Two Swords

TRUTH: You have a choice to make; you can be fooled or filled.

VISUALS:

Make two swords from cardboard using an enlargement of the pattern given. Color one sword silver and one black. Colour the tip of one side of the black sword bright red and paint a small red cross on one side of the silver sword.

Also prepare two cards – one with the word FOOLED and the other with the word FILLED.

LESSON:

Do you have the same name as someone else? (Give the opportunity to respond).

There were two men in the Bible who had the same name. They were both called Saul.

They had the same name –

but they lived at different times and they were completely different from each other.

Each of them had a sword –

but their swords were also completely different from each other.

The first Saul

The first Saul was a king. He was the first king of Israel. When he first became king he served God – or at least he seemed to. But that all changed.

He turned his back on God and he became a man who hurt and killed people (Show black sword).

He tried as hard as possible to kill David, who was to be the next king, and as he did so he killed many more innocent people (Show red tip of other side of black sword). This was a sword of death.

At last he killed himself with this sword of death.

Towards the end of his life he cried out, “I have played the fool” (1 Samuel 26 v21).

How sad! Here was a man who was FOOLED (Show card) –

and went the wrong way. I trust that you are not like this Saul.

The second Saul

The second Saul became a Christian and he also became a preacher and a missionary.

Before that he had been a wicked man and had even helped in the killing of Christians.

He too had a black sword with blood on it (Show black sword).

This was also a sword of death.

He had hurt and put in prison people who followed the Lord Jesus,

and he had taken part in the murder of Stephen.

But one day the Lord Jesus spoke to him and showed him his sin – and Saul turned from his sin and evil ways and trusted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour.

He put away his black sword (Put it away) but he started to use another sword (Show silver sword).

This was not a sword of death like the other one. It was a sword of life. This sword was the Word of God.

The Bible calls itself the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6 v17).

And it was this Word which Saul (or Paul as he later became) started to preach.

Then as people heard the Word of God which spoke about the death of Jesus Christ on the Cross for their sin (Show red cross on sword) many trusted Jesus Christ and received eternal life.

This sword brought life or light to many.

From the day Saul or Paul trusted Jesus Christ he was FILLED with the Holy Spirit (Show card) and with the Word of God –

and God greatly used him.

I trust that you are like this Saul.

What about you?

Let me ask you two questions:

Are you fooled like the first Saul and going your own way, or are you filled with the Holy Spirit and the Word of God like the second Saul and going God’s way

Which sword are you using? A sword of death which harms and hurts people or a sword of life which tells people how they can be saved and receive eternal life by trusting the Lord Jesus?