He’s the King.”

Lyrics are in the back of this book.

Hold up the life-preserver ring.

• What is this used for? (To save people from drowning; to float.)

Life-preserver rings are tossed to people in the water who are in danger of drowning. The life preservers help them stay afloat. Often a rope is attached to the ring. If you’re in a boating or swimming accident or in a pool and can’t get out, someone can throw this ring to you and pull you to safety.

Track 13

ALLERGY ALERTSee Session 2.

For additional worship songs each week, check out the Sing & Praise DVD

included with your KidsOwn Worship Kit.

Toss the ring into the group of children. Have the child who catches it come and stand next to you.

God uses his power to reach us in sort of the same way I tossed this life preserver out and [name of child] caught it. God’s love pulls us to him. Let’s show God’s love to [name of child] and name some things we think are awesome about [him or her]. Encourage the children to name actions and characteristics. They might say, “You always show up for children’s church—you’re faithful,” “You’re kind to others,” “You tell funny jokes and make us laugh,” or “You bring friends to church—that’s awesome.” Then have the child sit down.

Now quickly tell the person next to you why he or she is awesome.

• Who or what is the most powerful person or thing you can think of? (My dad; my teacher; Superman.)

God is even more powerful than that! God uses his power to reach us and to love us. That’s reason to worship! He’s more powerful than anything created in heaven or on earth. So, no matter how hard our life is or how bad we might think we are, God is more powerful. Everybody ought to know that, right?

Sing “Everybody Ought to Know.”


When you came to children’s church today, someone offered you a Life Savers candy and said, “God is our lifesaver.”

• How is God our lifesaver? (He saves us from our sins; if we believe in Jesus, we’ll live forever with him.)

• Who did God send to reach us with his love? (Jesus; his Son.)

• How did we see God’s great power after Jesus died on the cross? (Jesus rose from the dead; Jesus came back to life.)

Jesus was raised from the dead with God’s great power. He was sent to earth to reach us and help us. And when we believe in him, we get to be in heaven with Jesus forever! That’s great news!

Sing “Confess With Your Mouth” (Romans 10:9).


Some people think that a powerful God who can do anything is too busy to care about each one of us. But he can do anything he wants—and he wants to reach us! He loves us and wants us to be with him. In the book of John in the Bible, Jesus tells us, “In my Father’s house are many rooms…I am going there to prepare a place for you.” Let’s thank Jesus for that.

Track 6

Track 23



Sing “That You May Believe” (John 20:31).


Sometimes God reaches us when we’re praying or reading his Word. Sometimes God uses people to reach out to us and love us. Sometimes he uses circumstances or things. He arranges them in amazing ways so that we know he is real and he loves us.

Share an example from your life of God reaching out to you so that you felt closer to him and knew he was real because of your experience.

• Have you experienced God reaching out to you in love? Tell us about it. (Answers will vary.)

• How do you feel when God or someone else reaches out to you? (Good; special; loved.)

Reach out to the people next to you, and put your arms around their shoulders as we sing our next song. When we sing that “we have been made new!” reach toward heaven before putting your arms on each other’s shoulders again.

Sing “A New Creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17).


God wants to reach everyone, not just us in this room. We can pray that God will reach our friends and family, too. In our Bible story today, we’ll see that God uses a powerful event to reach people who don’t yet believe in him.

Raise your hand if you can think of someone you would like God to reach. (Pause.) Let’s take a minute to ask God silently to reach that person. (Pause for a moment of silent prayer.)

God is always working to bring people to him. We praise him today for using his power to help us know who he is. God wants to reach us with his message of love and forgiveness so we can be with him forever. Let’s sing about God’s great love for us.

Sing “His Great Love” (Romans 5:8).


When God uses his power to reach us, nothing pleases him more than our responding to him in love. As we sing our last song, let’s give God our greatest gift—our hearts. Let’s commit our lives to him and ask him to purify our hearts and make us ready to do his will.

Sing “If We Confess“ (1 John 1:9).


God, we thank you for using your power to reach us. In many ways and at many times, you have shown your love for us. Help us reach out to others with that same love. Thank you for being our friend and Savior. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Track 18

Track 25

Track 14

Track 17



Preschool Activities, pages 139-140At this time, have the preschool leader invite the preschoolers to go to

their own room for this section of activities. Tear out the Preschool Activities page, and give it to the preschool leader. Have the preschool leader bring the preschoolers back to participate in Let’s Pray! with the older children. If you prefer to keep all the children together, do the starred (*) activities. They work well with both elementary and preschool children.

Elementary Activities

* God’s Power Reaches UsOne time Paul and Silas were thrown into prison for preaching about Jesus. They were beaten and wrongly accused, but they worshipped God instead of being angry and upset. And a powerful thing happened because they did.

• What happened to Paul and Silas? Tell us about it. (They went to jail for talking about Jesus; they got beat up, but they still loved God.)

God caused a great earthquake to shake the jail until the doors flew open and everyone’s chains fell off. The jailer was terrified that he would be blamed for everyone escaping, so he decided to kill himself. But Paul and Silas didn’t run away. They stopped the jailer from hurting himself and told him about Jesus. He and his whole family believed and were baptized.

• Who was in trouble and needed God’s power in the story? (Paul and Silas; everybody did.)

Everyone needed God’s power! Paul and Silas were in chains in prison. They needed to be set free. But the jailer wasn’t free either. He needed to know Jesus.

• How did God use his power to reach the people in this story? (He made an earthquake; he rescued Paul and Silas; he made the jailer believe in Jesus.)

• How does God use his power to reach us today? (He rescues us when we’re in trouble; he helps us believe in Jesus.)

Sometimes we have situations that we need Jesus’ help with. Maybe you or someone you know is sick and needs healing or maybe you know someone who needs friends. Maybe people in your family don’t know Jesus. They’re like the jailer, and you’re praying that God will reach them. Take a moment to think of the ways that you need to see God’s power in your life.

Have kids wash their hands, and then pass around the marshmallows. .

(continued on page 141)

ALLERGY ALERTSee Session 2.

11Session

Preschool Activities



Earthquake!Have children sit on the floor. Surround them with a circle of chairs so that the seats of the chairs are facing away from the children.

Our Bible story today tells us how an earthquake helped people believe in Jesus.

• What is an earthquake?

• Is an earthquake powerful? Why?

• What can an earthquake do?

Our Bible story is about Paul and Silas, who were put in jail one day for preaching about Jesus. Let’s pretend you are in jail like Paul and Silas. The chairs around you are your jail.

• When Paul and Silas were put in jail, what do you think they did?

They did a surprising thing. They sang songs of praise to God! Let’s sing one of your favorite praise songs. Help the children sing a song they choose.

Then something amazing happened. There was a big earthquake!

Shake two of the chairs, and then lay them on the floor to make an opening in the circle.

God sent a powerful earthquake that opened the jail door.

• What do you think Paul and Silas did?

They didn’t run away even though they could have! When the guard saw the open jail, he was sure the prisoners had escaped. He knew he’d get in bad trouble. But Paul said, “We’re all here!” Let’s say that together. (Pause.)

Then Paul and Silas told the jailer about Jesus. He believed what they said. He was so thankful that they didn’t run away. He was so happy to hear about Jesus that he took Paul and Silas to meet his family. Everyone in his family believed in Jesus, and everyone was baptized.

• How did God help the guard and his family believe?

God used his power to show them he was real! God uses his power to reach us, too. Let’s sing our praise song one more time and shake these chairs as if an earthquake is happening. Then let’s move them back where they belong!

Worship Theme:

God uses his power to reach us.

Easy Prep for LeadersNone necessary.

Using TheoConsider using Theophilus the FaithRetriever puppet today in these ways:

• Have Theo lead the preschoolers from the main worship area to the preschool room.

• Have Theo find the children in the “God Finds Me” activity.

• See the KidsOwn Worship Kit for a puppet skit written for today’s worship session.


God Finds Me• Have you ever been somewhere with your

mom or dad—maybe in a store or the park—and gotten lost? Tell us about it.

You probably didn’t mean to get lost. You just wandered away from your mom for a minute and couldn’t find her again.

• How do you feel when you’re lost?

• If you were lost, why would your mom or dad look for you until you were found?

Sometimes people wander away from God. But God uses his power to reach us and bring us back to him, just as your parents would come and find you if you got lost.

Let’s play a game about God finding us. I’ll pretend to be God, and you pretend to be God’s people. You’ll wander away and get lost by hiding somewhere. Then I’ll come and find you. Give children time to hide somewhere in the room.

I’m coming to find you now. When I reach out to you and call your name, take my hand and come with me. Then we’ll go find others. Find each child, call the child by name, and take the child by the hand until everyone is found.

• Were you really lost?

No, you weren’t lost, because I knew where you were all along. God knows where we are, and he uses his power to reach us.

*Love Reaches Use your hands to show me how you would reach for the sky. (Pause.) That’s great! Now reach down low, as low as you can. (Pause.) Now reach to one side as far as you can. (Pause.) Now to the other side. (Pause.)

Good reaching, everyone! You can reach far! But aren’t you glad that God can reach farther than that? He can reach every person on earth with his love.

• How can we thank God for caring about us so much?

Let’s say, “Thank you God,” and clap for him. (Pause.) Now reach your hands up toward heaven. Say, “Thank you for reaching me, God!”

Paul and Silas reached out to others to tell them about God. We can do that, too. Let’s reach out and take the hands of the people next to us. Turn to each person and say, “God loves you.” (Pause.)

Now let’s scatter around the room and find a place to stand. (Pause.) Don’t move until I come to you. I’m going to reach out to you and give you a big hug to show you God’s love, like Paul and Silas showed the jailer God’s love. After I hug you, you reach out and hug someone else until everyone gets hugged. Ready? Let’s reach out for God’s love!




When the bag of marshmallows comes to you, take out one marshmallow for each person or situation that you need God’s power for. Hold the marshmallows until everyone has some, then wait for my instructions.

These marshmallows represent people or situations in our lives we need God’s power to reach. Let’s build a jail cell with our marshmallows to represent our need for God.

Call on small groups of kids at a time to build a jail by stacking their marshmallows on the table until all the marshmallows are used. Kids can build more than one jail to accommodate everyone’s marshmallows. If they have trouble with the walls tipping over, make a pile or tower instead of walls.

When everyone’s marshmallows have been added to the jail, gather the kids around the table.

This jail represents our need for God. Sometimes we have to persevere—that means to hold on—while we are going through troubles. Now let’s do what Paul and Silas did—worship God before our prayers are answered. Let’s sing “Persevere!” (James 1:2-3) and worship God for helping us hold on in these situations.

Sing “Persevere!” (James 1:2-3).


Our praises honor God. When we trust him, he hears us and helps us because our faith pleases him.

Lord, thank you for using your power to reach us. Help us to trust you this week to work in our lives and the lives of the people we have told you about today. Break down the doors of the jails, Lord, and set us free to love you the way you set Paul, Silas, and the jailer free. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Ask two or three kids to go to the table and shake it to make an “earthquake” so the walls will fall down. Allow kids to eat the marshmallows they want to eat as they put the rest back in the bags.

* Power!Listen to what the Bible says we should do. It says, “Praise [God] for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness” (Psalm 150:2). Let’s spend some time praising God for using mighty acts of power to reach us.

I’m going to give you a piece of paper and a marker. On the left side of your paper, draw yourself. Draw a picture of God on the other side of the piece of paper. Then draw something in the middle that represents how powerful God is. For example, you might draw a big storm or a piece of heavy equipment. Then

Track 24

(continued from page 138)


draw lines or arrows to connect God, the powerful symbol, and the picture of you. While you’re drawing, thank God for using his power to reach out to you.

Give the children four or five minutes to draw their pictures and talk with God.

• Why does God want to reach us? (Because he loves us; because he can use us.)

• Why do you think God uses powerful events to reach us? (To get our attention; so we’ll remember how powerful God is.)

• Was there ever a time in your life you felt God was reaching out to you? Tell us about it. (Answers will vary.)

• How did you respond to God? (I trusted him; I prayed to him.)

God loves each one of us so much that he does lots of different things to reach us with his love. Sometimes God reaches out to us through powerful events. He wants us to know that he’s there for us. God wants us to understand who he is, and he wants us to follow him. Sometimes only a powerful event will make us really pay attention. Let’s learn more about that.

God Can Do It!Put the balloon, pin, glass, and water pitcher on a table so that everyone can see the supplies. Set the pitcher and glass about two feet apart.

While you’re setting up, kids should be talking among themselves. If not, pretend to be busy a little longer until they’re distracted and not focused on you. Then quickly pop the balloon with the pin to startle them and focus their attention on you.

• Why did you suddenly focus your attention on me? (You startled me; you made a loud noise.)

I used noise to get your attention. Sometimes God uses his power to get our attention.

• Why would God use his power to get our attention? (So we notice him; so we know that God’s power can help us.)

He wants us to know that he is God. He wants us to know that he loves us. Do you ever feel that God is too far away to understand you and help you? Do you ever feel that you have a problem that God can’t help you with? If you ever feel that way, you’re not alone.

Sometimes we might feel that God couldn’t possibly reach us. But God can reach you, and sometimes he does it in unusual ways. Imagine that God’s love is this pitcher of water and you are the empty glass waiting for his love and help. Imagine that the pitcher can’t be moved any closer to the glass than it already is.

• How can we get the water into the glass without moving the pitcher closer? Give children time to suggest solutions.

Extra ImpactIf you place the balloon in a large bucket to pop it, the sound is much louder and may be a more powerful attention-getter.

WarningTo avoid potential choking hazards, pick up pieces of the broken balloon promptly.


God uses his power to reach us. He can always find a way to make things happen.

Wet the string in the water, and then tie one end of it to the handle of the pitcher. Pass the string over the mouth of the pitcher, down the spout, and to the glass, about two feet away. Hold the pitcher about a foot up in the air off the table. With your other hand, hold the end of the wet string inside the glass. Slowly pour the water from the pitcher. It will move down the string into the glass without spilling a drop.

I got the water into the glass in an unusual way. God used an earthquake to reach the jailer in our Bible story today. God will do whatever needs to be done in our lives to reach us. Let’s trust him this week to use his power to reach us and everyone we’re praying for.

Let’s Pray!The Offering

God uses his power to reach us. Let’s reach back to him as we give our offerings today. Let’s sing “Confess With Your Mouth” (Romans 10:9) and thank him for loving us. When the bowl comes to you, thank God for reaching out to you, and then place your offering in it if you brought one. Let’s sing our song now as a prayer of praise to God.

Sing “Confess WIth Your Mouth” (Romans 10:9).


Take the offering.

Thank You, GodHold a ball of string in your hand.

God’s love is so powerful, it reaches us in many ways. God used an earthquake to reach the jailer and his family. Some of us shared earlier about ways that God reached us. Since then, others of you may have realized ways God has used his power to reach you.

• How has God reached you? (By helping me believe in Jesus; by helping me not to feel scared during a storm.)

Thank you for sharing those experiences with us. I’m going to start a prayer by thanking God for reaching me. Then I’m going to pull out some string and pass the ball of it to the person next to me. When the string reaches you, say a prayer of thanks, pull more string, and pass the ball of string to the next person. Make sure you keep the string running through your hands or across your lap as we pass it around.

Track 23


Continue until everyone has prayed. Then have kids hold the length of string up to show how long it was when it reached everyone.

Look at the length of the string that reached all of us! And God’s love is much longer than that string! He’s big and powerful enough to reach every person on earth who wants him!

Collect the string and put it aside.

“Let’s Go!”God has done great things for us. He uses his power to reach us in many ways so that we can reach out to others with his love. Let’s reach out to God while we sing and praise God with this song.

Sing “Let’s Go!” (Ephesians 2:10).


God, thank you for using your power to reach us. We want to shout it loud! We ask for your help this week in reaching others with your love. Thank you for sending Jesus to us and for raising him from the dead—the most powerful way of reaching us ever. We worship you and love you. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Track 7

Encouragement for LeadersDear Lord, thank you for being a loving

God, the perfect example of how I should

treat others. Help me reflect your love in my

relationships with my students and my family.

In Jesus’ name, amen.

From Heartfelt Thanks for Helping Kids Love Jesus. Copyright ©

2004 Group Publishing, Inc., Loveland, CO.

Documents

Worship hee Worship Theme - Parkway Churchbfwbc.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/session_11.pdf · 132 KidsOwn Worship • Spring Quarter Worship Theme: God uses his power to reach