I Can Believe

Lesson text: John 3:16; Acts 16:23-34

Memory Verse: John 3:16

During our last lesson, we studied about a man from Ethiopia who wanted to hear. And after hearing about Jesus, he believed. If you remember, Phillip told him that he had to believe with all his heart if he wanted to become a Christian. The eunuch told Phillip, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” Believing is a very important thing.

We all do things wrong in life and we need to be forgiven of those wrong things. We need to be saved from the sins (bad things) that we do. For that we need Jesus.

Two preachers, named Paul and Silas, were out on the streets of the city of Philippi, preaching about Jesus. Many people listened and heard, but others were upset. They didn‘t believe in Jesus, so they caused Paul and Silas to be arrested. During those days, they didn‘t just throw a person in jail. It was customary to beat and whip the people who were arrested, even if they hadn‘t done anything wrong. Paul and Silas were then put in the middle of the prison, and they had their hands and feet in stocks.

The jailer was told not to let the prisoners escape. Back in those days, if a prisoner escaped, the jailer was put to death for failing to prevent the prisoners from escaping. So, the jailer took this responsibility very seriously. In the middle of the night, Paul and Silas sang songs and prayed to God. They sang so loud that the other prisoners all heard them. Suddenly, there was an earthquake! The earthquake was so strong that it opened up the doors of every jail cell, and every prisoner was released from the stocks. This was no ordinary earthquake. God caused it to happen.

The jailer was asleep and woke up when he heard the earthquake. He saw the prison doors were open and thought the prisoners had escaped. So, knowing that he would be put to death by those in charge, he pulled out his sword and was going to kill himself. But before he could do it, he heard a voice inside saying, “Don’t hurt yourself! We’re all still here!” It was Paul!

The jailer was trembling as he went in. He had heard Paul and Silas preaching that one must obey the one true God. He said to them, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” Paul told him that he must believe. The jailer cleaned Paul and Silas’ injuries from their beatings, and he, along with his entire family, believed what Paul taught them. They were baptized. He brought Paul and Silas into his house and rejoiced that he had become a Christian.

True or False

________ 1. Paul and Phillip were arrested and beaten at Philippi
________ 2. There was a thunderstorm that caused the prison doors to open.
________ 3. The Philippians jailer thought the prisoners had escaped.
________ 4. The two preachers were singing and praying loudly in prison.
________ 5. Believing is not important.
________ 6. Paul and Silas were put in prison for preaching about Jesus.

Fill in the Blanks

1. This story takes place in a city called ______________.
2. Before being thrown in jail, Paul and Silas were ________________.
3. The ____________ was told not to let them escape.
4. There were a lot of people in this town who didn‘t believe in ______________.
5. There was a great ___________________ which made the doors of the prison open.
6. The jailer and his whole _____________ believed and were baptized.

What do the Words Mean?

1. Pray _________________________________________________________________
2. Earthquake____________________________________________________________
3. Arrested______________________________________________________________
4. Prison________________________________________________________________

Discussion Questions

1. Paul and Silas were arrested, beaten, and thrown in jail when they didn’t do anything wrong. Yet they did not complain. They sang praises to God and prayed. Why?

2. Why did the Philippians jailer think it was so important to be saved?

Solve the Riddles

1. We were preachers who got arrested and thrown in jail. We sang and prayed at midnight. Who are we? _____________________
2. I sent an earthquake that opened the prison doors and unchained all the prisoners. Who am I? __________________________

3. The two preachers were teaching people about me. There were people in Philippi who did not believe in me, and they had my preachers arrested. Who am I? _______________
4. I was in charge of making sure Paul and Silas did not escape. I almost killed myself when I thought they‘d gotten away. But they let me know they were all still there. Who am I? __________________

5. We were also told about Jesus. We believed along with the jailer and were baptized. We had Paul and Silas come to our house, where we fed them and rejoiced that we had become Christians. Who are we? __________________