Children’s Lesson for March 26, 2020
Acts 6
In today’s Bible Lesson, we are going to learn about Stephen. Stephen knew that it was very important to tell others about Jesus. It is amazing what God can do through a person who obeys Him. There are so many people in the world who have been tested in their faith just as Stephen was. In our Bible reading lesson today, we meet a man who had a very strong faith in Jesus.
Stephen was called, with some other men to take care of needy individuals, but Stephen did more than to look after the needy ones. He began to preach the gospel of Christ, and he began to preach with such power that it made everyone who heard him feel the truth of Jesus! Stephen had the kind of faith that stands before the world and speaks of the love of Jesus for the world. Stephen was so firm in his faith that it changed even the way his face looked. His face began to shine!! Does your face shine with the love of Jesus? Stephen knew that the gospel of Christ was not for Jews only, but was for all men; that all men might be saved if they would believe in Jesus; and this great truth Stephen began to preach with all his power. This preaching made many of the Jews very angry. They called all the people who were not Jews "Gentiles," and they looked upon them with hate and scorn. They were angry that Stephen was teaching that Jesus’ love is for everyone! These people who were angry roused up the people and the rulers, and set them against Stephen, and at last they seized Stephen, and brought him before the great council of the rulers. Stephen had to stand before a pretty scary group of people. They were some of the most powerful people in that day. They were the leaders of the people. It might be kind of like us standing before the President and all of the congressmen and senators in Washington, DC. This would be scary! These leaders weren’t nice at all. In fact they all lied about Stephen and brought false charges against him. They even started throwing rocks at Stephen to hurt and kill him, but through it all, the presence of God was very evident. Even though things got very scary for Stephen, God was there with him through it all.
Sometimes the world may test our faith. They may even say things about us that aren’t true. We may find ourselves in a scary situation just like Stephen. People might even hate us or try to hurt us because we love Jesus. But we need to remember that we have a marvelous Lord who loves us and will stand by us no matter what. He does not always stop all of the trials and problems that may come our way, but He will see us through them. Think about a person who exercises in order to become strong. For muscles to get strong they have to be used again and again. Usually it is painful to work out to make the muscle stronger. But eventually the muscle is strengthened. When our faith is tested it produces strength in our lives. Let’s be like Stephen and be strong in the Lord no matter what happens.
• Was Stephen’s heart filled with fear? • What was Stephen’s heart filled with? (See Acts 6:8) This week, pray about how you can share Jesus wherever you go. Pray for the people on your prayer list and ask God to help you be strong in your faith like Stephen was. Pray each week for those people with your family.
You are loved, Ms. Shantelle
Ask a parent to help you print off the activity sheets for this lesson. You can find them here.
