(10 minutes with questions)
Teacher Note: Have the children form a semi-circle with their chairs. Start your story time with a few stretches to get the wiggles out. Go over your expectations for Bible Story Time (hands in their laps, feet on the floor, listen to you when it is your turn to talk, etc.). Make sure you have the Bible open on your lap while you tell the story.
Below is a Bible story that you can read word-for-word to your students. With younger children, focus only on the main points of the story (see text in bold). With older students, share more of the story’s details.
Have you ever written a letter to someone, maybe your friend or grandparent? Letters help us keep in touch with friends and family members. This is how people communicated before phones were invented. We can use letters to tell our friends about things that have happened in our life, share funny stories, or ask questions. In today’s Treasure Story, we are going to learn about a letter Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome.
Paul greeted the church at Rome. When you introduce yourself to someone, you tell them who you are. You might say, “Hello, my name is (insert a child’s name).” Paul introduced himself to the Romans, even though they had probably already heard of him as Saul. Paul told the church he was a messenger sent by God to tell about salvation in Christ.
Paul was thankful for the Christians in Rome. He was excited to know a church had formed in Rome. Paul told the Romans that he prayed for them all the time. He wanted to visit the church in Rome so badly because he knew there were people who still needed to hear the Gospel message. To Paul, all people needed to hear about salvation.
Paul wanted everyone to believe in Jesus. He was excited to spread the Good News because He wanted everyone to enjoy the righteousness of God. We receive the righteousness of God when we put our faith in Christ. Then God declares us righteous and forgives our sins.
Paul was eager to share the Good News because he knew that everyone was a sinner apart from Christ. Our sin separates us from God because God hates sin. Paul wrote that all would face eternal punishment in hell if they did not believe in God and His Son. People can even see God’s power in the beauty of creation such as the stars and sunset, but some still choose not to believe in Him.
In the same way that Paul shared the Gospel, we are to do the same. Though we may really love coming to church and seeing our friends, there are still people who do not know about Jesus. Just like Paul, we should want to tell everyone about God’s righteousness and how He will forgive our sins if we place our faith in Him.
Bible Story Questions