Listen up, little ones
Listen for the words speak and Jesus.
Reading
Acts 4:1-31—Persecuted for Righteousness’ Sake
Optional Reading
Matthew 5:1-12
Keys for kids
- The world hates Jesus.
- Because we love Jesus, the world will likely mistreat us.
- We should still keep talking about Him.
Questions
- Why does the world persecute Christians?
- What did persecution result in for the early church?
- Why is it a good thing to be persecuted for Jesus’s sake?
Notes
(See Saturday for authors.)
People who follow Jesus will sometimes face trouble in this sinful world. We do not ask for persecution, and we may not want it, but it can happen. Even so, Jesus is in control of everything. When the early church was being persecuted, it did not stop growing. More and more people believed in Jesus. Soon there were about 5,000 men who were believers, plus many women and children.
The disciples could not stop talking about Jesus. Because of this, they were put in jail. The next day, Peter and John were brought before the Jewish leaders. The leaders wanted the disciples to stop telling people about Jesus. They ordered them never to speak or teach about Him again. Peter and John answered, "We cannot stop telling people about Jesus!"
A short time later, the disciples were arrested again. The Jewish leaders warned them once more not to speak about Jesus, and they even beat them. But when the disciples were released, they did not complain. Instead, they were joyful because they had suffered for Jesus's name (Acts 5:40-42).
Even after all of this, they kept teaching and telling others the good news about Jesus every day.
Swedish Method questions
Praise
Psalm 119k, 110v
Prayer
- Commit to speaking about Jesus, even if persecuted.
- Pray for change in you from last Lord’s Day’s sermons.
- Pray for a member of our church, for your family, and for a non-Christian friend/family member.