Holiday Club 2025 - Acts 27:13-44

We’ve seen how God has been with Paul. How he first called Paul and turned him from an enemy to a friend of Jesus. How he chose Paul and sent him to share the good news about Jesus with people in far away countries. And yesterday we saw how God was with Paul even at a really hard time in prison.

But what if Paul was in a situation even worse than prison? What if Paul was in danger of losing his very life?!

DUN-DUN-DUUUUUUN

Well, in our passage today, that’s what we see.

It all starts with Paul and his companions waiting for good weather. You see, they’re about to go on a boat. But back then, boats didn’t have engines. They needed something in order to move in the sea. Can you guess what Paul’s ship needed to move in the sea?

That’s right - wind! And look, that’s exactly what they got! It says that the men on the ship thought “This is the wind we wanted!” Happy days!

But then the wind got a little stronger. And people started booping to the sides.

But then the wind got a even stronger. And the people had to hang on or they would go overboard.

But then the wind got REALLY STRONG! And the people couldn’t even control the ship anymore!

Uh oh… Paul and his companions were now facing a STORM!

PLAY SOUND OF STORM

And the wind got so bad that they had to throw out their bags. And then they had to throw out the things you use to make the boat work! It was so bad that Paul and those with him thought “This is it. We’re not going to survive…”

But do you know how sometimes things are bad but then they get even worse?

A bit like this…

SHOW SKETCH OF STUBBING TOE INTO SKATE

Well, the people were facing a storm on a boat. But now they had another problem - they were super hungry! Surely this is it…

But Paul suddenly got up and he said…

“CHEER UP! EVERYONE WILL SURVIVE!”

Hang on Paul, that’s crazy! You’re literally in a storm and now everyone is hungry. How can you be so sure?!

“GOD PROMISED HE WOULD SAVE ALL OF US! AND I TRUST HIS PROMISES!”

Eventually, the boat got closer to land. But then there was another problem…

“THE BOAT IS GOING TO HIT THE ROCKS! WE NEED TO LEAVE THE BOAT!”

But Paul said…

“NO! DON’T LEAVE THE BOAT! TRUST WHAT GOD SAID! YOU WON’T EVEN LOSE A SINGLE PIECE OF HAIR!”

You see, some people wanted to leave the boat. Because they didn’t believe that God would save them. But Paul trusted God and he convinced everyone to stay on the ship. And then…

“I SEE AN ISLAND! QUICK, LET’S TAKE THE BOAT THERE!”

But hey, do you know how sometimes things are bad but then they get even EVEN WORSE?!

The ship hit a sandbank. And it got stuck and the waves started to break the ship! This is it - no one is going to survive!

But then someone said…

“SWIM TO THE ISLAND!”

And so they did. And guess what happened…

Everyone survived! EVERYONE! Why?

Because God saved everyone. Just like He told Paul.

When Paul said that everyone would survive, we thought he was crazy! But Paul trusted God’s promises. And He knew that God doesn’t break His promises!

So, even when it looked like that was the end, Paul wasn’t afraid. He had hope! Because God promised to save them. And God keeps His promises!

And it’s the same for us.

Guys, telling our friends about Jesus is hard. It’s scary! Kenneth showed us yesterday that God is with us when we’re in difficult, scary situations.

But God is with us even when the situation is so difficult and scary that it looks like there’s no hope.

I bet no one on the boat had hope when the storm started. Except Paul… Because he knew that God was with him. God promised to protect and save Paul and his companions.

When we go out to tell our friends about Jesus or even just to go to school or one day go to work, we know that God is with us, no matter how scary things can get.

So we don’t need to be afraid. We don’t need to be afraid to tell our friends about Jesus. We don’t need to be afraid to even tell our teachers about Jesus!

Because God is with you. He is like your shield or a special armour like Iron Man’s armour - He will protect you and be with you all the time.

So, like Paul, let’s not be afraid. Let’s have hope! Because God is with us, no matter how scary things look. He is ALWAYS with us!

Let’s pray.