Leader Guide

Video Leader Guide

Welcome (2 minutes)

Hello, everyone! This is the final lesson of our Superbook adventure, “The Road to Damascus.” We have been learning about God’s mighty transforming power and how we can become more like Jesus!

Let’s worship God as we sing The Salvation Poem together. While we sing, let’s think about how Jesus loved Saul in spite of his sins and changed his life completely—just like He does for us today when we ask Him into our hearts!

Play Video 7: (Song) The Salvation Poem (3 minutes)

Be sure to preview the song so you can sing along with the children.

The Salvation Poem

SuperTruth and Discussion (2 minutes)

When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we become children of God. Our SuperTruth for today is: “I am a child of God, and He will reveal Himself to me.”

I would like the girls to say the SuperTruth together as loud as you can! Girls repeat.

Now, boys; it’s your turn! Boys repeat.

Wow, that was great!

Introduce Condensed Bible Story Video (1 minute)

If all children watched the Bible story video in a previous lesson, skip it here and go straight to the SuperVerse.

Now for the children who haven’t seen our Bible story yet, we are going to watch a short version of the video to see how someone who hated Jesus’ followers became one of the most famous Christians of all time! If you’ve already seen the video—then as you watch it this time, notice which people had to be brave at certain times.

Play Video 4: Condensed Bible Story (9 minutes)

Condensed Bible Story

Superbook takes Chris, Joy and Gizmo to meet Saul of Tarsus, who is on his way to persecute Christians in Damascus. The children witness Saul’s miraculous conversion, healing, and baptism before he must escape persecution himself.

Play Video 10C: SuperVerse Graphic 3

Graphic loops 2.5 minutes without audio; turn off or freeze video after children repeat verse.

SuperVerse Graphic 3

SuperVerse Discussion (2 minutes)

Our SuperVerse, John 14:21b, says,

“He who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”

What do you think it means when Jesus says He will manifest Himself to us?

Yes, Jesus reveals Himself or shows Himself to us. Who did Jesus reveal Himself to in the video? Saul/Paul.

Let’s all say the SuperVerse together.

Now let’s say it in a whisper! Children whisper verse.

Introduce Signposts Video (1 minute)

Let’s watch our last video today to learn about how God revealed Himself to people in the Bible—and still reveals Himself to us today!

Play Video 6: Signposts Video (4 minutes)

Signposts Video

Prayer and Send-Off (2 minutes)

Let’s pray. Dear God, we thank You that You want to reveal Yourself to us and to spend time with us. We want to open our hearts to Your Word and to the power of Your Holy Spirit, so You will transform us to be more like Christ. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Today in Small Group, we are going to begin with a game that will reveal our SuperTruth—one word at a time! Are you ready to play? Go have some fun!

Teachers take children to Small Group classes for Grades 1–3 and 4–6. If the combined group is small, all children may stay together for Small Group time. 

Game

That was a very exciting Signposts video we watched today. Why do you think God chooses to reveal Himself to people?

What would it be like to have walked and talked with God as Adam and Eve did?

Do you think Moses ever got used to God appearing to Him?

I think anytime you’re in God’s presence, you will be humbled and amazed!

Let’s say our SuperTruth together: “I am a child of God, and He will reveal Himself to me.” Who is ready to play a game?

You are going to turn over the strips of paper and find all the words of the SuperTruth so you can put them in the correct order! But it’s not as easy as it sounds!

Divide the class into two teams. Teams line up behind the mark or line. Start the game. The first player for each team walks quickly to the table, turns over a strip to reveal a word, and takes it. The player then quickly returns to a spot beside the mark and outside the area of play, placing the strip on the floor with the word showing. The second player repeats that process, except the word strip must be different than the first word selected for their team. A duplicate word is placed word-side down back on the table and the player selects another strip containing a different word. The player returns to the mark and places the strip on the floor next to the original strip. As the game progresses, players need to place the strips in the correct order to form the SuperTruth. Be prepared to help children with special needs, or those who do not read well. Continue playing until the complete SuperTruth is placed in the correct order and the team shouts out the SuperTruth together. The first team to do this wins.

Wow, you were fast! Let’s say the SuperTruth one more time together! “I am a child of God, and He will reveal Himself to me.” Did you know that you are a child of God?

Yes, when we trust in Jesus as our Savior, we are His children! Now, guess what; it doesn’t stop there! As we live for Jesus, He will reveal more and more about Himself! The more we know, the more we can be like Him! Now, let’s learn about some times when God revealed Himself to people in the Bible.

Teaching

Hand out the four rolled-up tubes to four children who do not need to know how to read. Explain that when you call their number, they should unroll the tube and hold it up so another child can read through a “telescope.”

Hold up the telescope.

Has anyone ever looked through a telescope?

A telescope reveals details about things that are far away. Let’s say our SuperTruth together: “I am a child of God, and He will reveal Himself to me.” Let’s use this “telescope” to explore how God revealed Himself to other people besides Saul in the Bible.

1. Hand the telescope to a child. Have the child with Tube #1 unroll it and hold it up for the child with the telescope to read aloud:

God came to Adam and Eve in the Garden. Genesis 3:8.

From the very beginning, God desired to have an intimate relationship with the people He created.

Read Genesis 3:8a:

When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden.

God came to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden to spend time with them.

ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION FOR GRADES 4–6:

Read the rest of Genesis 3:8:

The man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees.

This happened soon after Adam and Eve sinned and ate fruit from the forbidden tree. God knew what had happened and was coming to talk with them. Sadly, instead of looking forward to their time with God, they were afraid and felt guilty because of their disobedience. When we trust in Jesus as our Savior, He forgives our sin and we no longer need to feel guilty or afraid of God! We should always look forward to spending time in His presence!

 2.  Hand the telescope to another child. Have the child with Tube #2 unroll it and hold it up for the child with the telescope to read aloud:

God appeared and spoke to Abraham. Genesis 12:7.

God had something exciting to tell Abraham, who was first called Abram. The news was so exciting that God wanted to do it in person!

Read Genesis 12:7:

Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your descendants.” And Abram built an altar there and dedicated it to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

God made a covenant or promise with Abram that he and his family would inherit the land. Abram knew how important this was. He immediately built an altar to worship God and mark the spot where God appeared and made a covenant with him!

ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION FOR GRADES 4–6:

God came to Abraham other times. One of them is described in Genesis 17:1, when God told Abraham to serve Him faithfully. He then reaffirmed His covenant promises He had made to Abraham years before. This was very important to Abraham because he was now 99 years old! God reaffirmed that Abraham would have a child and descendants to fill the land God had promised! God knew that many years had passed since He spoke the original promise to Abraham. God came to strengthen Abraham’s faith! We all need to be reminded of God’s promises, don’t we?

 3. Hand the telescope to another child. Have the child with Tube #3 unroll it and hold it up for the child with the telescope to read aloud.

God appeared and spoke to  Moses. Exodus 19:20.

Read Exodus 19:20:

The Lord came down on the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses climbed the mountain.

God wanted to speak with Moses in the wilderness. He called Moses up to the mountain, where He gave His laws for the people. Does anyone know what those laws are called? The Ten Commandments.

ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION FOR GRADES 4–6:

God appeared to Moses several more times—in fact, God instructed him to set up a tent so Moses could come regularly to talk with God about leading God’s people.

Read Exodus 33:11a:

Inside the Tent of Meeting, the Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.

How incredible that must have been for Moses. After meeting with God, Moses’ face shone so brightly that the people could not look at him! What a privilege we have through Jesus Christ to come into God’s presence daily!

 4. Hand the telescope to another child. Have the child with Tube #4 unroll it and hold it up for the child with the telescope to read aloud.

Jesus came to Earth and He will come again!

We have discussed some of the Old Testament appearances of God to people. These all pointed to the ultimate appearance of God—through His only Son!

In the SuperVerse from our first lesson of The Road to Damascus, we learned that Jesus came into the world to save sinners. It was necessary for Jesus to come to Earth as a man to live a sinless life so we could be saved from our sins! The best news of all is that Jesus will reveal Himself to everyone when He returns to Earth!

Read John 14:1–3:

Jesus told His disciples, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in Me. There is more than enough room in My Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with Me where I am.”

When we go to heaven we will see Jesus forever—just as He promised!

ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION FOR GRADES 4–6:

God still appears and talks to us today. How do you think He does this?

Yes, God can speak and reveal Himself to us in any way or form He chooses. He can speak to us with His voice and to our hearts through the Holy Spirit. God can use dreams and visions or even send an angel to us. But the main way God reveals Himself to us is when we read His Word and spend time in prayer—telling Him our needs and then listening for His answers!

Discipleship Challenge/Practical Application

Let’s talk about the Superbook challenge we began in our first Road to Damascus lesson—our New Name Tags.

Show the sample New Name Tag to the children.

We each chose a godly quality that we would like to grow in our lives. Who remembers some of the good character qualities that we mentioned? Courageous, selfless, humble, obedient, kind, faithful, brave, patient, loving, caring, gentle, honest, bold, friendly, generous, trustworthy, diligent, wise, respectful, joyful, etc.

We wrote our special characteristics on the inside of our New Name Tags to remind us to pray about how these special qualities can grow in our lives.

How did your challenge go since last time? Would anyone like to share how you were able to display your new name by what you said or did?

Allow time for students to share.

Who did not receive a New Name Tag yet?

Give a New Name Tag Pattern to each child who did not receive one previously. Tell children to follow the directions on the pattern at home to create their name tags.

Let’s all keep focusing on asking God to change us into His image, day by day.

(Pray:) Dear Lord Jesus, we thank You for all of these children and their desire to be transformed by You so they can share the Gospel as Paul did. Holy Spirit, continue to work inside of each of them so they can be more like You! In Your name, Amen.

SuperVerse

Have children look up John 14:21. Teacher reads verse 21b: 

“He who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”

Who do you think is talking in this verse? Jesus.

Jesus said He will manifest Himself—what does that mean? Reveal, appear or show.

Who will Jesus reveal Himself to? Me, us, anyone who loves Him.

I know I want to see more and know more about Jesus, don’t you?

All we have to do is love, trust and serve Him; as we do, we will discover Him in new ways!

Let’s look up John 14:6 now. Have a child read it aloud. 

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through Me.”

How do you think this is connected to our SuperVerse?

Jesus said, if someone loves Him, they are loved by God. We don’t deserve to be loved by God because of our sins—but Jesus took our punishment by dying on the cross. When we trust in Jesus as our Savior, He washes away our sin and gives us a new relationship with our Father in heaven.

Let’s say our SuperVerse, John 14:21b, together.

“He who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”

Good! Now I would like the girls to say the first half of the verse as loud as you can up to the word “and.” Then I would like the boys to shout the rest of the SuperVerse beginning at the word “and.” Let’s try it!

Very good! Now, let’s switch and have the boys go first!

Note: If younger children are not able to memorize the entire SuperVerse, simply have them repeat it several times and be sure they understand its meaning.

Prayer

Our SuperTruth says: “I am a child of God, and He will reveal Himself to me.” Our SuperVerse tells us that if we love Jesus, He will love us and manifest or show Himself to us. In other words, we will learn more and more about Him as we love and serve Him. Let’s look at another prayer that Paul prayed for believers in Christ.

Read Ephesians 1:16-17:

I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.

What a great prayer—for wisdom and spiritual insight to grow in the knowledge of God!

I would like each of you to take a couple minutes to close your eyes and be silent before God. Tell God how much you love Him. Ask God to show you more and more about Him and for Jesus to manifest or show Himself to you in a greater way as you serve Him. If you don’t know Jesus as your Savior, you can ask Him to come into your heart today! He will wash away your sins and make you a new person, just like Saul. If you already know Jesus as your Savior, ask Him to reveal more and more about Himself to you today and throughout the coming week. Continue to pray at home and ask Jesus to reveal Himself to you in a special way as you read the Bible and serve Him.

Allow a few minutes for children to pray.

(Pray:) God, I thank You for calling us Your children and revealing Yourself to us! Jesus, we love You and want to know more about You so we can do and think as You do! In Your name we pray, Amen.

Ball Object Lesson

Have you heard the expression, “Out with the old and in with the new”? That is what happens to us when we become children of God—day by day, we become more like Jesus. We want to live for Jesus. As we follow Him, the Holy Spirit reveals Jesus’ character to us. The more we do this, the more Jesus is revealed to us and the more our minds are renewed so we think and act like Him! Let me demonstrate this to you. God wants bad thoughts to be replaced or pushed out by His thoughts. 

Read Philippians 4:8:

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

Hold up the tube.

Let’s say this tube represents your mind. When we begin to follow Jesus, we know very little about how to think and act like Him. As we read God’s Word, the Holy Spirit reveals to us more about Jesus’ ways and thoughts. As we begin to think as He did, our wrong thinking is replaced by God’s right thinking.

Push the “Right” ball into the “IN” side of the tube just enough to push the “Wrong” ball out of the tube. Hold up the “Wrong” ball to show the children.

See, the wrong thoughts were displaced or pushed out!

Push the “Pure” ball into the “IN” side of the tube just enough to push the “Impure” ball out of the tube. Hold up the “Impure” ball to show the children.

Our impure thoughts are replaced by God’s pure thoughts.

Push the “True” ball into the “IN” side of the tube just enough to push the “False” ball out of the tube—use a finger to push the ball, if necessary. Hold up the “False” ball to show the children.

Our false thoughts are replaced by God’s truth! As we continue to follow Jesus, He will reveal more of Himself to us and our thoughts will be replaced with His thoughts!

Tossing Game

Let’s say our SuperTruth together. “I am a child of God, and He will reveal Himself to me.” The best way for a child of God to find out about Jesus is by reading the Bible. What are some things you found out about Jesus from our Bible story about Saul’s encounter with Jesus?

Today, we are going to play a game to reveal more about Jesus! Let’s get started.

You will each have a chance to earn a point by tossing a beanbag into the container—blindfolded! Then you can earn additional points by listening to a Scripture and saying what it reveals about Jesus. Sometimes the Scripture may include more than one trait or description, so listen carefully. Some traits may be repeated; that’s okay! I will read the verse one more time if you ask me to. You get two points for each trait you correctly identify.

Divide the class into two teams. Teams will alternate turns; three players play on each turn. The first three players for Team 1 stand behind the line or mark, are each given a beanbag, and are blindfolded, or cover their eyes with one hand. Each player tries to toss a beanbag into the container. The team scores one point for each beanbag that goes in. The players can remove their blindfolds after tossing their beanbags. The teacher reads a question to the three players from the Q&A sheet. Give two additional points for each trait that is correctly identified. Be open and award a point for other traits that children uncover that may not be listed here! Always encourage children for trying even when their answers may be wrong. Say things like, “That is a very godly trait, good answer, interesting guess, creative response, but ...” Also, if traits are missed, read the sentence to both teams and ask them what they think is revealed about Jesus here. The idea is to show the children how to dig and give an opportunity to the Holy Spirit to reveal things to them they didn’t see before. The first three players of Team 2 then take a turn. Continue until all children have had a chance to play. The team with the most points wins.

Great job everyone! It’s really fun to learn about Jesus through reading the Bible. As new things about Jesus are revealed to us, we can ask the Holy Spirit to help us show plainly those traits and characteristics in our lives, too!

Bible Story Skit

Divide the class into groups of three. Give each group a copy of the script. Tell the groups that you, or another leader or a 6th grade helper, will be Jesus and the narrator, and will tell them what to do and what to say at the correct time. They will then act out their parts and say their lines. Assure them they do not need to memorize their parts, and you will assist them as needed along the way. This is to be fun, not stressful! Allow about five minutes for the groups to assign characters: Saul, a man who traveled with Saul, and Ananias, and to familiarize themselves with the skit. The narrator should read the lines slowly and pause as the characters act or speak.

Place the chair several feet away from the spot where the skit will begin. Begin the skit with the first group. For fun, introduce each Bible character’s name and have the child playing that character step forward and bow. Repeat this as each group takes its turn.

Did you enjoy acting the Bible story out?

What did it feel like to be your character?

Let’s say our SuperTruth together? “I am a child of God, and He will reveal Himself to me.”

Bible Study

Have children look up Acts 9:1-19. Divide up the verses between the children to read aloud, then lead a discussion using the questions below. Feel free to add any questions that you think will facilitate deeper discussion with your particular group.

¹Meanwhile, Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord’s followers. So he went to the high priest.²He requested letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, asking for their cooperation in the arrest of any followers of the Way he found there. He wanted to bring them—both men and women—back to Jerusalem in chains. ³As he was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him.⁴He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting Me?”⁵ “Who are you, lord?” Saul asked. And the voice replied, “I am Jesus, the One you are persecuting!⁶Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” ⁷The men with Saul stood speechless, for they heard the sound of someone’s voice but saw no one!⁸Saul picked himself up off the ground, but when he opened his eyes he was blind. So his companions led him by the hand to Damascus.⁹He remained there blind for three days and did not eat or drink. ¹⁰Now there was a believer in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision, calling, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord!” he replied. ¹¹The Lord said, “Go over to Straight Street, to the house of Judas. When you get there, ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying to me right now.¹²I have shown him a vision of a man named Ananias coming in and laying hands on him so he can see again.”¹³“But Lord,” exclaimed Ananias, “I’ve heard many people talk about the terrible things this man has done to the believers in Jerusalem!¹⁴And he is authorized by the leading priests to arrest everyone who calls upon Your name.” ¹⁵But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is My chosen instrument to take My message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel.¹⁶And I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.” ¹⁷So Ananias went and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”¹⁸Instantly something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized.¹⁹Afterward he ate some food and regained his strength. Saul stayed with the believers in Damascus for a few days.

• What does Jesus ask in verse 4? “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting Me?”
• Saul had probably never actually met Jesus, so how could Saul be persecuting the Lord? Jesus tells us that we are His Body. If people are persecuting Christians, they are also persecuting Jesus, Himself.
• How does verse 10 relate to our SuperVerse and our SuperTruth today? Ananias was a believer in Jesus. Jesus manifested Himself or appeared in a vision to Ananias. Ananias loved Jesus very much; we know this because he was willing to risk his life at a time when Saul was persecuting Christians.
• What does it tell you about Ananias, that he answered the Lord when his name was called? He had a relationship with God. He was comfortable and familiar with His voice.
• In verse 11, do you think Saul would be considered a believer in Jesus? How does this relate to the SuperVerse and SuperTruth? Saul was praying to Jesus. Saul thought he was serving God before, but he didn’t know Jesus. Saul was transformed, and Jesus is revealing Himself once again to Him in a vision.
• In verse 12, Saul’s vision was very detailed! Jesus showed Ananias to Saul and told him his name! What does that tell you about Ananias? Jesus knew him to be an obedient follower. He knew he would follow His instructions!
• If you were Ananias, would you have hesitated to visit Saul? Why?
• Do you think you would have trusted God and gone? It is amazing that God uses us even when we are scared and have doubts!
• How do you think Ananias felt after obeying, then seeing the results?
• Do you think this strengthened his faith; how so?
• Do you think Ananias was humbled to be used in such a powerful way and amazed that God changed Saul as He did?
• As believers, why should we get excited about this? Jesus knows where we are and knows our names. He revealed Himself to both men—He knew their address! He works through people to accomplish His work! He will work in us, too! When we have a need or situation, Jesus knows where we are.
• In verses 13-14, do you think that Ananias was wrong to question God? Was God angry that Ananias did?We can ask God questions to make sure that we are hearing Him correctly, and share our hearts with Him. God’s response is not in anger; He simply answers him and explains.
• What does verse 17 tell us about Ananias? He trusts God, He is obedient and faithful.