Paul Sails for Rome, from Acts 27
by Marty Donnellan, C 2012
Open in prayer.
Ask: Does 2,000 years ago sound like a really long time to you? (All kids will say ‘yes’.)
Say: Think about it. How many of you are ten years old? 2,000 is nothing more than 200 tens… it’s also forty 50s… and twenty 100s. When I think about it like that, 2,000 years doesn’t seem like such an awfully long time. In the last 2,000 years, some things in the world have changed a whole bunch, and other things haven’t changed at all.
Today we’re going to read a story about the apostle Paul’s adventures on a ship as he sailed to Rome. This is a retelling of the account found in Acts 27. But first, let’s talk for a minute about the kind of boat Paul was in, and even what people think he looked like!
Discuss picture of boat (link is at the end of the posting).
Discuss picture of earliest known painting of Paul, found at the top of the lesson.
Say: We’ve talked about “who”, “what” and “when”. Now let’s talk about “where”. Show children map of Paul’s journey to Rome. Also show them where the area is on the globe (I use a 16″ inflatable globe which the kids enjoy.)
(Note: The words of Paul in this story are taken from scripture but I have added a bit of creative license with the other characters. My story itself is adapted from a previous story by Linda Sue Pochodzay Edwards on www.childrenschapel.org/biblestories/shipwreck2.html)
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Story:
“Farewell, and may God be with you!”
The apostle Paul turned and waved at his friends one last time as he boarded the ship. Paul was a prisoner of the Roman Empire. Julius, the Roman officer assigned to guard Paul, had been unexpectedly kind by allowing Paul to visit with his friends while the ship anchored in the port of Sidon. Paul was glad they had made this stop. Now he had the supplies he needed for his long journey, but even better, it always refreshed him to see his brothers and sisters in Christ and find out how they were doing.
Along with a few of his friends, Paul was being shipped across the Mediterranean Sea to the city of Rome, the most important city in the world at the time, and the capital of the vast Roman Empire which stretched from northern Africa to England. King Agrippa had given the order to send Paul to stand trial before the Roman Emperor Nero, also called ‘Caesar’. Caesar was the most powerful man in the world, and people said he could be cruel. But Paul was not overly concerned. In fact, Paul looked forward to standing before Caesar and telling him the good news about Jesus Christ.
The sailors, along with Paul and the other passengers, boarded the long wooden ship. They raised the sails and brought up the anchor. The rowmen got ready to row the two oars in the back, or stern, of the ship.
“Set sail!” the captain shouted.
The ship began to sway with the waves and soon they were on their way. The headwinds were a little strong but the day was clear. Little did the sailors know the dangers that would soon befall them!
The wind began to blow harder. The water became rough and choppy, the skies dark. The ship began to rock and toss as it thundered and began to rain. The waves were getting scarily tall – some of them washed over the ship! Some of the younger sailors were getting seasick. The Captain decided he’d better change course to keep the ship from being overcome by the waves.
Suddenly, someone spotted land, and the ship’s crew was able, though barely, to bring the ship in safely to land in the harbor of Myra.
“That was close,” one of the younger sailors said nervously, clutching his stomach.
“That little sprinkle? That ain’t nothin’,” another, more experienced, sailor scoffed, spitting onto the deck.
“Then why is your face so green?” the younger sailor managed to taunt.
Julius, the Roman officer, laughed at the sailors’ antics. “I’m just glad it’s over,” he said to the captain. “Let your men rest a little, then I’ve got to find us another ship bound for Rome.” He drew himself up importantly. “For my prisoner must be delivered to Caesar!”
When the weather cleared, Julius found an Egyptian ship that was headed to Italy. He gathered up the men. “Break time is over, you sissies!” he said. “Time to continue on our way!”
“We know, ‘for you must deliver your prisoner to Caesar’,” one of the sailors muttered under his breath.
But the sailor did as he was told. Soon everyone, including Paul and his friends, had boarded the ship. The sailors raised the sails and brought up the anchor. The rowmen got ready to row.
“Set sail!” the captain shouted again.
The ship began to sway with the waves as it pushed out into the sea, and once again they were on their way.
And once again, the wind began to blow. The water became rough and choppy, and the skies dark. The ship began to rock and toss as it thundered and began to rain. The waves got scarily tall – many of them washed over the ship!
Julius and the captain did not want to turn back. The ship sailed very slowly for many days. It was an increasingly rough and ragged ride. They had lost a lot of time – it was now late fall, not the best time for sailing in the first place. The crew’s nerves were on edge. They were beginning to wonder if they would ever get to Rome, or even get off this ship! All of them had heard many tales of ships which set out and were never heard from again.
As they were passing a place called “Fair Havens,” the prisoner Paul approached Julius and the Captain. “Men,” he said, “I believe there is trouble ahead if we go on—shipwreck, loss of cargo, and danger to our lives as well!”
“May I remind you that you are merely a prisoner?” Julius retorted. “It is my job to get you all to Rome, especially you, Paul – and that is exactly what I intend to do!”
“That’s right, don’t tell us our business, Paul, and you, Julius, don’t tell me how to run my ship!” the captain added – he found both Julius and Paul a bit bossy for his taste.
And so the ship continued on its way to Rome in spite of the terrible winds and high waves.
One day, to everyone’s relief, the storm abated and the howling winds were replaced by a gentler breeze. This was more like it! The passengers and crew began to relax as they hoped that the worst was over.
“You see, we were right all along!” Julius said to Paul. “There will be smooth sailing the rest of the way. We had nothing to worry about. Well, most of us – you shall stand trial before Caesar and then you’ll have something to worry about!”
Paul held his tongue. Later, as they sailed by the island of Crete, the wind began to blow harder. The sailors stiffened. Very quickly, out of the northeast, there arose a howling hurricane!
The winds blew more fiercely than in any of the previous storms. The sky was almost black. The waves were higher than some of the sailors had ever seen. The ship was tossed to and fro like a toy, battered by the churning seawater. The sailors cursed and wept. Even Julius and the Captain could not hide their fear.
The raging waters were, bit by bit, crushing the wooden ship. The sails had been torn off by the blustery winds and were miles away. Pieces of debris in the sea were smashing into the ship’s sides.
The exhausted crew began to throw unnecessary cargo overboard, hoping to lighten the ship’s load, but it did not help. Before long, they were throwing everything overboard. Even so, they understood that the situation was hopeless. They thought of their families and loved ones back home, and some prayed to their gods.
Paul had been watching silently through the terrifying ordeal. He had been fasting and praying to the Lord about it all.
When the time was right, Paul stood up in front of everyone. Hanging onto a beam for support in the wild winds, he shouted, “Men, you should have listened to me in the first place and not left Crete. You would have avoided all this damage and loss.”
Julius did not like anyone saying “I told you so”, especially a prisoner. He stiffened and looked angry. But the next thing Paul said surprised him.
“Be of good cheer!” Paul shouted. “Not one of you will lose your lives, even though the ship will go down.”
“Be of good cheer!!” Julius said incredulously.
“Yes,” Paul replied. “For last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me, and he said, ‘Don’t be afraid, Paul, for you will surely stand trial before Caesar! What’s more, God in his goodness has granted safety to everyone sailing with you.’ So be of good cheer! For I believe God. It will be just as he said. But,” Paul added, “we will be shipwrecked on an island.”
“Governor Festus was right, you ARE out of your mind,” Julius shouted; but the captain was looking at Paul with wonder.
At midnight, on the fourteenth day of the storm, a sailor shouted, “Land!” and everyone let out hoarse, ragged cries of joy. Their joy, however, was short-lived when they saw that the shallow water and shore were littered with rocks and boulders. The Captain knew he couldn’t steer the ship any closer to the land because it would hit the rocks and be smashed to bits. So he decided to throw out the anchor and let the ship toss. Some of the men wanted to jump out and try to swim to shore, but Paul convinced them to stay.
It was a difficult night. Just as day was dawning, Paul urged everyone to eat. “You’ve been so worried that you haven’t touched food for two weeks,” he said. “Please eat something now for your own good. For not a hair of your heads will perish.” He took some bread, gave thanks to God before them all, and broke off a piece and ate it. Everyone was encouraged and began to eat. After eating, the crew lightened the ship’s load further by throwing the remainder of the wheat overboard.
They discovered a creek with no rocks, which led them closer to land. They pulled up the anchor and steered the mangled ship as closely as possible to land, where they let it run aground. Some were able to swim to shore; others used wood from the damaged ship to float to land.
Paul’s promise came true. Paul’s friends, the sailors and even Julius were all of good cheer because they were finally safe. No one had died. God had kept his promise!
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Experiment: Floaters and Sinkers: Experiments in Buoyancy
Materials:
A bucket or bin filled with water
A variety of small household objects such as a glass marble, metal washer, bean, penny, wooden popsicle stick, and a raw egg. (Some objects should float and some should sink.)
Two bags or Mason jars, one filled with salt and one filled with sugar
Some large clear plastic cups
A tablespoon
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Part One: Drop, or have the children drop, each item into the water.
Before they do, Ask: Do you think each item will float or sink?
When the children observe the wood floating, remind them that after the storm in the story about Paul, some people were able to float to shore on broken pieces of the wooden ship.
Explain the concept of buoyancy.
Say: Buoyancy is the ability of an object to float in a liquid. More scientifically, It is the upward force exerted by a fluid on an object that is immersed in it .It is caused by the displacement of the fluid by the object.
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Part Two: The children will observe the egg sink in the water. Fill two clear drinking cups full of water. Place the egg in the first cup. Again it will sink.
Ask: Do you think there is anything we can do to make this egg float? (You will get a variety of answers.)
Say: What if we add sugar to the cup? (Again, a variety of answers.)
Add, or have a child add, sugar to the cup one tablespoon full at a time. Nothing will happen, ever. Pick up the egg and put it in the other cup of water.
Say: What if we add salt to the second cup? Add, or have a child add, salt to the second cup, one tablespoon at a time. At some point, the egg will float!
Ask: Why did the egg float in saltwater? This experiment with the salt demonstrates that saltwater is heavier, or more dense, than both ordinary water and the egg. This density pushes the egg up. The sugar water is not dense, or heavy, enough, to push up the egg. Density explains why YOU float easier in ocean water than in the pool.
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Experiment: Surface Tension: Power a Boat with Soap
Materials:
large plastic bin filled with water
something to use as a boat: shaped boat with aluminimum foil, scrap of foam, etc.
toothpick
dishwashing detergent
Have a child place her boat in the water.
Ask: How can we make this thing go? (Pushing it, blowing on it)
Remind the children how the ships in Paul’s day had no motors and relied a lot on the wind and the act of rowing against the wind.
Ask: Is there anything else we might use to power our boat? What about this detergent?
Place a drop of detergent on the end of a toothpick. Carefully place the toothpick at the end, or stern, of the boat. Suddenly it will go!
Ask: How did this happen? (You will get a variety of answers.)
Say: This demonostrates the property of “surface tension”. Water molecules are strongly attracted to each other and stick close together. This creates a strong but flexible “skin” on the water’s surface called surface tension. Surface tension allows the boat to float on top of the water.
Adding soap disrupts the arrangement of the water molecules. The water molecules near the detergent are attracted to the detergent as well as to other water molecules, so the surface tension of the water behind the boat decreases. Water molecules move from areas of low surface tension to areas of high surface tension. The boat is pulled towards areas of high surface tension by the water in front of the boat.
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Activity: Skinny Sentence: Give each child a copy of this skinny sentence. Show them how to read it, by placing sheet flat at eye level. The verse is, “When I am afraid, I will trust in God” from Psalm 56:3
When I am Afraid… Skinny Sentence
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Additional Discussion: True/False Trivia
T/F: Paul was one of the 12 disciples. He was sitting in a tree when Jesus called him. (F)
T/F: Before Paul encountered God on the road to Damascus, his name was Saul. (T)
T/F: Paul is the author of the book of Paul. (F: he wrote letters, or epistles to the churches)
T/F Paul’s special ministry given to him by God was the apostle to the Jews. (F – he was the apostle to the Gentiles. Explain what Gentiles are.)
T/F When Paul was not teaching and preaching, he made his living as a tentmaker. (T)
T/F Paul and Jesus were born about 50 years apart. (F – they were born at roughly the same time.)
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Extra Credit: In what ways was Paul different from the 12 disciples. 1. They had very little formal education, while Paul was one of the most educated men of his day. 2. They saw Jesus, but Paul did not until the road to Damascus. They preached mainly to Israel, he preached to the Gentiles.
Extra credit: Can you think of any other stories in the Bible involving people in boats? (Jesus, Jonah)
Hello, and thanks for dropping by! About me, I’m a wife, mom, writer, artist, dollmaker, skating teacher, sunday school teacher, non-profit food ministry director and heirloom grain-growing enthusiast.
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