Children's Class Macedonian call_lydias conversion - Stephanie Coleman
Teachers
Lesson Summary
In this class, Miss Stephanie guided the students through Acts chapter 16, recounting Paul’s second missionary journey after his separation from Barnabas. She explained how Paul, accompanied by Silas, Timothy, and the author Luke, traveled from Antioch to Troas, where Paul received a vision of a man pleading for help in Macedonia. This divine direction led them to cross the Aegean Sea, stop at Samothrace, and arrive at the Roman colony of Philippi, a strategic hub on the Via Ignatia. The focus then shifted to Lydia, a merchant of purple cloth from Thyatira, who was gathered with other women at a riverside place of prayer. When Paul preached, Lydia’s heart was opened, resulting in her and her household’s baptism, and she generously offered her home for the missionaries to stay. The class highlighted how God chose a woman as the first European believer, illustrating the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise of “other sheep” (John 10:16). Through maps and historical notes, the lesson underscored God’s sovereignty in guiding the early church’s expansion into Europe.