Hi Kids!
Today’s story is about a man named Saul who later became known as Paul. Early on in his life, Saul was a disbeliever of Christ and went so far as to persecute Christians. Saul would arrest Christians and sought to put them to death. Something happened to Saul, however, that made him change his mind about Jesus Christ. Watch the story below to learn what happened to Saul and how he became Paul.
After Paul became enlightened by Jesus he wanted to become one of Jesus’ disciples. Paul traveled to Jerusalem to join the other disciples, however, the disciples were afraid of Paul. They doubted Paul’s desire to become a disciple because of his early persecution of Christians. Simply put, the disciples didn’t trust Paul or think that he was a true believer of Christ. Another man named Barnabas, who frequently traveled with Paul, knew that Paul had changed his ways and served as a witness to Paul’s conversion to Christianity. Paul was then accepted as a disciple and began to preach in the name of the Lord.
It’s hard to trust that people who have hurt us can change. How can we trust their intentions when we have been harmed? This was the struggle of Jesus’ disciples. However, Paul proved his faith and was supported by a witness, Barnabas. There are times when it is not right to trust someone again, but there are also times when we can witness change. In these moments of conversion, we can see God at work and can be a witness for those who need our love. After Paul’s conversion, the church grew and people came to know the God of transformation through the Spirit. We can trust in God that people can change and that we can find ways to be part of God’s transformative love.
Based on this story and the lesson of Paul, there are two activities to do today. One activity, a crossword puzzle, will test your knowledge of the story. The other activity, a connect-the-dots coloring page depicting Jesus shining his light on Paul, is just for plain fun. You can do one or the other, or both! Download/print the pdf’s below to get started.