JOIN THE JOURNEY JR.
Families Abiding in Jesus together
With shorter reading assignments and kid-specific focus areas, Join The Journey Jr. is designed to help parents disciple their kids and engage with Scripture in the best ways for their age.
This month's memory verse
There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
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And when it was decided that we should sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan Cohort named Julius.
Acts of the Apostles 27
Paul Sails for Rome
1When the time came, we set sail for Italy. Paul and several other prisoners were placed in the custody of a Roman officer* named Julius, a captain of the Imperial Regiment. 2Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was also with us. We left on a ship whose home port was Adramyttium on the northwest coast of the province of Asia;* it was scheduled to make several stops at ports along the coast of the province.
3The next day when we docked at Sidon, Julius was very kind to Paul and let him go ashore to visit with friends so they could provide for his needs. 4Putting out to sea from there, we encountered strong headwinds that made it difficult to keep the ship on course, so we sailed north of Cyprus between the island and the mainland. 5Keeping to the open sea, we passed along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, landing at Myra, in the province of Lycia. 6There the commanding officer found an Egyptian ship from Alexandria that was bound for Italy, and he put us on board.
7We had several days of slow sailing, and after great difficulty we finally neared Cnidus. But the wind was against us, so we sailed across to Crete and along the sheltered coast of the island, past the cape of Salmone. 8We struggled along the coast with great difficulty and finally arrived at Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea.
Have you ever gone on a long road trip with your family? Maybe you drove through multiple states for long periods of time and made multiple stops. You probably got to see some cool places, but it was also probably tiring being in the car for that long!
Now imagine how Paul must have felt as he sailed to Rome, especially as they constantly made stops due to the dangerous weather in that part of the year.
Do you think his journey was easy or comfortable? What might have encouraged him to not give up on his faith in God? Paul was unjustly accused by the Jewish people for crimes he did not commit and for boldly speaking about Jesus. At the same time, we know that God told Paul to take courage and that, ultimately, it's God who sent Paul to testify in Rome (Acts 23:11)!
Throughout Paul’s journey in Acts, we see God protect Paul, provide for Paul, and stay by Paul’s side through countless hardships. We also see Paul never waver in his trust in God. We see Paul boldly proclaim the gospel before multiple crowds of people who disagreed with him and wanted to harm him.
Take a minute to think about and discuss the ways you have seen God protect, provide, and stay by your side in your life!
Before you answer the observation questions below, underline every city that Paul stops in while sailing to Rome. You can also look at a map that shows Paul’s trip and trace his route through each city.
“God, we praise you and thank you that you never forget about us or leave us alone. Thank you for always having a plan for us, just as you did with Paul on his journey to Rome. We ask that your Holy Spirit to help us to remember and believe that you are always with us, even when life gets hard. Please give us your courage to boldly share Jesus in the circumstances that you have us in, just like Paul did.”