Lydia Sunday School Lesson for Kids

This free Lydia Sunday school lesson teaches kids that the Lord opens hearts. Lydia was "a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God." When she heard Paul by a river side outside Philippi, the Lord opened her heart (Acts 16:14). She was baptized, and her household, and she opened her home: "come into my house, and abide there" (16:15). It comes in four age levels, each a separate printable teacher lesson, plus one take-home sheet for families. Everything is in the order you teach it.

Choose your age level

• Preschool (ages 3–5), 20–30 minutes, 2 pages: an Open and Shut game, a short story with hand motions and repeat-after-me lines, three simple questions, a shortened memory verse ("whose heart the Lord opened") with a motion, and a purple heart to color.
• Kindergarten to 2nd grade, 45 minutes, 3 pages: a Listen and Do game, the story in simple words, five recall questions with answers, the Seven Strips memory verse game, and a Come Into My House welcome game.
• 3rd to 5th grade, 45–60 minutes, 3 pages: a What's in the Box? game, kids look up verses in their own Bibles during a fuller story (the vision, the trip to Philippi, the river side, Lydia's house in Acts 16:40), five thinking questions and three recall questions, and a Bible look-up race.
• Preteens (ages 11–12), 45–60 minutes, 3 pages: students read Acts 16:9–15 and 16:40 out loud themselves, then discuss hearing and listening, obeying right away and opening our homes. Six discussion questions, a journal page, and two memory verses (Acts 16:14 and Romans 10:17).

Lesson at a glance

• Bible passage: Acts 16:11–15 (with the vision in 16:9–10 and Lydia's house in 16:40)
• Main point: The Lord opens our hearts to hear His Word, so we listen and obey.
• Memory verse: Acts 16:14 (KJV), with Romans 10:17 added for preteens
• Ages: preschool to preteen, in four versions

Lesson outline (the same in every version)

1. Opening game: a short game about listening, or about opening what is shut.
2. Bible story: the man of Macedonia (Acts 16:9), the trip to Philippi (16:11–12), the river side where prayer was made (16:13), the Lord opens Lydia's heart (16:14), she is baptized with her household and says "come into my house" (16:15), and Paul and Silas at the house of Lydia (16:40). Every fact has its verse reference so you can check it.
3. Questions to ask: with answers, at the right level for each age.
4. Memory verse: a game or motion to help kids learn Acts 16:14.
5. What this means for us: listen to God's Word with an open heart, obey right away, the gospel (Acts 2:38), and a challenge for the week.
6. Activity: the word search, crossword, maze, worksheet, the Lydia craft, a Come Into My House game, a Bible look-up race or a journal page, depending on the age.
7. Prayer.

Tips for teaching Lydia

• Read Acts 16:14 straight from the Bible: "whose heart the Lord opened." It is the heart of the lesson.
• The Bible says Lydia was "a seller of purple" and tells us nothing more about her work, so keep to that.
• The Bible says "she was baptized, and her household" (16:15) but doesn't say who was in her household, so don't guess.
• This story comes right before Paul and Silas in prison (Acts 16:16–40). If you teach both, teach Lydia first.
• Short on time? Do the story, three questions and the memory verse. That is a solid 25-minute lesson.