Lydia Listens and Believes

Acts 16:11-15


Paul and his friends traveled to a new place to tell people about Jesus.

One day, they went down to a river where some people were gathered to pray.

There was a woman there named Lydia. Lydia was listening very carefully.

Paul began to tell the people about Jesus—how Jesus loves them and how He is alive.

Lydia listened closely.

And God helped Lydia understand and believe what Paul was saying.

Lydia was so happy! She loved Jesus and wanted to follow Him.

Then Lydia and her family were baptized.

After that, Lydia did something kind. She invited Paul and his friends to come stay at her home.

Lydia wanted to help and care for them.

Paul and his friends were glad, and they continued telling others about Jesus.

Key Takeaway for Preschoolers

We can listen and believe in Jesus, and we can show love to others.
 

Dear God,

Thank You for loving us. Thank You for helping us learn about Jesus. Help us listen and believe. Help us show love and kindness to others. We love you, God.

In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.





Bible Verse: “You will be My witnesses.” — Acts 1:8, BSB

Paraphrase: We can tell others about Jesus.



Activities

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


1. “Listening Ears” Game

Objective: Help children practice listening carefully, like Lydia.

Materials: None

Activity:
  • Have children sit quietly.
  • Say, “Let’s use our listening ears like Lydia!”
  • Make simple sounds (clap, tap, whisper a word), and have children repeat what they hear.
  • You can also give simple instructions (“Touch your head,” “Clap twice”).
  • Praise children for listening carefully.
Talk About It: “Who listened carefully in our story? Lydia listened!”


2. “Welcome Friends” Role Play

Objective: Teach children about showing kindness and hospitality.

Materials: Chairs or open space

Activity:
  • Pretend one child is Lydia and others are visitors.
  • Have “Lydia” invite others by saying, “Come to my home!”
  • Practice welcoming with smiles, waves, and kind words.
  • Let children take turns being Lydia.
Talk About It: “What did Lydia do? She welcomed others and showed kindness!”
 

3. “Heart for Jesus” Craft

Objective: Help children understand that God helps us believe.

Materials: Paper hearts, Crayons or markers

Activity:
  • Give each child a paper heart.
  • Let them color or decorate their heart.
  • Explain that God opened Lydia’s heart to believe in Jesus.
  • Encourage children to say, “I love Jesus!” as they work.
Talk About It: “Who helped Lydia believe? God did!”


4. “Listen and Believe” Song (Tune: Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star)

Objective: Reinforce the story through music and gentle repetition.

Materials: None

Activity:

Teach children the following song to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star:

        Lydia listened by the stream,
        Heard of Jesus, God’s great King,
        God helped her believe it’s true,
        Jesus loves me and loves you.
        We can listen, we can say,
        “I love Jesus every day!”
  • Encourage children to cup their ears on “listened” and place hands on their hearts on “love.”
  • Sing softly together and repeat several times.
Talk About It: “What did Lydia do? She listened and believed in Jesus!”

-
Story illustrations are the copyright of James M. Thomas. All rights reserved.
-

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Early Christians Shared Everything

Image
Acts 4:32-37 Our story comes from a book of the Bible called Acts. That name is short for “the Acts of the Apostles.” The word "Apostle" is another word to describe a helper of Jesus. Our Bible story tells us about some people who loved Jesus. The people were gathered together in a room. Buzz, buzz, buzz. The room filled with talking and laughter. The people called themselves Christians because they did what Jesus Christ said to do (Christian means "follower of Christ"). The Christians knew that Jesus was God’s Son. They wanted others to know about Jesus, too. Grandmas, grandpas, moms, dads, and children met together in homes. They would pray, sing, and learn about Jesus together. All these people loved Jesus. They were like one big, happy family. Because they loved Jesus, the Christians happily shared what they had more than others. Everything a person had was happily shared with the rest of the Bible-time Christians. They shared food so every...
Read more

Abraham and Sarah and Baby Isaac

Image
Genesis 21:1-6 Take-Home Our story comes from the book, or part, of the Bible called Genesis. Genesis means "the beginning." The Bible tells us that Abraham and His wife, Sarah, lived a long time ago. They were a family. One, two. It was a small family. There were two grown-ups but no children. Abraham and Sarah were sad because they had no children. They wanted a baby to love. They waited and waited until they were very old, even older than many grandparents, but still there was no baby. Abraham and Sarah were sad. God knew that Abraham and Sarah were sad. He wanted them to be happy. God promised that soon they would have a baby. So, Abraham and Sarah waited a little longer. Finally, they had a baby! Abraham and Sarah were happy! Even after they were very old, God gave them a baby boy. Isn’t that happy news! Sometimes when we are happy, we laugh! Abraham and Sarah named the baby Isaac. Baby Isaac’s name means “he laughs.” Abraham and Sarah were happy...
Read more

Jacob and Esau

Image
Genesis 27:41a; 32:9-21; 33:3-11 Our story comes from the book, or part, of the Bible called Genesis. Genesis means "the beginning." The Bible tells us about two brothers, Jacob and Esau. Jacob and Esau were twin brothers. They were the sons of Isaac and the grandsons of Abraham. Jacob and Esau were born at the same time and were the same age. But Esau was a couple of minutes older than Jacob. Because Esau was the oldest son, he would someday receive a special blessing from their father. That was very important. One day, Jacob tricked his father Isaac into giving Jacob the important blessing instead of Esau. Esau was very mad. Esau was so angry that Jacob became afraid. Jacob decided to move away from Esau. So he packed up his things and traveled to another land. Even though God didn’t like what Jacob had done to Esau, God still blessed Jacob. God gave Jacob a large family and many animals. After many years, God told Jacob it was time to g...
Read more