“SOME BELIEVED, SOME DIDN’T”

Season: Book of Acts
Episode 23: “Some Believed, Some Didn’t”
Today’s Bible Bite: Acts 17:1-15

Video Story:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJsVLBVcoms (LifeKids - Paul and Silas in Berea)
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“The people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth.” (Acts 17:11, NLT)

Paul and Silas never really knew what kind of reception they would receive from people. Their teaching about Jesus made sense to some people, but not to everyone. When they went to Thessalonica, they were able to convince some people that Jesus was the Messiah, but others were jealous; they resented the attention that people were giving to this good news. They stirred up a crowd and would have arrested Paul and Silas, but they didn’t find them. The believers helped Paul and Silas get away from Thessalonica safely and sent them to Berea.

In Berea, the people were more open minded. After they heard Paul and Silas teach, they compared what they had heard to what the Scripture said. Many believed their message because they could see for themselves that it was true. The Bereans had the right idea. It isn’t good enough just to hear someone else’s ideas about God, we need to study too.

Think about it...
• Paul and Silas often got chased out of cities and towns because the people refused to believe their message. After they left Philippi, what city did they begin to preach in?
• In Thessalonica, some people believed Paul and Silas’ message, but again they were forced to run to a new city. Why?
• The Bereans behaved differently from those in Thessalonica. What did they do?
• Many people believed Paul and Silas because they saw that what they were teaching lined up with God’s Word. What lesson can we learn from their example?
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Prayer: Thank you, God, that Paul and Silas never gave up talking about you, even though many times they ended up in dangerous situations because people didn’t want to hear. Thank you that they were able to find people who believed and could then continue to share with others the good news they had learned from Paul and Silas. Help me to recognize truth when I hear it too.