Welcome back! Today’s session of Explore Online is the last one for this term, and we hope you’ve enjoyed this journey through the Bible with us!
As usual, we are going to start with a challenge. For today’s challenge, you will need two bowls, a straw, and some small sweets (for example, Skittles, Smarties or M&Ms).
Put the sweets in one bowl and place the empty bowl a short distance away. The challenge is to set a timer for a minute and to transfer as many sweets as you can from one bowl to the other by sucking them up with the straw.
Can you beat our scores?
Here is a timer you can use:
Over the last two weeks, we have been thinking about Jesus and the difference he made in people’s lives by healing them, forgiving them and changing them.
After Jesus died and rose to life again, he went back to heaven, but he left his followers to continue his work. He sent the Holy Spirit to them so that they would have power and boldness to tell people about him. The message about Jesus was not one to keep to themselves – they were called to pass it on!
Watch this short video to hear the story of two of Jesus’ followers – Paul and Silas.
Think for a moment: what does this story teach us about God?
It wasn’t always easy for Paul and Silas as they tried to tell others about God. Some people didn’t like their message, and they were even beaten and put in prison.
But there were other people, like the prison guard, who listened to their message. He was so surprised that Paul and Silas didn’t take the chance to escape during the earthquake that he started asking questions:
“He brought them out, and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.” (Acts 16:30-31 NLT)
As Paul and Silas shared their message, the guard and his family put their faith in Jesus and decided to follow him too!
As we’ve gone through this series, learning about different people in the Bible, you have heard various parts of God’s story.
Think back over the different characters: Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Gideon, David, the man who couldn’t walk, Zacchaeus, Paul and Silas.
What are the main things you have discovered about God?
What is your response to what you’ve heard?
You could choose one of these emojis that matches your response, or you could come up with your own.
If you’re interested in finding out more about God’s story, we’d encourage you to find a church or Christian group to get involved in or to have a go at reading the Bible for yourself. If you need some help getting started with that, please ask an adult to email us and we’d love to help you.
Maybe you already know quite a bit about God’s story, or maybe you’ve even decided to follow Jesus for yourself. The challenge to you is: who could you tell? Could you tell a friend or family member something you’ve discovered about God?
Here’s a song you could listen to or join in with as you think about that:
God, thank you for all that we have discovered about you through the stories of people in the Bible. Please help us to keep learning more, and please give us courage and boldness to pass on the good news of Jesus to others like Paul and Silas did. Amen.
Solution to Challenge 1 – Change hate to love
Hate, late, lane, lone, love
