“PHILIP – THE PEOPLE OF SAMARIA HEAR THE GOOD NEWS”
YEAH! CHURCH - SUNDAY, AUGUST 21, 2022
"Doing Life with Jesus”
Today’s Lesson - “Philip – The People of Samaria Hear the Good News”
Video Story/Resource:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhQrkPZq9OQ (Bible Kids – Simon the Sorcerer)
Philip Preaches in Samaria
Acts 8:4-25, NLT
4 But the believers who were scattered preached the Good News about Jesus wherever they went. 5 Philip, for example, went to the city of Samaria and told the people there about the Messiah. 6 Crowds listened intently to Philip because they were eager to hear his message and see the miraculous signs he did. 7 Many evil spirits were cast out, screaming as they left their victims. And many who had been paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city.
9 A man named Simon had been a sorcerer there for many years, amazing the people of Samaria and claiming to be someone great. 10 Everyone, from the least to the greatest, often spoke of him as “the Great One—the Power of God.” 11 They listened closely to him because for a long time he had astounded them with his magic.
12 But now the people believed Philip’s message of Good News concerning the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ. As a result, many men and women were baptized. 13 Then Simon himself believed and was baptized. He began following Philip wherever he went, and he was amazed by the signs and great miracles Philip performed.
14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that the people of Samaria had accepted God’s message, they sent Peter and John there. 15 As soon as they arrived, they prayed for these new believers to receive the Holy Spirit. 16 The Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them, for they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then Peter and John laid their hands upon these believers, and they received the Holy Spirit.
18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given when the apostles laid their hands on people, he offered them money to buy this power. 19 “Let me have this power, too,” he exclaimed, “so that when I lay my hands on people, they will receive the Holy Spirit!”
20 But Peter replied, “May your money be destroyed with you for thinking God’s gift can be bought! 21 You can have no part in this, for your heart is not right with God. 22 Repent of your wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive your evil thoughts, 23 for I can see that you are full of bitter jealousy and are held captive by sin.”
24 “Pray to the Lord for me,” Simon exclaimed, “that these terrible things you’ve said won’t happen to me!”
25 After testifying and preaching the word of the Lord in Samaria, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem. And they stopped in many Samaritan villages along the way to preach the Good News.”
Who would have ever guessed the persecution of the early believers for their faith in Jesus would result in the Good News about Jesus spreading? The number of Jesus’ followers in Jerusalem had grown too big to ignore and the religious leaders grew jealous. They began to arrest and even kill anyone who taught about Jesus. As a result, the majority of the Christians in Jerusalem fled for their lives. This sounds horrible, except that it resulted in even more people becoming Christians!
Philip, one of the men who had been chosen with Stephen to run the food program, went to Samaria and he began to teach people about Jesus and do miracles in Jesus’ name. The Samaritans were amazed and many came to believe the news about Jesus. One man who believed was Simon the Sorcerer. Before Philip had come to the city, everyone used to think he was someone special because he would do magic. When Peter and John came to visit Philip in Samaria, they prayed for the people and they received the Holy Spirit. Simon had been impressed before with the miracles that Philip did, but now he wanted to have the same ability as Peter and John.
He didn’t really understand the Holy Spirit and thought he could be controlled, so offered to pay Peter and John so that he could ‘control’ God’s Spirit. Peter rebuked him and told him that such a request not only showed how little he understood about following Jesus, but also how wrong his motivations were still. Simon may have believed in Jesus, but he still had a lot of old habits and thoughts that needed to change.
Engage:
• Philip left Jerusalem and went to Samaria. Why did he leave Jerusalem?
• Philip boldly told everyone about Jesus and healed many. How did the Samaritans respond?
• Simon the Sorcerer was also impressed and came to believe in Jesus. What do we know of Simon’s life before he became a Christian?
• When Peter and John visited Philip in Samaria, they prayed for the believers and they received the Holy Spirit. What did Simon want?
• Peter rebuked Simon. Why did Peter get angry at Simon?
Weekly verse:
Acts 8:4-5, NLT – “The believers who were scattered preached the Good News about Jesus wherever they went. Philip, for example, went to the city of Samaria and told the people there about the Messiah.”
2022 Theme verses:
Colossians 2:6-7, NLT – “And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.”
Prayer – Dear God, help us to be bold like Philip. Even though he had to make a quick getaway from his home in Jerusalem, it didn’t stop him from telling others about you. Help us also not to be like Simon. Help us to change so that our thoughts, attitudes and actions please you.
~ Pastor Jane