3 Ways Into Sunday’s Stories for Children: Hearing God’s Voice

The Sixth Sunday of Easter

Last week, we heard about Peter’s dream of God’s love and value for all animals and people. This week, we hear a story of Paul’s dream, or vision, when he heard God’s voice so clearly that he and his friends traveled across the sea to share the good news with more and more people and communities.

We live with so much more noise around us than people in Bible times had around them — and not just the kind we hear with our ears. There are often many distractions and many different voices and images around us all at once. But less noise is not the only reason Peter and Paul could hear God.

Peter and Paul tried hard to be open to God. Even with all the noise in our lives, we too can find ways to focus in on the outward signs of God and God’s voice within us.

And, sometimes, we see the signs and hear God’s voice, like Peter, Paul, Lydia, and Lydia’s friends.

Print, fold, read, and color the story booklet of Paul’s dream and travels and Lydia’s hospitality and baptism.

1. Sing and Dance

Learn and sing “Open My Eyes, Lord” with Kathy Bozzuti-Jones.

2. Play and Pray

Play “I’m Listening.” Choose one person to be the follower and one person to be the leader. Have the follower close their eyes and the leader (or someone else) place a small object — such as a ball or a water bottle — across the room. The leader gives the follower verbal instructions on how to find the hidden object.

Or try this challenge: One person is blindfolded and one person is chosen to be found. Everyone in the room, in different locations, whispers directions to find them.

Try this mindfulness prayer practice:

Set aside a moment to stop, breathe, and see what rises to your attention.

Say a prayer to thank God for whatever or whomever rises to your attention.

3. Create

This week’s story sounds a little like a travel journal. 

This week, start a travel journal. Write a little bit about the places you go, the people you encounter, and how you feel in these experiences. Keep writing each day or week. Write about big or little things that you notice. Maybe you’ll be traveling out of town this summer. You can write about those travels and then look back later and see if your everyday travels are different than longer trips you take.

Are you different?