baptise

After sailing to Macedonia, Paul arrived in the city of Philippi.  When he found a group of women gathered beside a river praying, he told them about Jesus.  One of the women was Lydia, a businesswoman who sold expensive purple fabric. When Lydia heard about Jesus, she was baptised.  Then, everyone in her household was baptised, too.  Lydia was so happy that she invited Paul and his friends to stay at her house.

Baptism was a natural response to the message about Jesus.  Use this opportunity to discuss the meaning of baptism.

Bible verses used in this episode:

• Acts 16:10-15
• Romans 6:3-4,
• Acts 2:38, 41
• Acts 22:16
• 1 Peter 3:18-22

Outline:

1. Travel to Philippi (Acts 16:10-12)
2. Lydia and her household were baptised (Acts 16:13-15)

Tips for teaching children:

• Paul travelled on Roman roads. Older children can research the Via Egnatia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Via_Egnatia
• Experiment with making purple dye from natural products (flowers, purple cabbage, beets, berries).  Children will enjoy dipping white cotton cloth in these.
• Tie-die a T-shirt shirt purple.
• Baptism Craft: Cut a small figure of a person from thick paper and tape or glue it on a stick like a puppet.  Cut a hole in the bottom of a plastic cup, then push the stick down into the cup and through the hole.  The stick will stick out the bottom of the cup, and the “person” will be inside. Lift the stick up and down, and the “person” appears to go in and out of the waters of baptism.  

Tips for teaching adults:

• If practical and possible, organise the class to study this lesson by a stream, a river, a lake, or even a swimming pool, whatever works best.  Be sure to spend time in prayer. Make it more special by sharing a meal. 
•  Although baptism was not a major focus of this lesson, it is important to note that the text explicitly mentions Lydia and her household being baptised.  You can ask the following discussion questions: 1) What body of water were you baptised in? A baptistery, a swimming pool, lake, or river? 2) What are some memories you have of the place you were baptised?  3) Who has experienced being baptised at the same time with family/friends? What was it like then and now? 

Full teaching instructions free from Mission Bible Class:

Bible Lesson:  Lydia Becomes a Christian 

Scriptures quoted from the International Children’s Bible®, copyright ©1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Tommy Nelson. Used by permission.

Excerpts from Mission Bible Class used by permission.

For questions or comments email: mary@missionbibleclass.org

Title:

Philip followed instructions from an angel of the Lord and went to a very important man riding in a chariot. The man was a chief official of the Queen of Ethiopia. He was reading from a scroll of Isaiah but could not understand it. Philip joined him in the chariot and explained that the Scripture was talking about Jesus.  The man began to believe in Jesus, and when the chariot passed by some water, the official asked Philip to baptise him (and he did!)

Bible verses used in this episode:

Acts 8:26-40

Outline:

1. An angel directs Philip where to go (Acts 8:26-29)
2. Philip taught and baptised an important man from Ethiopia (Acts 8:30-38)
3. The two men each go a separate way (Acts 8:39-40)

Tips for teaching children:

• Show the locations of this story on a map. 
• Make a chariot or scroll craft.
• Invite a Bible teacher, elder, preacher or other church leader to attend your Bible class as a guest.  Ask them to talk about helping people understand the Bible.
• Sing the song: Roll, Roll, Chariot Roll. 

Tips for teaching adults:

• To get a feel for what the eunuch was reading and the challenge of Phillip, have the class read out loud a larger section from the place he was reading from.  Have the class read Isaiah 52:7–56:8.  You can divide the text into sections and have different members read a section.  Ask the class, “How would you preach Jesus using only this section from Isaiah? Or using only the book of Isaiah?”
• Show the locations of this story on a map. 
• Here is a more detailed map showing Philip's travels.  

Full teaching instructions free from Mission Bible Class:

Bible Lesson:  Philip Teaches the Man from Ethiopia 

Scriptures quoted from the International Children’s Bible®, copyright ©1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Tommy Nelson. Used by permission.

Excerpts from Mission Bible Class used by permission.

For questions or comments email: mary@missionbibleclass.org

Title: Philip & the Ethiopian.
Bible reference: Acts 8:26-40.

An Ethiopian Eunuch discovers that even though he is excluded from the Temple, nothing can stand in the way of him being baptised, for no one is excluded in Jesus.