Middle School Bible Lessons - New Testament

The disciples returned to Jerusalem, as Jesus instructed them, to wait for the Comforter or the Holy Spirit. During this time they chose Matthias as an apostle to fill the place of Judas Iscariot.

The disciples boldly proclaimed Christ and did miracles in His name. When they healed the crippled man, in the name of Jesus Christ, they were arrested. Although they were commanded not to preach of Jesus by the leaders, they were given faith and boldness to continue to preach and many believed.

As the early Christian church continued to grow despite the persecution by the Council, other concerns arose. The apostles heard that some of the widows were being neglected, so they called the congregation together to choose seven men, to become deacons and help care for the needy.

The Lord has used persecution to spread the gospel message throughout Judea and even Samaria. Philip, one of the deacons, went to the city of Samaria, where the Lord blessed the preaching and many were baptized.

As Peter travelled through the land he was given power to perform many miracles so that many believed in the Lord. When Tabitha, a woman of many good works, died in Joppa they sent for Peter and he raised her from the dead.

As a result of the persecution by Saul, the Christian church was scattered abroad. When the number of believers in Antioch increased Barnabas was sent to preach there. As the church increased Barnabas went find Saul, in Tarsus, to join him there.

As the Christian church continued to spread, despite the persecutions, it pleased God to choose Paul and Barnabas as the first missionaries. After they were called by the Holy Ghost, they were sent out from Antioch and travelled through various cities of Asia preaching the gospel message.

When Paul and Barnabas planned to go on their second mission they couldn’t agree about taking John Mark along. As a result they went separately, Barnabas with John Mark and Paul with Silas. Timotheus joined Paul at Lystra and at Troas they were joined by Luke, the author of Acts.

After visiting the churches established during the previous mission journeys, to establish and strengthen the disciples Paul kept his promise and returned to Ephesus. Paul continued here for some time teaching both Jews and gentiles about the kingdom of God and performed many miracles.

When Paul arrived in Jerusalem, his enemies accused him falsely and sought to kill him. When he was rescued by the Roman soldiers he told the people the story of his conversion. The next day he was called to address the council. The chief captain brought Paul to the castle for safety.