Eutychus Falls From A Window

Date
March 20, 2021
Author
Living Word Light of Life
Category
Children's Ministry

Dear Parents, Guardians, Teachers:

Paul and his team sailed together to Troas. They were there 7 days, and on the first day of the week which is Sunday, the Christians gathered together to worship and break bread, just as Jesus commanded them to. Paul was planning to leave the next day, so he preached all day until midnight. A young man named Eutychus attends the meeting and falls asleep while sitting in a window and dies from his injuries. Paul immediately stops speaking, goes down to the young man, puts his arms around him, and earnestly asks God to restore his life.

It was not misbehaviour that led to Eutychus falling out of the window. We can all empathize with him. If adults find it difficult to sit quietly and still for long periods of time, then children find it even harder. So, since children relate so well to this Bible character, use this opportunity to talk in a positive way about ways to listen and participate in the church assembly.

Scripture Reference: Acts 20:7-12

Memory Verse:

“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”
Romans 10:17

Way to Introduce the Story:

“What is the longest sermon or speech you have ever heard?” (Let children respond or share your own experiences.) “Was it hard to be still and quiet? Did you get tired or sleepy? In today’s lesson, we learn about a time that Paul preached a very long sermon. He preached all the way until midnight! There was a boy in the audience that got very tired during the sermon. Let’s see what happened.”

Bible Story:

On the first day of the week (Sunday), Paul and all of the Christians met together to take the Lord’s Supper. Everyone was so happy that Paul was with them. They knew that Paul was both an Apostle and a missionary. They had heard about how Paul had shared the Good News of Jesus with many people. And they had heard about the miracles that Paul had done to show the power of God and help people believe.

The place they met was a room on the third floor of a building. Everyone had to climb up lots of stairs to get to the meeting place. Paul kept preaching until midnight, so there were many lamps to help everyone see.

One young man named Eutychus found what he thought was a very good place to sit. He didn’t sit on a chair, and he didn’t sit on the floor. Instead, Eutychus found a window and sat right on the window sill. There was no glass in the window because windows did not have glass in those days. But it was a nice place to sit because there was plenty of fresh air. The third floor was very high, and the ground was very far down, so Eutychus would have had to pay attention and be careful not to lean too far out of the window. That would be dangerous!

But Paul kept preaching on and on, and Eutychus got so sleepy that he could not stay awake any longer. Finally, he fell fast asleep and leaned too far out of the window. He fell all the way down to the ground.

This was very serious! When people went down to him and picked him up, they found that he was dead.

Everyone was so sad. Poor Eutychus! While everyone was standing around, Eutychus Paul arrived. He had climbed down all of those stairs to where Eutychus was.

Paul threw himself on top of Eutychus’ dead body. Through the power of Jesus, Eutychus came alive again. Paul told everyone, “Don’t be alarmed. He’s alive!” Before, everyone had been afraid and sad. Now they were comforted and very happy. If Jesus’ power could raise Eutychus from the dead, then Jesus could take care of them too.

After this, everyone went back up the stairs and continued their time together. They took the Lord’s Supper, and Paul talked with them all through the night. In the morning, Paul left to continue his journey. And the Christians took Eutychus home safe and sound.

Have you ever fallen asleep in church like Eutychus? Or have you had a hard time listening? It is sometimes very difficult to sit still and quiet for a long time. But it is good manners and very respectful to try your best. That way you can listen and everyone else can listen. We want everyone to hear the Good News about Jesus!

Review Questions:

1. Who preached so long that it was past midnight? Paul

2. What happened to Eutychus? He went to sleep during Paul’s preaching and fell out of a third-floor window and died.

3. What did Paul do when he found Eutychus dead? He put his arms around him. Then he raised him from the dead.

4. Why is it important to listen to the word of God being preached? Faith comes from hearing God’s word (Romans 10:17)

5. How can we show respect to everyone who is listening to the preaching of God’s word? (Can be a lot of answers) quietly listen, do not get up and walk around during the sermon, don’t talk or whisper to people during the preaching, quietly look up and write down the scriptures that the preacher says, etc.

Learning Activities After the Lesson

1. Have your kids watch the animated story: Eutychus

2. CRAFT: For our craft, cut out the center of a paper to be our window. Then draw a sleepy Eutychus and tape a pipe cleaner or any cord to his back to the window so he could fall back out of the window and be lifted up again.