EASTER 3 - 18/04/10

Bravery

READING

Acts chapter 9 verses 1-20

PREPARATION

A large bag containing a piece of rope. An adult briefed to act scared.

INTRODUCTION

Show your bag with the rope and explain that your (relative) has lent you their pet snake so that you can show it to everyone (can you keep the bag twitching?). Ask your volunteer adult to come up and help you remove the snake from the bag; as they do so, helpfully inform them that the snake is not poisonous, but to be careful as it might crush their hand if they handle it incorrectly. Your adult withdraws their offer of help! See if you can find a child volunteer instead - the "snake" will rapidly be shown to be harmless!

MESSAGE

Sometimes in our lives we get asked to do things which really scare us, just like (adult helper) being asked to handle a snake. There was a follower of Jesus who felt he had been told by God to do something really terrifying. His name was Ananias, and he believed God was telling him to go and find the person who had come to his home town to try to murder him! Not only that, but Ananias was told that this murderer, whose name was Saul, needed his help because he was ill.

Saul was a Christian catcher - he hunted down Christians and handed them over for trial and execution. On his way to Damascus, where Ananias lived, Saul had heard and seen Jesus in a vision. It was such an amazing vision that Saul went blind because of the brightness of the light and had to be led into Damascus by his soldiers. Ananias was very scared, but he went to see Saul and told him all about Jesus. He then prayed with Saul and Saul's sight suddenly came back. Saul was convinced that Ananias was speaking the truth - and he became a Christian too. In fact Saul became a famous Christian leader and missionary. We usually call him Paul now, and he wrote most of the letters which appear in the New Testament. Perhaps all this would never have happened if Ananias had not conquered his fear and done what he believed God had told him to do.

PRAYER

Pray that we will always have the strength to do what we know is right, especially when we are worried or scared.