Aim: The ‘Lydia’s Conversion and Baptism’ Childrens Lesson on Acts 16:11-40 will help children think about how they can open their lives to Jesus and welcome Him in, just as Lydia chose to do.
GAME IDEAS:
- Colours. Label the four corners of your room with four different colours. Children dance or move around the room when the music plays, but when it stops they must choose a corner. The leader shouts a corner name and anyone in that corner is eliminated from the game. Keep playing until there is one winner.
SET the Scene:
Read Acts 16:11-40 together. You can even invite some of the children up to the front to play the characters as you read the story.
- Where were they?
- Who went to see Lydia?
- Why was the colour purple important to Lydia?
- What happened when Paul and Silas talked to Lydia?
- How did she react?
- Where did Paul and Silas stay when they were close to Lydia?
SPOT the Simple Meaning:
1) LYDIA WAS OPEN TO JESUS
You will need to have a door close by.
Say: When we are closed to someone then we might push them away or not welcome them in. [Invite someone up and ask them to stand outside. Then shut the door on them.] It’s not a very friendly way to be! Lydia opened her heart to Jesus. When we open a door to someone we are welcoming them in. [Invite the person on the other side into the room; welcome them in.]
We can be like that with Jesus. We need to decide whether we want to welcome him into our lives or shut him out. Only we can decide for ourselves. If we welcome him in then we might need to realise that some things need to change. Just like when you invite someone into your house, you may want to clean up a little. So our lives might need cleaning up a little when we welcome Jesus in… but we don’t need to do the cleaning! Jesus will do that for us! When he comes into our lives he will help us to live for Him. He will help to get rid of anything that isn’t pleasing to Him.
In Revelation 3:20 Jesus says this; “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” Who would like to open the door of their heart and life to Jesus today?
SENSE How You Feel:
Lydia was open to hearing about Jesus. She understood all that Paul and Silas said. Imagine you are Lydia listening to Paul and Silas.
How does it make you feel to hear all about Jesus?
Make a big heart and put images of the things that you love inside (using newspaper cuttings or images off the internet). Is Jesus one of those images?
SEEK God:
Are you open or closed towards Jesus? Are you ready to welcome him into your life today and make Him the most important person in your life?
