Peter Walks Out of Jail

Acts 12:1-19

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.

Peter loved Jesus and told many people about Him. 


But a mean king didn’t like that. 


So he put Peter in jail. He even told soldiers to guard Peter very closely. Peter had chains on his hands, and he had to sleep between two guards!


Peter’s friends were very worried. So, they did something special—they prayed and prayed and prayed.


One night, while Peter was sleeping, something amazing happened. A bright light filled the jail, and an angel woke Peter up. The angel said, “Get up quickly!” And guess what? The chains fell off Peter’s hands!


The angel led Peter right out of the jail. The guards didn’t stop him. The doors opened by themselves! 


Peter walked out into the night. He was free!


Peter went to the house where his friends were still praying. He knocked on the door. 


A girl named Rhoda came to the door, heard Peter’s voice, and got so excited she ran back to tell everyone—before even opening the door!


They couldn’t believe it, but it was true. God had answered their prayers. Peter was safe!


God hears our prayers. When Peter was in jail, his friends prayed and God helped him. God sent an angel to rescue Peter, and everyone was so happy! We can pray too, because God listens and helps.


Dear God,

Thank You for hearing our prayers. Thank You for sending an angel to help Peter. Please help us remember to pray when we are scared or worried. Thank You for loving us and keeping us safe. We love you, God.

In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.



Bible Verse: But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. — Romans 5:8, BSB

Paraphrase: God shows His love for us.



Activities

These activities help preschoolers engage with the story through movement, crafts, music, and storytelling, making the lesson fun and memorable.


1. Chain Break Craft

Objective: Help children remember how God set Peter free.

Materials: Construction paper strips, crayons, tape or glue.

Activity:

Have children decorate paper strips and connect them into paper chains. Then let them “break” the chains while saying, “God set Peter free!”

Say: “Peter’s chains came off when the angel came. God helped Peter!”


2. Prayer Circle Time

Objective: Reinforce the idea of praying together like Peter’s friends.

Materials: None.

Activity:

Sit in a circle. Invite children to quietly pray for someone they care about. Adults can lead by saying a short prayer first, then inviting children to whisper or think their own prayer.

Say: “Peter’s friends prayed for him. We can pray for our friends too!”


3. Knock, Knock Game

Objective: Act out the joyful surprise of Peter knocking on the door.

Materials: None.

Activity:

Choose one child to be Peter and “knock” on an imaginary door. Another child pretends to be Rhoda and runs to tell the group. Everyone says, “Peter is here!” and cheers. Take turns playing Peter and Rhoda.

Say: “Rhoda was so excited when Peter came home! God answered their prayers!”


4. God Answers Prayer Song (Music Activity)

Objective: Celebrate God’s care and answered prayers.

Materials: Rhythm instruments (or clapping hands).

Activity:

Sing to the tune of “Are You Sleeping?” or a simple melody:

        “God is listening, God is listening,
        When we pray, when we pray.
        God can send His angels,
        God can send His angels,
        Help today, help today.”

Say: “We can always pray. God listens and helps!”

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Story illustrations are the copyright of Sweet Publishing, Artist: Jim Padgett. Images are licensed to FreeBibleimages for free distribution under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license (http://freebibleimages.org).
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