Lydia--Creation

Scripture: Acts 16:13-15

Memory Verse for this rotation: “Be good soil. Good soil represents honest, good-hearted people. They listen to God’s words and cling to them and spread them to others who will soon believe.” Luke 8:15

Concepts to be learned by children:
* Baptism is a key component to our relationship with Christ.
* We are to be like Lydia; listening, learning, and applying all we can about Jesus.
* We are all important in God’s family; regardless of our gender or background.
* Lydia is good model of Godly behavior.

Materials:
• Doughnuts, Water, Glasses, & Napkins (found in the kitchen)
• Journals (with Shepherd)
• Pencils (with Shepherd)
• Fabric—squares of light colored cotton, silk, or wool
• 1 tablespoon Tumeric OR ½ red cabbage
• If using cabbage…knife and cutting board
• 4 cups water
• 2 tablespoons salt
• Pot that may be ruined
• Heat source/hot plate
• Large bowl to strain into
• One plastic sandwich bag per student
• One at-home instruction card for each student
• Strainer that may be ruined
• Memory Verse Prompts

Objectives:
* Students will review the story of Lydia.
* Students will dye a piece of fabric purple.
* Students will participate in a reflection/closing prayer time.

Presenter Preparation:
Prior to Sunday Morning:
1. Read the scripture passage and do the Leader’s Bible Study
2. Read through the lesson plan provided and ask Stacy about any questions you have.
3. Plan your opening and closing prayers, if you decide not to use those provided.
4. Consider the age group you’ll be working with each week and any adjustments you’d like to make to the lesson.

Sunday Morning:
1. Get cups, doughnuts, and pitcher(s) of water from the kitchen.
2. Be sure the room is set up as you desire.
3. Look through supply box to familiarize yourself with its contents
4. Do any other preparations you feel necessary.
5. Know that we are thankful you are teaching!

Procedure:
A. Welcome & Introductions at approximately 9:50 a.m.
1. Have the appropriate number of snacks available for each of the participants prepared before they arrive.
2. Greet the children and introduce yourself, wear a name tag if possible. Shepherds have name tags for the children in their bags. If necessary, ask the shepherd to supply children without tags with a temporary badge.
3. Explain that today they’ll be listening, learning, and teaching others while playing a game.
4. Open with a brief prayer. An example might be: God, we want to follow you, and listen closely to what you teach. Please help us to be like Lydia; having an open heart to learn. Amen. 5. Give the students their snack
6. Try to have the water and salt boiling by now.

C. Application:
1. When Lydia was selling her cloth, it had to be dyed with a shell fish from the ocean, which was very rare, which made her cloth so expensive. We are going to dye fabric as she did, but instead of using that fish, we are going to be using cabbage and a natural dyeying process. I need everyone to be very close listeners and work together to make this go smoothly.
STEPS:
A. Have a student carefully add the chopped cabbage or turmeric to the water and let it boil for 15-20 minutes.
B. Soak one piece of fabric for each child in warm water to remove starch/detergent/soiling.
C. During this time you can share the story.

Story Review/Telling :
a. Prep for Learning
We’re learning about Lydia today. What can you tell me about Lydia? She was from Thyatira, she was a seller of purple cloth, she was baptized, she asked the disciples to stay with her, she was praying by the river, God made her heart hear better.

b. Read the story
a. PreK through 2nd graders: you may read from the Bible.
b. Grades 3-6th—go ahead and read the story from the Bible.
c. A Few Notes—As the rotation continues and the children have heard the story in other rotations, you may skip the scripture reading (your choice) and simply practice finding the scripture and then review the story by asking several questions. Some questions you might use are:

A. When did they go out by the gate by the river? On the Sabbath day.
B. Why did they go there? They supposed there was a place to pray.
C. When they got there, who was there? A group of women. Lydia.
D. What did they do when they got there? Started talking about Jesus.
E. What do we know about Lydia? She was already a worshipper of God. She was from Thyatira. She sold purple cloth.
F. What did the Lord to do Lydia? Opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul.
G. What did she and her household do because of what she had learned? They were all baptized.
H. What did Lydia encourage the men to do? Come and stay with her at her house.

D. Next, you will straining the vegetable matter out of the dye and return the dye to the pot. Add the presoaked material and bring to a boil. Let it simmer for as long as possible. Your material is finished when it is one or two shades darker than you think it should be.

E. Wring out the fabric the best you can and you can place it in a baggie for the child to take home. Be sure to include an instruction card for them, explaining what to do at home.

D. Reflection:
1. Pass out the journals and ask shepherds to pass out pencils.
i. Younger Students: Students may draw a picture of someone dying a piece of cloth, or a picture of them selling the cloth.
ii. Older Students: Lydia was a merchant, despite the fact that she was a woman. What profession or desire do you have that you want to accomplish/do, despite restrictions you feel might be placed upon you? How might you meet those goals?

D. Closing:
1. Ask the students to close their journals and sit quietly.
2. Recite the Bible memory verse: “Be good soil. Good soil represents honest, good-hearted people. They listen to God’s words and cling to them and spread them to others who will soon believe.” Luke 8:15
3. Close with a prayer. Encourage children to offer petitions. An example might be: God, we are thankful for the many stories your Bible holds that help us to learn the right way to live. Please help us to be obedient children. Amen.

E. Tidy and Dismissal:
Ask children to help clean up before they go. Be sure that they find a responsible person and that everyone has found one such person before you depart. Please take all supplies and put them in the cardboard box and return the box to the white cart.

THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR FAITH WITH OUR YOUNG PEOPLE!

Creation Take Home Instructions
Congratulations on a job well done! Lydia would have been proud of your purple cloth!
When you get home:
1. Take your cloth out of the bag.
2. You may rinse your material in cold water, if you’d like. This may lighten the color of your fabric.
3. Lay your fabric out to dry, or put ALONE in your drier on high heat for 10 minutes to set the color.

Enjoy!