Elementary Level, Block 10—Apostles / Paul
Week 94
Peter—Being with Others who are Different than Himself
Point to Emphasize: We can be with many different kinds of people and know that God loves us all the same.
Reference Reading: Acts 10—11
Memory Verse: …In truth I perceive that God is not a respecter of persons. (Acts 10:34b)
Story Sample
When I was in kindergarten two of my best friends were twins and we had such a good time on the playground! We would swing, go on the merry-go-round, and play ball every recess. Sometimes our classmates would make fun of us because we were so different. We had different skin colors, we were different sizes, and they were boys and I was a girl. But we had such a good time together! I never noticed the differences. [Storyteller, share a personal story about a friend you had that was different than you.]
Peter was one who could be with other people. Let me tell you the story of how this happened. One day Peter was on the roof praying to God. While doing this God showed him that he should accept everyone, no matter how different, because God accepts everyone. In Acts 10:34, Peter was able to say, “In truth I perceive that God is not a respecter of persons”. It would be wonderful if we could memorize this verse and always remember this. What does it mean that God is not a respecter of persons? It means that God accepts every kind of person! Peter realized that to God all people are acceptable no matter how different they are, and that all people need to hear the good news about Jesus. Then he began to speak the good news to EVERYONE.
This may not always be the way we live. Sometimes, it seems easier for us to be with people who are more like us, who like the food we like, or who look like us. It’s also easy to be with those who speak the same language we do or think the same way we do. But Peter realized that to God everyone is the same. This means that everyone should also be the same to us.
In children’s meeting, isn’t it good that we can all be together from different families? Some families speak Chinese and eat with chopsticks. Others are from families where they speak mostly Spanish. We are all different. Some of you are girls, some are boys; some of you are tall, some are short; some of you are very quiet and some are very talkative. Yet, in God’s eyes you are all the same and he loves you very much! It’s so good to be with those who are different than we are and know that God loves us all the same!
[Use the rest of the time to let the children discuss who they play with that is different than them in some way and what is so good about this difference.]