Listen up, little ones
Listen for the words reading and prophet.
Reading
Acts 8:26–40—Good News about Jesus
Optional Reading
Isaiah 53:1-6
Keys for kids
- God sent Philip to talk to this Ethiopian man.
- The man was reading from Isaiah 53.
- Philip explained the good news about Jesus from that passage.
Questions
- How did God direct Philip to talk to the Ethiopian man?
- What does Isaiah 53 tell us about the good news of Jesus?
- From where else in the OT could you explain the gospel?
Notes
We considered yesterday that the He of Isaiah 53 was, indeed, Jesus. We have confirmation of that in our reading today. Philip, an early deacon (Acts 6:5) and evangelist (Acts 8:5, 12) was sent by God’s angel to travel a certain road and by God’s Spirit to join a certain chariot. There he found a man from Ethiopia reading from the prophet Isaiah in what we now call chapter 53.
For us, reading Isaiah 53 is so clearly about Jesus that we think anyone should be able to see that. But God’s word needs to be explained to be understood. And God might use you or me to help explain it so others can understand, see Jesus, and believe. So, God sent Philip to tell this Ethiopian man the good news about Jesus.
Hughes suggests that there is perhaps no better place in the Old Testament from which to preach Jesus. No doubt Philip took the man through all twelve verses of Isaiah 53, describing his royal lineage, the Incarnation, the vicarious atonement. “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” I am sure Philip explained about the suffering and resurrected Messiah—and what he said was absolutely revolutionizing.
From where in the Old Testament could you explain the gospel?
Swedish Method questions
Praise
Psalm 96a, 34a
Prayer
- Give thanks to God that the whole Bible is about Jesus.
- Pray for a specific application from yesterday's sermons.
- Pray for a member of our church, for your family, and for a non-Christian friend/family member.