HD: HIGH DEFINITION @ Beverley Baptist Church
Title:
Sunday Morning Group Plan
Saul & Teka (Letter Writing)
Series: Amazing Acts (With a focus on the
Worldwide Church)
Week: 3 of 6
Date: 04/03/2012
Bible Passage(s): Acts 9:1-43
Memory Verse: 2 Corinthians 4:8-9
Introduction for leaders
Over these six weeks we are doing something a little different. Whilst we are looking
through Characters in the book of Acts we are also going to be considering the
worldwide church and thinking of them as our worldwide family. We will be looking at
stories of children in other countries, thinking about some amazing people who speak &
do for Christ, writing letters and praying for persecuted Christians, and raising money to
buy Bibles for Children around the world. In the resources box you will find a laminated
map that may be helpful, as well as copies of the pray around the world game and the
letter writing kit. If you want to find out more for yourself about the persecuted church
visit - http://www.opendoorsuk.org and you can find Operation World country profiles
at - http://www.operationworld.org
Introduction Activity
Today we’re going to be looking a character in the Bible called Saul and meet a child
called Teka and some other children who we’re going to write to.
Study – Read the story from the Bible (read from the Message then study from the
NIV/NCV)
Saul conducted a zealous campaign to intimidate and eliminate Christians. But when
Jesus himself appeared to Saul on the dusty road to Damascus, he confronted Saul with
his sin. The experience changed Saul forever. He repented of his sin and obeyed Jesus
as Lord. The rest of his life was dedicated to preaching the Good News.
1. What type of people do we assume are “lost causes”?
2. Why was Saul headed toward Damascus? (9:1-3)
3. What did Saul learn on the road to Damascus? How? (9:3-5)
4. What resulted from Saul’s spectacular encounter with the risen Christ? (18-22, 28-29)
5. How did people respond to Saul after his conversion? (9:11-17, 26-27)
6. How does the story of Saul’s dramatic conversion encourage you?
7. Why do we sometimes give up praying for unbelieving friends or family members?
8. In what way are all people “lost causes” in God’s eyes?
9. How can you thank God for reaching down and saving you?
10. Who is one unsaved person you will commit to pray for every day this week?
The HD Curriculum can be found at http://beverleybaptist.com/hdresources/ . Created using resources
from Open Doors, Ilumina Gold Teachers Edition, Urban Saints Energize and original ideas.
All activities licensed / used with permission. Not to be used outside permitted BBC activities.
HD: HIGH DEFINITION @ Beverley Baptist Church
Sunday Morning Group Plan
Main Activity
Sending a card is an easy way for children to show love to another member of their
God-given family. And that's true even when they live worlds apart.
Receiving letters and cards from the Open Doors family gives persecuted Christians and
their children much-needed encouragement and support. Many families tell how their
children run home after school to see if the post has arrived, often hanging up the most
colourful cards on their walls.
You can get free copies of the kidzone letter writing guide from Open Doors at http://opendoorsuk.org/kidzone - AndyG also has copies.
Use the Parent and Teaching Guide within the pack to tell the story of Teka.
Hand out a set of the cards and lay them map side up. See if the children can put the
world map together. Tell them that there are many more secret children like Teka
around the world.
When the map is together it will show the bigger family of God. Then flip over the cards
and ask children to read one or more of the children's stories.
Pray for the children you are going to write to.
Display useful phrases and Bible verses and distribute card/letter making materials
(there is an instruction card and photocopyable designs in the letter writing pack).Make
sure the cards do not mention open doors, check they are not too heavy or fragile to
post.
Once finished, display the cards, read snippets and give each child the prayer
bookmark to take away as a reminder to pray.
Game (only if time)
You will need: copies of the Yut board, pens, counters, Yut sticks or dice (Beforehand:
teach your helpers how to play the game.)
This is a traditional game in Korea that is often played by families on New Year’s Day.It
can be played by any number of people, in teams, but for this session it would be
easiest to play it in pairs. Each pair will need one Yut board, 4 Yut sticks, 2 counters and
2 pens. For each extra person you will need an extra counter and pen.
Suppose two people play the game. One of them throws the sticks first. The sticks have
two sides; the upside is rounded and the downside is flat. If the flat side lands
uppermost, it means the player gets one point and moves forward one step on the
game board. Two, three or four flat sides up means two, three or four points and the
player moves forward that number of steps.
The HD Curriculum can be found at http://beverleybaptist.com/hdresources/ . Created using resources
from Open Doors, Ilumina Gold Teachers Edition, Urban Saints Energize and original ideas.
All activities licensed / used with permission. Not to be used outside permitted BBC activities.
HD: HIGH DEFINITION @ Beverley Baptist Church
Sunday Morning Group Plan
Four rounded sides upwards means five points; move forward five steps. Players mark
down the points they get for each move and add them up at the end. To win this
game, you have to get the most points and arrive back at the home circle first. For
more details about the rules visit: www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yut
Note on yut sticks (Saw off about 4cm lengths of wooden dowelling, then split in half
and sand down. Give this job to someone who likes woodwork! If you can’t make sticks,
each set of players will need a die instead.)
Reflection
Watch http://www.opendoorsuk.org/resources/secretchildren/video_change_world.html
The young people may find some of the content of this video disturbing. Many of the
children speaking are younger or similar in age to them. We can write but we also need
to pray for the secret children. Move into a time of prayer, encourage them to use the
prayer bookmark to continue their prayers during the week. Remind them about our
collection in a few weeks time.
Memory Verse Activity
“We often suffer, but we are never crushed. Even when we don’t know what to do, we
never give up. In times of trouble, God is with us, and when we are knocked down, we
get up again.” 2 Corinthians 4:8-9
Prayer
Spend time thanking God that we are able to be Christians without fear of persecution
in this country. Pray that God would help us to be bold in living our faith out loud, and
that we wouldn’t take our freedom and faith for granted.
The HD Curriculum can be found at http://beverleybaptist.com/hdresources/ . Created using resources
from Open Doors, Ilumina Gold Teachers Edition, Urban Saints Energize and original ideas.
All activities licensed / used with permission. Not to be used outside permitted BBC activities.
HD: HIGH DEFINITION @ Beverley Baptist Church
Sunday Morning Group Plan
The HD Curriculum can be found at http://beverleybaptist.com/hdresources/ . Created using resources
from Open Doors, Ilumina Gold Teachers Edition, Urban Saints Energize and original ideas.
All activities licensed / used with permission. Not to be used outside permitted BBC activities.