Peter is Rescued

In Acts 12:1-18, while Peter was in jail, believers prayed for his impossible situation, and God sent an angel to rescue Peter from the prison.

Main points:

• God is with us wherever we are,
• God hears and answers prayers,
• We should pray for others.

Lesson Guide – Peter is Rescued

Ask your children if they remember any impossible thing God did in the Bible? Remind them that when God does something impossible, we call it a miracle.

Explain that many people listened to the Apostles message and put their trust in Jesus. Yet some people hated the gospel message and tried to stop the apostles preaching. King Herod wanted to please the religious leaders and the Romans, so he put Peter in a heavily guarded prison.

Set up a prison for a toy. You could use building blocks and whatever you have. Alternatively, have your child draw a picture of somewhere that will be impossible to escape. Reinforce that Peter was in an impossible and scary situation.

Speak about what we do when we are scared. Do we run away? Do we hide? Do we ask for help? Read Acts 12:5 and share how the church met together and prayed. Remind your child that we can always pray and ask God for help. Think of some scary situations we might face. How can we pray at those times?

As the believers prayed in one place, something amazing happened in the prison. Peter was sleeping chained to two soldiers. An Angel appeared in the cell and said, “Quick, get up!” Peter’s chains were broken, and Peter follows the angel past the guards and out of prison. God had miraculously rescued Peter and answered the prayers of the believers.

Play a game of ‘here or there’. For example, ask, “is your toy car here or in another room?” Reply by answering, “Yes, it’s there in another room.” Or “Are there any trees here?” No, they are there in the park.”

Share how we can pray for others even when we are not with them. Distance is no barrier to God. Take some time to pray for your child’s grandparents or friends in a different household or missionaries in another part of the world.

Peter goes straight to the house where the people were praying. A servant girl sees him at the gate but doesn’t believe her eyes. She tells the people praying that Peter is at the gate. Yet, they do not believe her and continue to pray for him to be free. (Most likely, your child will have much less trouble praying in faith than an adult). Share how we should have faith when we pray and believe that nothing is impossible for God.

Share some answers to prayer with your children. Encourage them to think of something they prayed for where God answered with yes. Explain that God doesn’t always answer our prayers the way we think He will, but He always answers them in the best way. Give an example of when you might say “no” to your child because you care for them.

Thank God for listening and answering our prayers. Thank Him for giving other people to pray for you.

Video Bible story for children – Peter is Rescued

Free Printable Bible Story – Peter is Rescued

Bible Time video

Games and activities

Who’s there?

Everyone in the room should close their eyes. Someone leaves the room and stands behind the door of the room.

Everyone’s eyes must remain closed. The child knocks the door, and the children ask, “Who’s there?” The child should reply with a funny voice. The children in the room must guess who it is. Speak about how the people praying didn’t believe Peter was waiting at the door.

Who am I?

Either put an image on a child’s forehead or show it to the other people in the room. Pick a person from this week’s lesson. The child with the image should ask questions to guess who they are. Answers should only be yes or no. If time allows, mix with other images of animals, transport, plants, or famous people.

Chain race

Cut some thin strips of paper. Have two people hold each strip. This will become their chain. Children should then race or complete an obstacle course without breaking the paper. If the paper tears, they must start again. Remind your children how Peter was chained to the guards so he couldn’t escape.

Worksheets

Free Bible Coloring Pages – Peter is Rescued

Craft – Bible verse chain

What you need:

• Template page
• Colouring pencils
• Scissors
• Sticky tape

What to do:

1. Colour the template pages.
2. Cut out the Bible verse strips.
3. Tape to form loops in correct order to make a chain

The Lord sees the good people and listens to their prayers. – 1 Peter 3:12

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Translations