Lydia: A New Believer!
A "Hospitality ~ Welcome" Art Workshop
Summary of Lesson Activities:
Cildren will make hospitality "welcome" signs for the church lawn or entryway or to take home. These will remind them of Lydia’s "welcome hospitality" to Paul and Silas and the "welcome" they shared with her by sharing the Good News and welcoming her into the family of faith through her baptism. "Hospitality" and invitation are major practices in the New Testament Church. Lydia's story helps us learn about it and make sure we are practicing it!
In addition to a DIY option you might come up with, making signs for the church yard is really easy an inexpensive when you search Amazon for "blank yard signs." Many are less than 50 cents each and come with the wire stand that you use to display them in the lawn.
TIPS:
Cut large yard signs in half to save, Use BOTH sides of the plastic board.
Use paint pens with bright colors to make your message stand out.
If you prefer to make "Welcome" sign that goes home with the student, look at the simple embroidery option below. Hoops are not expensive in bulk on Amazon.
Preparation and Room Set Up:
- Review background information, teaching tips and lesson materials.
- Iron the freezer paper to each piece of fabric for the children.
- Draw on the board or have several copies of Christian symbols for the children to use as a guide when tracing their words or symbols onto the fabric.
- Gather necessary supplies.
- Cover the tables with old tablecloths.
- Iron a piece of freezer paper to fabric pieces prior to class. This allows the children to draw on the fabric without stretching it out of shape.
- Place an embroidery hoop over the center of the fabric pieces and trace the inside of the hoop. That will act as a guide for the children as to where they should write and draw pictures for the sign.
- Prepare a sample to show the children.
Supplies for the Church Yard Sign Option
- If you will be making yard signs like "This way to great snacks and Good News" and "God welcomes Lydia and you" Acts 16:14" --order a pack of blank yard signs and their "H" stakes. Double check online pricing as some larger signs are less expensive when you cut them in half! Precut these sheets.
- Discuss with your pastor what message the kids may want to emphasize and where they can put their signs.
- Check your paint pen supplies. They are best for writing/drawing on the plastic board.
Supplies for the Embroidery Take Home Project:
- 7” wooden embroidery Hoops
- Muslin cut into 9” round or square pieces (fabric should be washed without fabric softener and dried before being cut)
- Freezer paper
- Parchment Paper
- Purple spray dye (found in craft stores)
- Glue – blue gel glue
- Pencils
- Designs drawn out for the children to use as a guide (Examples: dove, “welcome,” cross, fish or any other Christian symbol)
- Scissors
- Iron and ironing board
Lesson Plan
Opening:
Welcome the children and introduce yourself. Explain what they'll be doing and learning about today.
Say: "I want to pretend with you for a moment, I'm going to be a member of our church and you're going to be walking in our doors for the very first time, GO!" (Now do a really bad job of welcoming them or ignoring them. Pretend a couple of other scenarios, such as, "your friend wants to know what church you go to but you put it down because you don't want to look uncool," or "a new classmate walks in and you ignore them and avoid eye contact."
Study:
Introduce today's Bible story about Lydia and Paul with these words or something like them...
Our Bible story this month takes place after Jesus was raised from the dead and went to heaven. It takes place during a time we call the early church – a time when Jesus’ followers continued to get together and remember Jesus and what he taught and to worship God. This was also a time for missionaries… What is a missionary? (A missionary is a person who travels to different places making friends with the people there and telling them about God.) The stories of the early church are found in the New Testament of the Bible.
Now Paul was one of the greatest missionaries that ever lived! Paul did not begin his life as a Christian. He was born in a town called Tarsus and was very committed to the Jewish faith. He even persecuted the early Christians. What does it mean to persecute? (to harm or abuse people for thinking or acting differently than you do). Paul was a young boy when Jesus was crucified. Years later, Paul was on his way to Damascus to persecute and imprison Christians when God met Paul by speaking through a blinding light. At that point, Paul became a follower of Jesus and began his work as a missionary in order to spread The Good News that Jesus had died for our sins. Paul took four different mission trips. On the second mission trip, he and a few followers went into Europe and ended up in Philippi (Show a map).
Paul and his friends ended up in Philippi on the Sabbath, the day reserved for worshipping God. There wasn’t a synagogue where people could worship, so they wandered around outside the town. They found a group of women by the river. They were praying together. One of the ladies was named Lydia. Lydia was a businesswoman in Philippi. She sold purple cloth. Lydia was able to get the purple dye from a certain type of shell in the river and dye her cloth purple. She must have been a very busy woman. She apparently took time to pray, and she was very interested in learning about Jesus from Paul. When Paul told Lydia about the fact that Jesus died on the cross for our sins so that we would have eternal life with God, Lydia became a believer and wanted to be baptized as a Christian. After her entire family had been baptized, Lydia invited Paul and his friends to stay with her and her family in their home. Lydia’s home became the first Christian house church in Europe. Lydia was a remarkable woman for two main reasons. First, she opened her heart so that the message of Jesus could enter and as a result was the first woman in Europe to be baptized. Secondly, she opened her home to Paul and the other missionaries, which enabled even more people to hear the word of God and the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Memory Verse: Each rotation we encourage the children to memorize one verse. Locate the verse and review with the children at this time. Children with their own Bibles, should highlight the verse with the Bible highlighters. Please do not mark in the classroom Bibles.
“Say with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’. Believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead. Then you will be saved.” Romans 10:9
Discuss:
- What did Lydia do? (Sold purple cloth, made from dye from shellfish)
- Who was Paul? (Great New Testament missionary)
- Where did she meet Paul? (By the riverside in Philippi)
- What happened to Lydia there? (She believed in Jesus and was baptized)
- Before she mat Paul, Lydia believed in God, but not in Jesus. How is this different? (Jesus is the One sent from God to make us right with God. By dying and rising again Jesus made a way for us to be forgiven for our sins – when we believe and accept this)
- Why do you think Lydia believed the message about Jesus? (God had prepared her heart)
- Why is baptism important? (It shows that we belong to Jesus, for infants it is a promise that parents and the church make to raise a child to know and love Jesus. For believers it shows others that we believe in Jesus and have been forgiven of our sins)
- How was Lydia’s life changed? (she had the first home church in Europe, she became a follower of Jesus, she shared her home with others)
- How did Lydia show hospitality? (invited Paul and his fellow travelers to stay at her house)Have you ever shared something you had?
- How can you show hospitality to others?
- Have you ever taught someone about Jesus?
- Who teaches you about Jesus?
- How can you become a Christian? (believe in Jesus, confess your sins, accept that Jesus died and rose again for you)
- Have you believed in Jesus to forgive your sins and be your Savior?
Bible Study: Grades 4-6
Introduce the Story:
Our Bible story this month takes place after Jesus was raised from the dead and went to heaven. It takes place during a time we call the early church – a time when Jesus’ followers continued to get together and remember Jesus and what he taught and to worship God. This was also a time for missionaries… What is a missionary? (A missionary is a person who travels to different places making friends with the people there and telling them about God.)
Now Paul was one of the greatest missionaries that ever lived! Paul did not begin his life as a Christian. He was born in a town called Tarsus and was very committed to the Jewish faith. He even persecuted the early Christians. What does it mean to persecute? (to harm or abuse people for thinking or acting differently than you do). Paul was a young boy when Jesus was crucified. Years later, Paul was on his way to Damascus to persecute and imprison Christians when God met Paul by speaking through a blinding light. At that point, Paul became a follower of Jesus and began his work as a missionary in order to spread The Good News that Jesus had died for our sins. Paul took four different mission trips. On the second mission trip, he and a few followers went into Europe and ended up in Philippi (Show a map).
Paul and his friends ended up in Philippi on the Sabbath, the day reserved for worshipping God. There wasn’t a synagogue where people could worship, so they wandered around outside the town. They found a group of women by the river. They were praying together. One of the ladies was named Lydia.
Let's read her very brief story found in Acts 16!
That is a very powerful message for such a short story. Lydia was a businesswoman in Philippi. She sold purple cloth. Lydia was able to get the purple dye from a certain type of shell in the river and dye her cloth purple. She must have been a very busy woman. She apparently took time to pray, and she was very interested in learning about Jesus from Paul. When Paul told Lydia about the fact that Jesus died on the cross for our sins so that we would have eternal life with God, Lydia became a believer and wanted to be baptized as a Christian. After her entire family had been baptized, Lydia invited Paul and his friends to stay with her and her family in their home. Lydia’s home became the first Christian house church in Europe.
The same Spirit that moved Paul and his fellow travelers to come to Macedonia moved in Lydia’s heart. As Paul explained the gospel message to her, she believed and was baptized. Lydia’s story is a good example of God’s prevenient grace – how God woos and draws us to Christ, before we even know what the gospel is about. When Lydia accepted the gospel message Paul preached, and accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior, she was justified (made right with God) – this is God’s justifying grace. As God’s Holy Spirit continued to work in her heart and life, we see an example of God’s sanctifying grace – helping Lydia and all believers to be transformed into the likeness of Jesus. This is the goal of the Christian life – to become like Jesus!
Lydia was a remarkable woman for two main reasons. First, she opened her heart so that the message of Jesus could enter. Secondly, she opened her home to Paul and the other missionaries, which enabled even more people to hear the word of God and the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Discuss:
- Before she mat Paul, Lydia believed in God, but not in Jesus. How is this different? (Jesus is the One sent from God to make us right with God. By dying and rising again Jesus made a way for us to be forgiven for our sins – when we believe and accept this)
- Why do you think Lydia believed the message about Jesus? (God had prepared her heart)
- Why is baptism important? (It shows that we belong to Jesus, for infants it is a promise that parents and the church make to raise a child to know and love Jesus. For believers it shows others that we believe in Jesus and have been forgiven of our sins)
- What is prevenient grace? (God’s Spirit drawing us to Him, before we actually understand about God)
- What is justifying grace? (being made right with God – justified – when we believe in Jesus)
- What is sanctifying grace? (the continued work of God’s Spirit within us, to help us grow more like Jesus)
- What is the goal of the Christian life? (to become like Jesus)
- How was Lydia’s life changed? (she had the first home church in Europe, she became a follower of Jesus, she shared her home with others)
- How did Lydia show hospitality? (invited Paul and his fellow travelers to stay at her house)Have you ever shared something you had?
- How can you show hospitality to others?
- Have you ever taught someone about Jesus?
- Who teaches you about Jesus?
- How can you become a Christian? (believe in Jesus, confess your sins, accept that Jesus died and rose again for you)
- Have you believed in Jesus to forgive your sins and be your Savior?
Instructions:
- Have the children Write the word “WELCOME” across the middle of the circle, using a pencil.
- Above the word “welcome”, they may draw any Christian symbol they like- (fish, dove, cross). Instruct them to make the picture very simple, as they will be tracing their writing with glue. They may embellish the border of the circle if they like with “drops of water” that would symbolize their baptism.
- Using a bottle of glue, trace the writing and drawing. Let the glue soak into the fabric.
- Spray the purple dye all over the fabric (the part that is covered with glue will not absorb any dye).
- Place a piece of parchment paper over the fabric.
- Iron the fabric on both the parchment side and the freezer paper side (approx. 30 sec. each).
- Peel the papers off and rinse the fabric with cool water.
- Center the fabric and secure it in the embroidery hoop.
Closing:
- Have everyone share their "Welcoming" project.
- Practice pretending to "welcome" each other to church, inviting each other to Sunday School, etc.
- Our actions and attitude are God's best "welcome sign."
- Close with prayer.
A lesson by Jaymie Derden with updated by the Rotation.org Content Team
Note: This lesson could use some "sign suggestions" and we trust you'll run with these great ideas and improve on them.
