Week 98
Paul—Called to Speak the Gospel in Europe
Point to Emphasize: If you were Paul, would you have become proud?
Reference Reading: Acts 16:10-15, footnotes 102, 152, 153
Memory Verse: For though Jehovah is high, He regards the lowly; / And the haughty He knows from afar. (Psalm 138:6)
Sample Story
There is a well-known story about Paul and how the gospel spread to the Gentiles in Europe through him and the ones traveling with him. At that time, it was evident that Paul was the leading one among those going out with the gospel. He and Barnabas had gone out once and covered a large area, going from city to city, sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. [Use map showing Paul and his first journey.] Then they went back and stayed a while with the believers in Antioch. Paul, with some brothers, then headed out again to visit the ones who had believed in the Lord in the different cities on their first trip. One night, as they were traveling, Paul had a vision where he clearly saw a Macedonian man standing and asking him to come over into Macedonia to help them. [Use map showing where Paul had traveled and where Macedonia was.] The thought of going to Macedonia was new; no one had traveled into Europe yet to share the gospel. Europe was a whole other continent!
Let’s take a look at what Paul had accomplished at this point. Paul had traveled, preached the gospel, raised up more than one church, and then received a vision to cross over into Macedonia. What if you were Paul at that time? Don’t you think that in this situation you could easily become proud? Consider your own experience. When you win a chess tournament, a spelling bee, a prize at a science fair, or are recognized as the top student or the most well-behaved student in the class, doesn’t something seem to swell in you? I mean, it was just announced that you were the top in the class, the champion at chess, the best speller in the school! You should feel so proud, right? [Lead them into a discussion about this sense of pride.] Well, there is a difference between feeling good because you worked hard to accomplish something and being proud. When you have applied yourself and accomplished something, you feel good. You did it! But many times, we go beyond that. The problem is that when we achieve something, we become proud. We start to think we’re better than others, like we’re somehow higher than they are. Our attitude shifts—we begin to look down on people and place ourselves above them. This swelling feeling of pride—when you become proud—makes your head feel like it’s swelling, and you begin to think that you are really something, that you are something special.
This next example shows how damaging pride can be. When I was in high school, there was a student who got nearly the best grades, won many awards, and was also good at football. Talk about a swollen head! Whenever he was around us, he seemed to act as if he towered above us! He was so large in his own eyes. Sadly, he did not know that there were many others in high schools just like him—or even better. During his first year at a top university in California, he flunked out. He discovered the hard way that he was not the top nor better than everyone. If you don’t realize your pride now, you could end up just like him. You see, his pride distorted his view of himself. It gave him an “uplifted” view of himself, and this caused him problems. This is why you need to consider how proud you become. [Storyteller, insert your own example of feeling proud and then realizing that there were others better than you.] Don’t pass up the opportunity to see what pride really does. You really are not extra special. There are many just as good or even better than you. Learn now to feel accomplished when you have applied yourself, but not to become proud.
Now to the end of our story in the New Testament. Paul, of course, did not get proud, like many would have. After the vision, the brothers traveled to Philippi, which was a leading city in that part of Macedonia. They went outside the gate of the city by the river, where they supposed there would be a place of prayer. They sat and spoke to the women who had gathered there. And a woman named Lydia, a seller of purple-dyed goods, was listening. The Lord opened her heart, and she believed the good news that Paul was sharing. She and her household were saved and baptized that day. This was the beginning of the gospel going into Europe!