Intermediate Level, Block 10—Spread and Propagation
Week 100
Going into Macedonia
Point to Emphasize: We can be willing to accept correction from adults and change our mind concerning what we are doing.
Reference Reading: Acts 16:6-15
Memory Verse: The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, / But a wise man listens to counsel. (Proverbs 12:15)
Story Sample
There was a girl who was working on a science project. She had done a lot of reading to come up with the project. She had a definite and clear thought on how to go about proving her hypothesis (OR science statement). So, once her idea was approved by the teacher, she started working on her project at home. For days she tried a certain experiment, but it never came out right. Even though this experiment failed, she was sure that with a little more time and trials she could get it to turn out correctly.
One day, her dad, who was an engineer, looked at what she had done. He said, “You are never going to get this to work out. You should think about doing this another way.” Oh, that made the girl angry. She knew she could get it to work. She had put so much into it already. There was no way she was going to change now. Of course, the girl kept her anger inside. She did not say anything to her dad. After her dad left her room, she just stopped working. She was done with trying to do anything that day. Later, she thought about what he had said. She knew he only wanted to help. She also knew that her dad was really good at science, so maybe she needed to rethink her plan.
With this in mind, she set about doing her science project in a new way. It was going much better this time, but she still could not make it work as she wanted. Again, her dad stopped by to see how it was going. This time he mentioned a science fact that she had completely forgotten about! OH, she was not happy that he was redirecting her project again! But, this time, she decided to act on his word and made another change to her project. Her experiment began to fall into place, and everything began working out as it should. Her project came in 1st place at school. [Discuss with the children what might have happened if she had not been willing to accept her dad’s correction and advice.]
This kind of correction and redirection happens all the time. This had happened one time when Paul and some companions were traveling from city to city proclaiming the good news about Jesus to the people. After leaving one city, they had the thought to go a certain direction to another city. But as they headed in that direction, the Holy Spirit told them not to go there. [If the children ask about the Holy Spirit, just say that it is another name for God.] They then thought to go in another direction to a different city. Again, the Spirit told them not to go there either. So, they traveled down to the city of Troas, not knowing exactly what to do next. That night a Macedonian man appeared to Paul in a vision. The Macedonian man was standing and calling out saying, “Come over into Macedonia and help us” (Acts 16:9). When Paul shared this with his companions, they all knew which direction they needed to go. They immediately set out for the region of Macedonia, knowing that God had called them to announce the good news of Jesus to the people there.
What happened in the region of Macedonia was a marvelous thing! This meant that the good news about Jesus would be shared with the people in Europe, not just those around the Mediterranean Sea. It is really a good thing that Paul was willing to be corrected and redirected.
As we are growing up, we can all learn to accept our parent’s and teacher’s correction, advice, and redirecting to have a change in mind about what we are doing. We will find that it is not that hard to do, and that it is for the best outcome. [Storyteller- end the time with your story of being corrected or redirected and how it was for your benefit.]