Paul s First Missionary Journey Acts 12:25-13:52

Lesson 298 Paul s First Missionary Journey Acts 12:25-13:52

MEMORY VERSE ACTS 13:47 "For so the Lord has com m anded us: 'I have set you to be a light to the Gentiles, that you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.' " WHAT YOU WILL NEED: A salt dough made from 1 cup flour, 1 tablespoon salad oil, 1 cup water, 1/2 cup salt, 2 teaspoons cream of tartar, and food coloring. Disposable plastic cups and string. ATTENTION GRABBER! It s My Call Make the salt dough recipe. Give each child a lump of dough to form whatever he wants. 1cup flour 1tablespoon salad oil 1cup water 1/2cup salt 2teaspoons cream of tartar food coloring Combine all the ingredients in a large saucepan. Use a wooden spoon to stir over medium heat. Stir constantly to prevent sticking. The mixture will be soupy for several minutes and then suddenly it will stick together and can be stirred into a ball. When it thickens, remove from the heat and continue stirring. Turn the ball out onto a floured surface and begin kneading it as it cools. This dough keeps soft in the refrigerator or may be air-dried until hard.

Explain to your class that it s God s call to form whatever He wants out of our lives, just like a lump of dough. Are we willing to let Him makes us what He wants? God has a calling on the life of every one of His children. LESSON TIME! Have you heard your parents or teachers talk about missionaries? Missionaries are people that God has chosen to take the good news about Jesus to other nations where they have not heard about Him. Missionaries can also be sent by God to people here in our own country who need to hear the good news of Jesus. Jesus said in Acts 1:8, You shall receive power after the Holy Ghost has come upon you and you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. Paul and Barnabas were missionaries chosen by God to take the news of Jesus to the Gentile (non-jewish) nations. Today s lesson is about Paul s first missionary journey. Paul was going to be used by God to take the news of Jesus to places it had never been heard of. God uses people today all over the world to spread His word. Maybe He would like to use you and me if we are willing. God has a calling on the life of every one of His children. AC T S 12:25-13:5 An d B ar n abas an d S au l r e t u r n e d f r o m J e r u s al e m w h e n t h e y h ad f u l f i l l e d t h e i r m i n i s t r y, an d t h e y al s o t o o k w i t h t h e m J o h n w h o s e s u r n am e w as M ar k. N o w i n t h e c h u r c h t h at w as at An t i o c h t h e r e w e r e c e r t ai n p r o p h e t s an d t e ac h e r s : B ar n abas, S i m e o n w h o w as c al l e d N i ge r, L u c i u s o f C y r e n e, M an ae n w h o h ad be e n br o u gh t u p w i t h H e r o d t h e t e t r ar c h, an d S au l.

As t h e y m i n i s t e r e d t o t h e L o r d an d f as t e d, t h e H o l y S p i r i t s ai d, " N o w s e p ar at e t o M e B ar n abas an d S au l f o r t h e w o r k t o w h i c h I h av e c al l e d t h e m. " T h e n, h av i n g f as t e d an d p r ay e d, an d l ai d h an d s o n t h e m, t h e y s e n t t h e m aw ay. S o, be i n g s e n t o u t by t h e H o l y S p i r i t, t h e y w e n t d o w n t o S e l e u c i a, an d f r o m t h e r e t h e y s ai l e d t o C y p r u s. An d w h e n t h e y ar r i v e d i n S al am i s, t h e y p r e ac h e d t h e w o r d o f G o d i n t h e s y n ago gu e s o f t h e J e w s. T h e y al s o h ad J o h n as t h e i r as s i s t an t. The church at Antioch sent Saul (Paul) and Barnabas, accompanied by John Mark, as missionaries. God has a calling on the life of every one of His children. There are a lot of things we can learn about serving God in the verses that we are going to look at today. Let s look at a few things at the beginning of our story that will help us to learn about what it means to be a servant of God and how we can be used by God. The first thing we notice is that Paul and Barnabas were being faithful in what God was having them to do in their home church. Sometimes we may think that we are going to do a great work for the Lord someday. Over and over again in the Bible you see that God uses those people who are busy serving Him right now, especially in the little things. We should be busy doing what He would have us to do here and then He will use us for greater things. The next thing that we see is that Paul and Barnabas, along with the church, was seeking the Lord for direction. They were fasting and praying, seeking Him for what He would have them do next in reaching out to the world. We can come up with all kinds of different ideas about reaching people, but it is very important to

know what God thinks. What are His plans about reaching others? Only after we have sought Him can we move forward in anything. Then we see that everything that was done by Paul and Barnabas was a work of the Holy Spirit. We see the Holy Spirit separated Paul and Barnabas for this work of ministry. They were chosen and equipped by the Holy Spirit to be the first to go out into the uttermost parts of the world to share the gospel. One more important thing we see is that Paul and Barnabas were ready to go when God did call them. So we can learn when seeking God s will for our lives that we should be busy doing what we know God wants us to do. Next we need to seek Him in prayer. Then we should allow Him to speak to our hearts about what He would like for us to do for Him. And finally, be willing to go when He says go. We now see Paul and Barnabas going on their first missionary journey. At first the missionaries first taught in the Jewish synagogues. They gave the Jews in that location the first opportunity to respond and then they would go to the gentiles. As they traveled they met a Jewish sorcerer, a false prophet named Bar-Jesus, and his employer, proconsul Sergius Paulus. Let s find out what happens. AC T S 13:6-12 N o w w h e n t h e y h ad go n e t h r o u gh t h e i s l an d t o Pap h o s, t h e y f o u n d a c e r t ai n s o r c e r e r, a f al s e p r o p h e t, a J e w w h o s e n am e w as B ar -J e s u s, w h o w as w i t h t h e p r o c o n s u l, S e r gi u s Pau l u s, an i n t e l l i ge n t m an. T h i s m an c al l e d f o r B ar n abas an d S au l an d s o u gh t t o h e ar t h e w o r d o f G o d. B u t El y m as t h e s o r c e r e r (f o r s o h i s n am e i s t r an s l at e d ) w i t h s t o o d t h e m, s e e k i n g t o t u r n t h e p r o c o n s u l aw ay f r o m t h e f ai t h.

T h e n S au l, w h o al s o i s c al l e d Pau l, f i l l e d w i t h t h e H o l y S p i r i t, l o o k e d i n t e n t l y at h i m an d s ai d, " O f u l l o f al l d e c e i t an d al l f r au d, y o u s o n o f t h e d e v i l, y o u e n e m y o f al l r i gh t e o u s n e s s, w i l l y o u n o t c e as e p e r v e r t i n g t h e s t r ai gh t w ay s o f t h e L o r d? " An d n o w, i n d e e d, t h e h an d o f t h e L o r d i s u p o n y o u, an d y o u s h al l be bl i n d, n o t s e e i n g t h e s u n f o r a t i m e. " An d i m m e d i at e l y a d ar k m i s t f e l l o n h i m, an d h e w e n t ar o u n d s e e k i n g s o m e o n e t o l e ad h i m by t h e h an d. T h e n t h e p r o c o n s u l be l i e v e d, w h e n h e s aw w h at h ad be e n d o n e, be i n g as t o n i s h e d at t h e t e ac h i n g o f t h e L o r d. The proconsul wanted to hear God s Word but the sorcerer opposed. Since the sorcerer was blind spiritually, God also made him temporarily blind physically. When the proconsul saw what happened, he believed Paul s teachings about Jesus. Then Paul and Barnabas continued on their missionary journey. God has a calling on the life of every one of His children. Sometimes the Lord may call us to be very honest with others about their condition. We should never be judgmental towards others, but the truth is that when people give their lives over to sin it will only lead to their destruction. Part of accepting the gospel is realizing we are sinners. Paul had to speak very plainly to this man. Everything that the Lord did through Paul led to the salvation of this city leader. AC T S 13:13-14 N o w w h e n Pau l an d h i s p ar t y s e t s ai l f r o m Pap h o s, t h e y c am e t o Pe r ga i n Pam p h y l i a; an d J o h n, d e p ar t i n g f r o m t h e m, r e t u r n e d t o J e r u s al e m.

B u t w h e n t h e y d e p ar t e d f r o m Pe r ga, t h e y c am e t o An t i o c h i n Pi s i d i a, an d w e n t i n t o t h e s y n ago gu e o n t h e S abbat h d ay an d s at d o w n. As the three men continued to travel, John Mark left the group and returned to Jerusalem. This action would cause a rift between Paul and Barnabas later, but God would eventually make it work together for everyone s good (Romans 8:28). God has a calling on the life of every one of His children. Since Paul and Barnabas were visiting teachers, they were invited to teach in the synagogue; this was Jewish custom. Paul taught a sermon about Jewish history and how it related to Jesus, the Messiah. AC T S 13:15-41 An d af t e r t h e r e ad i n g o f t h e L aw an d t h e Pr o p h e t s, t h e r u l e r s o f t h e s y n ago gu e s e n t t o t h e m, s ay i n g, " M e n an d br e t h r e n, i f y o u h av e an y w o r d o f e x h o r t at i o n f o r t h e p e o p l e, s ay o n. " T h e n Pau l s t o o d u p, an d m o t i o n i n g w i t h h i s h an d s ai d, " M e n o f I s r ae l, an d y o u w h o f e ar G o d, l i s t e n : " T h e G o d o f t h i s p e o p l e I s r ae l c h o s e o u r f at h e r s, an d e x al t e d t h e p e o p l e w h e n t h e y d w e l t as s t r an ge r s i n t h e l an d o f Egy p t, an d w i t h an u p l i f t e d ar m H e br o u gh t t h e m o u t o f i t. " N o w f o r a t i m e o f abo u t f o r t y y e ar s H e p u t u p w i t h t h e i r w ay s i n t h e w i l d e r n e s s. " An d w h e n H e h ad d e s t r o y e d s e v e n n at i o n s i n t h e l an d o f C an aan, H e d i s t r i bu t e d t h e i r l an d t o t h e m by al l o t m e n t.

" Af t e r t h at H e gav e t h e m j u d ge s f o r abo u t f o u r h u n d r e d an d f i f t y y e ar s, u n t i l S am u e l t h e p r o p h e t. " An d af t e r w ar d t h e y as k e d f o r a k i n g; s o G o d gav e t h e m S au l t h e s o n o f Ki s h, a m an o f t h e t r i be o f B e n j am i n, f o r f o r t y y e ar s. " An d w h e n H e h ad r e m o v e d h i m, H e r ai s e d u p f o r t h e m D av i d as k i n g, t o w h o m al s o H e gav e t e s t i m o n y an d s ai d, ' I h av e f o u n d D av i d t h e s o n o f J e s s e, a m an af t e r M y o w n h e ar t, w h o w i l l d o al l M y w i l l. ' " F r o m t h i s m an ' s s e e d, ac c o r d i n g t o t h e p r o m i s e, G o d r ai s e d u p f o r I s r ae l a S av i o r ; J e s u s ; " af t e r J o h n h ad f i r s t p r e ac h e d, be f o r e H i s c o m i n g, t h e bap t i s m o f r e p e n t an c e t o al l t h e p e o p l e o f I s r ae l. " An d as J o h n w as f i n i s h i n g h i s c o u r s e, h e s ai d, ' Wh o d o y o u t h i n k I am? I am n o t H e. B u t be h o l d, t h e r e c o m e s O n e af t e r m e, t h e s an d al s o f w h o s e f e e t I am n o t w o r t h y t o l o o s e. ' " M e n an d br e t h r e n, s o n s o f t h e f am i l y o f Abr ah am, an d t h o s e am o n g y o u w h o f e ar G o d, t o y o u t h e w o r d o f t h i s s al v at i o n h as be e n s e n t. " F o r t h o s e w h o d w e l l i n J e r u s al e m, an d t h e i r r u l e r s, be c au s e t h e y d i d n o t k n o w H i m, n o r e v e n t h e v o i c e s o f t h e Pr o p h e t s w h i c h ar e r e ad e v e r y S abbat h, h av e f u l f i l l e d t h e m i n c o n d e m n i n g H i m. " An d t h o u gh t h e y f o u n d n o c au s e f o r d e at h i n H i m, t h e y as k e d Pi l at e t h at H e s h o u l d be p u t t o d e at h.

" N o w w h e n t h e y h ad f u l f i l l e d al l t h at w as w r i t t e n c o n c e r n i n g H i m, t h e y t o o k H i m d o w n f r o m t h e t r e e an d l ai d H i m i n a t o m b. " B u t G o d r ai s e d H i m f r o m t h e d e ad. " H e w as s e e n f o r m an y d ay s by t h o s e w h o c am e u p w i t h H i m f r o m G al i l e e t o J e r u s al e m, w h o ar e H i s w i t n e s s e s t o t h e p e o p l e. " An d w e d e c l ar e t o y o u gl ad t i d i n gs ; t h at p r o m i s e w h i c h w as m ad e t o t h e f at h e r s. " G o d h as f u l f i l l e d t h i s f o r u s t h e i r c h i l d r e n, i n t h at H e h as r ai s e d u p J e s u s. As i t i s al s o w r i t t e n i n t h e s e c o n d Ps al m : ' Y o u ar e M y S o n, T o d ay I h av e be go t t e n Y o u. ' " An d t h at H e r ai s e d H i m f r o m t h e d e ad, n o m o r e t o r e t u r n t o c o r r u p t i o n, H e h as s p o k e n t h u s : ' I w i l l gi v e y o u t h e s u r e m e r c i e s o f D av i d. ' " T h e r e f o r e H e al s o s ay s i n an o t h e r Ps al m : ' Y o u w i l l n o t al l o w Y o u r H o l y O n e t o s e e c o r r u p t i o n. ' " F o r D av i d, af t e r h e h ad s e r v e d h i s o w n ge n e r at i o n by t h e w i l l o f G o d, f e l l as l e e p, w as bu r i e d w i t h h i s f at h e r s, an d s aw c o r r u p t i o n ; " bu t H e w h o m G o d r ai s e d u p s aw n o c o r r u p t i o n. " T h e r e f o r e l e t i t be k n o w n t o y o u, br e t h r e n, t h at t h r o u gh t h i s M an i s p r e ac h e d t o y o u t h e f o r gi v e n e s s o f s i n s ;

" an d by H i m e v e r y o n e w h o be l i e v e s i s j u s t i f i e d f r o m al l t h i n gs f r o m w h i c h y o u c o u l d n o t be j u s t i f i e d by t h e l aw o f M o s e s. " B e w ar e t h e r e f o r e, l e s t w h at h as be e n s p o k e n i n t h e p r o p h e t s c o m e u p o n y o u : " B e h o l d, y o u d e s p i s e r s, M ar v e l an d p e r i s h! F o r I w o r k a w o r k i n y o u r d ay s, A w o r k w h i c h y o u w i l l by n o m e an s be l i e v e, T h o u gh o n e w e r e t o d e c l ar e i t t o y o u. ' " Paul declared very plainly the gospel of Jesus to the Jewish people. After the sermon, Paul and Barnabas are invited back to tell more about Jesus, but the Jews rejected Paul s teaching about Jesus. Paul then turned to teach the anxious Gentiles. God has a calling on the life of every one of His children. God wants us to share the good news with others. Maybe He would like us to share the gospel with a neighbor or a relative. Or maybe someday He will send you to a foreign country to tell them about Jesus. Wherever the Lord takes us we should always desire to share our faith. What s a Calling? Make plastic cup phones with six feet of string and two disposable plastic cups. Stretch the string tight between the cups and they will really work provided that nothing touches them. Make several pairs and let your class talk to each other with them. Explain to your class that God s calling on our lives is different than a telephone call. God has created each of us for a special purpose; that is our calling. When we live in obedience to Him, we

realize the calling He has placed on our lives. God has a calling on the life of every one of His children. AC T S 13:42-49 S o w h e n t h e J e w s w e n t o u t o f t h e s y n ago gu e, t h e G e n t i l e s be gge d t h at t h e s e w o r d s m i gh t be p r e ac h e d t o t h e m t h e n e x t S abbat h. N o w w h e n t h e c o n gr e gat i o n h ad br o k e n u p, m an y o f t h e J e w s an d d e v o u t p r o s e l y t e s f o l l o w e d Pau l an d B ar n abas, w h o, s p e ak i n g t o t h e m, p e r s u ad e d t h e m t o c o n t i n u e i n t h e gr ac e o f G o d. O n t h e n e x t S abbat h al m o s t t h e w h o l e c i t y c am e t o ge t h e r t o h e ar t h e w o r d o f G o d. B u t w h e n t h e J e w s s aw t h e m u l t i t u d e s, t h e y w e r e f i l l e d w i t h e n v y ; an d c o n t r ad i c t i n g an d bl as p h e m i n g, t h e y o p p o s e d t h e t h i n gs s p o k e n by Pau l. T h e n Pau l an d B ar n abas gr e w bo l d an d s ai d, " I t w as n e c e s s ar y t h at t h e w o r d o f G o d s h o u l d be s p o k e n t o y o u f i r s t ; bu t s i n c e y o u r e j e c t i t, an d j u d ge y o u r s e l v e s u n w o r t h y o f e v e r l as t i n g l i f e, be h o l d, w e t u r n t o t h e G e n t i l e s. " F o r s o t h e L o r d h as c o m m an d e d u s : ' I h av e s e t y o u as a l i gh t t o t h e G e n t i l e s, T h at y o u s h o u l d be f o r s al v at i o n t o t h e e n d s o f t h e e ar t h. ' " N o w w h e n t h e G e n t i l e s h e ar d t h i s, t h e y w e r e gl ad an d gl o r i f i e d t h e w o r d o f t h e L o r d. An d as m an y as h ad be e n ap p o i n t e d t o e t e r n al l i f e be l i e v e d. An d t h e w o r d o f t h e L o r d w as be i n g s p r e ad t h r o u gh o u t al l t h e r e gi o n.

Because Jesus was of Jewish descent, Paul felt they should tell the Jews about Jesus first. When the Jewish nation rejected Jesus, they took the good news to the Gentile (non-jewish) nations. The Gentiles were excited. They believed and accepted Jesus as their Savior. Before they were outsiders; now they were included in God s family. And the Jews persecuted Paul and Barnabas. God has a calling on the life of every one of His children. AC T S 13:50-51 B u t t h e J e w s s t i r r e d u p t h e d e v o u t an d p r o m i n e n t w o m e n an d t h e c h i e f m e n o f t h e c i t y, r ai s e d u p p e r s e c u t i o n agai n s t Pau l an d B ar n abas, an d e x p e l l e d t h e m f r o m t h e i r r e gi o n. B u t t h e y s h o o k o f f t h e d u s t f r o m t h e i r f e e t agai n s t t h e m, an d c am e t o I c o n i u m. Jesus had told the disciples that if they were not received in a city to leave and to shake the dust from their feet to show condemnation. So Paul and Barnabas did this and continued on their journey, and God honored their faithfulness. Many believed in that city and a church was born. Paul and Barnabas now move on to the next place that God is calling them to. God has a calling on the life of every one of His children. AC T S 13:52 An d t h e d i s c i p l e s w e r e f i l l e d w i t h j o y an d w i t h t h e H o l y S p i r i t. God saved many people through the preaching of Paul and Barnabas. Because the disciples were following God s will, they were filled with peace and joy in spite of the circumstances around them. Our church sends missionaries to other nations today. (Mention here something about missionaries supported by your congregation so that the children are aware of current mission work.)

Sometimes they, too, are rejected like Paul and Barnabas were, but there are many that joyously receive Jesus as Savior like the Gentile nations in our lesson. We who stay home do our part to reach others by praying and by raising support for the missionaries. We all work together so the people here and in other nations can learn about Jesus. God has a calling on the life of every one of His children. Jesus loves us all. He died for the whole world and rose again that all who receive Him can have eternal life. He may want to use our lives in some way to share that wonderful news. Let s ask Him and then be ready to say yes to whatever He has for us. God has a calling on the life of every one of His children. What s My Line? Divide your class into two teams. Copy each part of the following two plays and give each team one of the plays. Let them practice for five or ten minutes. If you have props, great! Present the plays to the class. PLAY #1 FARMER: I m the framer. I have fertilized my field, plowed it, and planted grain. I have prayed for rain and harvested the wheat and separated it from the chaff. Then I delivered it to the miller. MILLER: I m the miller. I have taken the wheat from the farmer and ground it in my mill to make fine bread flour. BAKER: I m the baker. I have taken the fine bread flour that the miller ground and have mixed it with water, oil, and yeast and made delicious bread. GROCER: I m the grocer. I have put the e bread into my store for people to buy.

MOTHER: I m the mother. I have bought this beautiful bread at the grocery store to fee my family. CHILD: I m the child. Hey, Mom, I m hungry; what s for breakfast? PLAY #2 SHEPHERD: I stay out here in this field all day watching these sheep. Sometimes they fall down and cant get up, so I help them up. Sometimes a hungry wolf will try to steal one of them and I have to chase it away. I make sure they have water and plenty of grass to eat. SHEARER: I come to the farm and cut the wool off of the sheep. It is scary for them so I must wrestle them to the ground and hold them as I cut. It is really just like a haircut and doesn t hurt them. WEAVER: I take the wool and wash it, then I comb it out until it is all untangled. This is called carding. Then I spin the carded wool into yarn. Then the yarn will be threaded onto my loom. On the loom I weave the yarn into cloth. TAILOR: I take the wool cloth and cut it and sew it into a sweater. MERCHANT: I take the sweater and put it into my store. FATHER: I buy the sweater for my son who is a missionary in Tibet; it is very cold there. Explain to your class that each person represented in the skits had a part to play in the making of the real item. Who had the most important job? If anyone of them had not done their job, the final product would be in jeopardy. Every one of the players was necessary. Each person had a contribution. God has a calling on the life of every one of His children. Each one of His children needs to realize God s calling so that he can contribute to the whole

work that God wants to do. Not everyone is called to go. Some are to stay here and support those who go. But everyone s contribution to God s work is important. PRAYER Lead the children in a prayer of commitment to seek the calling God has placed on their lives. If there are any children who have not yet responded to the gospel, give them opportunity to do so.