Paul made a brave escape when his life was endangered in Damascus. Teach your preschoolers about this Bible story with these lesson ideas.

The ideas below may help you when teaching a lesson about Paul at Damascus. Feel free to use these ideas to supplement your current curriculum or to make your own lesson.

Story Suggestion

Paul was a very interesting and important person in the Bible. Before he was a missionary for Jesus, he was known as Saul. After he sees the blinding light and heard the voice of Jesus, he changed his ways of living and began to believe and teach other about Christ. He was known as one of the greatest missionaries of his time. When Paul was in Damascus, the Jews heard him praying with the disciples. This angered them and they wanted to kill Paul. The Jews set guards by every high wall around the city and Paul wasn’t sure how he would escape. His friends, who he knew believed in God, came to his rescue and lowered him over the high wall in a large wicker basket. From there, Paul found safety with other believers.

Bible verse(s) based on this lesson:

• Acts 22:17-21
• Galatians 1:17-24

Game Ideas

In the Basket, Out of the Basket

Directions: Place a long piece of tape on the floor in the middle of the room. Have the children stand on the left side of the tape. This will be “in the basket”, the right side will be “out of the basket”. When you call out “out of the basket”, the children will jump over the line to the right side, when you call “in the basket”, they will jump to the other side. Continue calling commands. If a child jumps in the wrong direction, or does not make it over the line, he or she is out. The last person left wins. You can try to confuse the kids by calling out two of the same commands in a row, calling the commands quickly or pointing to the wrong side when you call a command.

Pass the Basket

Directions: This is another command game. Have a small basket with small treats inside (such as candy or small toys) inside. You can even write Bible verses on slips of paper instead. Have the kids sit in the circle and pass the basket around the circle as you quickly call out 10-15 random left and right commands. You can call: left, left, right, left, right, right, right, left, left, or in whatever combination you wish. The last person left holding the basket will win a small prize inside the basket, or draws out a Bible verse to read out loud. The kids will want to play this fast-paced game several times.

Snacks

A good snack for this lesson would be:

Friendship Mix

This bible lesson shows how friends helped Paul out of a difficult situation. They came together to help him escape. To make friendship mix, have each child bring something to add to the mix. Possibilities could be popped popcorn, pretzels, dry cereal, raisins, peanuts (check for allergies), and dried fruit. In a large bowl, have each child add his or her ingredient and stir together. Give each child a cup of the mix.

Art Center Ideas

Believer’s Basket

This craft will show children what they can do to help friends in need.

Materials:

• Small plastic strawberry basket, one for each child
• Ribbon
• Paper

Directions:

Use the ribbon to weave in and out of the strawberry basket to decorate. Have the children write sentences on slips of paper about what they can do to help friends in need. Give them prompts and ideas, such as, “If my friend is sad, I would….”, or “I help my friend when…”. Fold up the papers and put them inside their baskets.

Changing Butterfly

This craft represents the change that Paul made when he decided to put his faith in Christ.

Materials Needed for Each Child:

• One empty toilet paper tube
• White yarn
• One pipe cleaner
• One coffee filter
• Watercolors
• Glue
• Markers

Directions: Start by making the butterfly. Fold the coffee filter in half and use the watercolors to paint the entire filter. The colors will soak through, creating a nice look for the wings of the butterfly. Unfold and allow to dry. Fold the coffee filter in half and pinch in the middle. Use the pipe cleaner to make a body, wrapping the pipe cleaner once in the middle to hold the wings in place. Bend the ends of the pipe cleaner into antenna. Now you will make the cocoon by wrapping the white yarn around the toilet paper tube. Glue the yarn in place as you go. When this is dry, place the butterfly inside the cocoon.

Suggested Prayer

Dear Lord, thank you for loving us and helping us realize that we can change and help our friends, too. Even when others are mean to us, you help us remember that we can make a difference. Amen.

See more Sunday School lesson ideas and great Bible crafts here on Suite101.