Paul and Silas Are Thrown into Prison

Acts 16:16-40

Our true story comes from a part of the Bible called Acts, which is short for “the Acts of the Apostles.” An apostle is someone who is sent to teach others about Jesus.


Our true story is about two of Jesus’ friends named Paul and Silas. Paul and Silas loved Jesus, and they told people everywhere that Jesus wanted to be their friend forever.


One day, some people got mad at Paul and Silas for telling people about Jesus . . .


. . . so they put Paul and Silas in jail.


Jail is not a fun place. But let me tell you what Paul and Silas did! Even though Paul and Silas were in jail, they began to sing! Paul and Silas chose to sing and praise Jesus with joy!


Paul and Silas knew that even though they were in jail, Jesus still loved them and was their friend forever. Jesus helped them choose joy! Wow!


But that’s not all! Later that night, while Paul and Silas were singing, the ground began to shake. It was an earthquake! The earthquake made the doors to the jail fly wide open! You would think Paul and Silas would run away as fast as they could from that jail, but they didn’t.


Paul and Silas stayed so they could tell the guard that Jesus loves him and wants to be his friend forever. 


Then the guard had joy, too! 


Jesus is so awesome! Jesus helped Paul and Silas choose joy, and Jesus can help us choose joy, too, no matter where we are!


When we are at the playground . . .


. . . at the doctor . . .


. . . at school . . .


. . . at the store—Jesus can help us choose joy!


Whether it’s a sunny day . . .


. . . a rainy day . . .


. . . a windy day . . .


. . . or a snowy day—Jesus can help us choose joy! 


We can follow Jesus here, there, and EVERYWHERE! Because Jesus wants to be our friend forever!






Bible Verse: Walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us. —Ephesians 5:2, NIV

Text Truth: Jesus helps us choose joy.



Family Devotional

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.
—Acts 16:25

In our Bible story, Paul and Silas chose joy and sang songs to Jesus, even though they were in a sad place. Then, Paul and Silas chose to tell the guard of the jail that Jesus wanted to be his friend forever, too! Paul and Silas knew that Jesus loved them, and He would be their friend forever. And Jesus helped them choose joy, no matter what! Jesus wants to be your friend forever, too, and give you the power to choose joy.

Walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us. —Ephesians 5:2, NIV

Paul and Silas sang songs to Jesus. So, with your family, get a piece of paper and make a list of your favorite songs. Think about songs you like to sing. Have each member of your family write down their favorite song to sing. And make sure they write their name next to their favorite song.

Pray with your family. Allow any family members to pray if they wish. In your own words, say, “Dear God, Thank You for giving us Jesus. Thank You that Jesus gives us the power to choose joy. I pray we will choose to sing to Jesus here, there, and everywhere, no matter what. You’re the best, God, and we love You! In Jesus’ name, amen.”

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Some story illustrations are the copyright of Sweet Publishing and licensed by FreeBibleimages (http://freebibleimages.org) for free download under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Share-alike 3.0 unported license.

Some story illustrations are in the Public Domain.

All story illustrations are the property of their respective owners.
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