“July 24–30. Acts 16–21: ‘The Lord Had Called Us for to Preach the Gospel,’” Come, Follow Me—For Primary: New Testament 2023 (2022)
“July 24–30. Acts 16–21,” Come, Follow Me—For Primary: 2023
July 24–30
Acts 16–21
“The Lord Had Called Us for to Preach the Gospel”
After reading Acts 16–21, follow the promptings of the Spirit and consider the ideas in this outline as you prepare to teach. Consult “Meeting the Needs of Younger Children” in this manual for additional help.
Invite Sharing
Invite the children to tell you what they know about Paul’s experiences sharing the gospel. They could also talk about other missionaries they know or about their own experiences sharing the gospel with someone else.
Teach the Doctrine: Younger Children
Missionaries teach people about Jesus.
Do the children you teach know what missionaries do? How can you help the children understand that they can share the gospel with others?
Possible Activities
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Help the children act out Acts 16:25–34 as you summarize the account of Paul and Silas sharing the gospel in prison (see also “Chapter 61: Paul and Silas in Prison,” in New Testament Stories, 158–60, or the corresponding video on ChurchofJesusChrist.org). Explain that missionaries today also teach people about Jesus and help them prepare to be baptized.
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Create missionary name tags for the children to wear, and help them write their names on the tags. Teach the children simple statements of doctrine that they can share with others, such as “I am a child of God,” “God speaks through a living prophet,” or “Jesus Christ is our Savior.” Remind the children that we don’t have to have a missionary name tag to share the gospel with others.
The scriptures testify of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.
Though some of the children you teach might not be able to read yet, you can help them develop a love for the scriptures and see how they testify of the Savior.
Possible Activities
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Help one of the children read the phrase “They … searched the scriptures daily” (Acts 17:11). Invite the children to point to each day of the week on a calendar as they repeat this phrase with you. Sing together a song that teaches about the blessings of reading the scriptures, such as “Search, Ponder, and Pray” (Children’s Songbook, 109).
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To teach the children that the scriptures testify of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, help them turn to a chapter in the scriptures, like Acts 17 or 18, and find words like God, Lord, or Jesus. (You may want to mark these words beforehand so the children can find them more easily.) Each time the children find one of these words, invite them to share something they know about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.
I am a child of God.
On Mars’ Hill, Paul taught basic truths about the nature of God, including the truths that we are His children and that He is “not far from every one of us” (Acts 17:27). How can you help the children feel close to their Heavenly Father?
Possible Activities
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Invite the children to repeat the phrase “We are the offspring of God” (Acts 17:29), and explain that offspring means children. Bear your testimony to each child, one by one, that he or she is a child of God. Invite them to share how they feel about their Heavenly Father.
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Show pictures of children with their families (if possible, include pictures of the children in your class). Ask the children to point to the parents in the pictures. Explain that we are the children of our mothers and fathers, and all of us are also spirit children of our heavenly parents.
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Sing a song about Heavenly Father, such as “I Know My Father Lives” (Children’s Songbook, 5). With help from the children, write words or draw pictures on the board that represent things we learn about Heavenly Father from the song.
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Read to the children these words from Acts 17:27: “He be not far from every one of us.” Talk about times when you have felt close to Heavenly Father, and invite the children to do the same.
Every person is a child of God.
Teach the Doctrine: Older Children
Acts 16:14–15, 25–34; 18:7–8, 24–28
I can be a missionary now.
How can you help the children be like Paul and share with others what they are learning about the gospel?
Possible Activities
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Invite the children to read Acts 16:14–15, 25–34; 18:7–8, 24–28 and make a list of the people Paul and Apollos shared the gospel with. Then invite them to make a list of people they can share the gospel with. Let the children role-play how they might tell these people about Jesus Christ or invite them to church. You could also invite the children to write notes bearing testimony of a gospel truth to these people.
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Invite current full-time missionaries, returned missionaries, or ward missionaries to visit the class and tell about their experiences with sharing the gospel. Encourage the children to ask questions about how they can share the gospel with others.
The scriptures testify of Jesus Christ.
All of the prophets testify of Jesus Christ. How can you teach the children to find Him in the scriptures, even when He isn’t mentioned by name?
Possible Activities
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Help the children read Acts 17:2–4, 10–12; 18:28, and invite them to look for what these passages have in common. According to these verses, what helped people believe the gospel of Jesus Christ? Invite the children to share favorite stories about Jesus that they have learned from the scriptures.
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On slips of paper, write scripture references that teach about the Savior (you can find some in Guide to the Scriptures, “Jesus Christ,” scriptures.ChurchofJesusChrist.org). Hide the papers around the room and invite the children to find them. Help the children look up the references they find, and ask them to share with each other what each scripture teaches about Jesus.
I am a child of God.
How can you help the children remember that they are children of God?
Possible Activities
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Show the children a stone, and explain that in Paul’s day, people worshipped gods they made out of stone and other materials. Ask the children to read Acts 17:27–29. What do we learn about God from these verses? Explain that offspring means children. Ask the children how it makes them feel to know that they are children of God.
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Ask the children to read Acts 17:27. Invite the children to write about or draw pictures of ways they can “feel after” or come closer to God. When have they felt that He is “not far from [them]”?
Encourage Learning at Home
Encourage the children to look for a scripture this week that teaches about Jesus Christ (this could happen during their personal or family scripture study). Next week, invite them to share what they found.
Improving Our Teaching
Help children become better learners. Your purpose in teaching children is not just to impart truth to them. You should also help them develop into self-reliant seekers of truth. For instance, instead of simply telling the children the story of Paul preaching on Mars’ Hill, you could plan activities, like those suggested in this outline, that help them discover truths in the story for themselves.