JOIN THE JOURNEY JR.
Families Abiding in Jesus together
With shorter reading assignments and kid-specific focus areas, Join The Journey Jr. is designed to help parents disciple their kids and engage with Scripture in the best ways for their age.
This month's memory verse
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
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But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him
Acts of the Apostles 13
Barnabas and Saul Are Commissioned
1Among the prophets and teachers of the church at Antioch of Syria were Barnabas, Simeon (called “the black man”*), Lucius (from Cyrene), Manaen (the childhood companion of King Herod Antipas*), and Saul. 2One day as these men were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Appoint Barnabas and Saul for the special work to which I have called them.” 3So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands on them and sent them on their way.
Paul’s First Missionary Journey
4So Barnabas and Saul were sent out by the Holy Spirit. They went down to the seaport of Seleucia and then sailed for the island of Cyprus. 5There, in the town of Salamis, they went to the Jewish synagogues and preached the word of God. John Mark went with them as their assistant.
6Afterward they traveled from town to town across the entire island until finally they reached Paphos, where they met a Jewish sorcerer, a false prophet named Bar-Jesus. 7He had attached himself to the governor, Sergius Paulus, who was an intelligent man. The governor invited Barnabas and Saul to visit him, for he wanted to hear the word of God. 8But Elymas, the sorcerer (as his name means in Greek), interfered and urged the governor to pay no attention to what Barnabas and Saul said. He was trying to keep the governor from believing.
9Saul, also known as Paul, was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he looked the sorcerer in the eye. 10Then he said, “You son of the devil, full of every sort of deceit and fraud, and enemy of all that is good! Will you never stop perverting the true ways of the Lord? 11Watch now, for the Lord has laid his hand of punishment upon you, and you will be struck blind. You will not see the sunlight for some time.” Instantly mist and darkness came over the man’s eyes, and he began groping around begging for someone to take his hand and lead him.
12When the governor saw what had happened, he became a believer, for he was astonished at the teaching about the Lord.
In Acts 13, the Holy Spirit sent out Paul and Barnabas to share the gospel with people in other nations. While sharing the gospel in Salamis, they met a magician who challenged Paul and Barnabas’s teaching on Jesus. Instead of backing down, Paul continues to speak the truth of Jesus to this man. How was Paul able to do that? Read Acts 13:9 to find out. Paul was “filled with the Holy Spirit.”
What does it look like to be “filled with the Holy Spirit”?
When we accept Jesus as our Savior, believing that he died for our sins and defeated death by raising from the dead, the Holy Spirit comes and lives inside of us. This was true of the believers in the early church, and it’s still true for us today.
The Holy Spirit fills us and gives us gifts to help us serve God. Paul was filled with the Holy Spirit here in Acts 13 and the Holy Spirit helps him do 2 things:
The Holy Spirit who was in Paul to give him discernment and courage is in us today! We can ask the Holy Spirit to help us any time we are not sure what to do, facing a challenge, need encouragement, or are sharing the gospel with someone.
Explore other places in Scripture where the Holy Spirit fills his people. Fill in this chart to show who the Spirit filled, what happened after they were filled, and what the Holy Spirit gave them when they were filled.