3 Times GOD Changed HEARTS Bible Stories for Kids

Minnow Laugh & Grow Bible Big Changes for Saul Jesus' disciples were very busy in Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit had come and they were boldly sharing the good news. Jesus died for our sins with everybody. I'd like to follow Jesus. I'd like to follow Jesus too. Wow! So many followers. Yep. And now it was time to spread the good news all over the Roman world. How would they do that? Oh, God had someone special in mind for the job. Peter? Nope. John? No. Andrew? Matthew? James? Simon? Bartholomew? No. It was a man named... Saul. Also known as... Paul. Saul was his Hebrew name. But outside of Israel, people knew him as Paul. So, Saul was Paul? Yep. And he was also... A Pharisee. And like all good Pharisees, I want to make sure everybody follows all the rules. All the time. Remember, the Pharisees thought Jesus was breaking all the rules. So, they had worked with the Sadducees to have him arrested. They wanted to hurt Jesus. And they did. Right. Well, Saul was so concerned about the rules that after Jesus died, he made it his job to... Arrest him! Arrest her! Arrest them! I'm making it my job to arrest as many of Jesus' followers as I can. So, Saul, who was Paul, was a Pharisee? And an enemy of Jesus. But how could God use an enemy of Jesus to spread the good news about him all over the world? Because even though Paul was going one way, God was about to turn him around. How? By stopping him in his tracks. You see, one day, Saul was traveling to a town called Damascus, hoping to find more of Jesus' disciples. I'm gonna arrest them. I'm gonna lock them up. I'm gonna arrest them. When suddenly, a bright light hit him right in the face. Oh! A bright light? A very bright light. And then a voice from heaven said, Saul, why are you trying to hurt me? Who was it? That's what Saul wanted to know. And the voice replied, Jesus was talking to Saul? I mean, Paul? Wow! He must have been so surprised. And even more so when he realized that, I can't see! I can't see a thing! Suddenly, Saul was blind. Then Jesus told him to go to Damascus anyway and wait there. Why? Because Jesus had a follower there named, Ananias. Jesus spoke to Ananias in a dream and told him to go find Saul. You mean, the man that came to arrest us? The one who hasn't stopped making trouble? That mean man? Why do you want me to find him? Then Jesus said, He is the one I'm going to use to spread the good news about me to everyone. To Jews, and those that aren't Jews, and even to kings. So, what did Ananias do? He trusted Jesus. So, when he found Saul, he prayed for him and something amazing happened. I can see! I can see! Wow! Then, something even more amazing happened. What? Saul became a follower of Jesus. Double wow! And then, something even way more amazing happened. What could that be? Hey! Hey! Jesus is the Son of God! Hey you! Jesus is the Son of God! He started telling everyone about Jesus. So, Saul went from being Jesus' enemy, To being Paul, Jesus' friend. And more importantly, a disciple. I've got to tell everybody about Jesus! Anywhere! Everywhere! Whatever Paul did, he did with his whole heart. And now that he met Jesus, He was ready for God to use him to turn the Roman world Whoa! upside down. A very long time ago, in a place called Persia, there lived a king. Me! King Xerxes! Xer... Xerxes? Yep, a tough name and, well, kind of a tough king. Why was he so tough? He had a bad temper. What? Who said that? Get rid of them! Whoa! He does have a temper. Well, King Xerxes needed a queen. So, he searched throughout the land for the best queen of all. No! No! No! No! No! Hey! Who are you? Esther! Now, Esther was an orphan, which means she had no mother or father. She lived with her cousin, Mordecai. He worked for King Xerxes at his palace. Both Mordecai and Esther were Jewish. Jewish? What does that mean? You see, God's people were called the Israelites because... They were the children of Israel! Right! Well, there came a time that Israel split in two. The southern half was called Judah, and the people from Judah were called... Jews! Okay, I get it. Now, the Jewish people were not very popular in King Xerxes' land. And he didn't know that Esther was a Jew. He just knew that... She is so pretty and kind! I love her! In fact, he loved her so much that he made Esther queen. Aw, what a nice story! Well, not so much. Really? Why? Things got complicated. You see, King Xerxes had a friend named Haman. Yes, yes, like Haman. At least you won't forget me. Haman didn't like the Jews at all. And he especially didn't like Mordecai. Because Mordecai would never, ever, ever bow down to him. Finally, Haman got so fed up with Mordecai that he went to see the king. Oh, Haman! Hey, king! I mean, your highness. I have something important to tell you. Haman lied to the king and said that the Jews were troublemakers. And the land would be better off without them. Oh, no! The king didn't listen to him. He did! The king signed a law that said all the Jewish people would be killed. That's scary! Did Esther pack her bags and go? No. No? Mordecai had a plan. You have to talk to the king. Esther was scared. If someone went to the king without an invitation, you could be killed. But Mordecai said, Maybe this is why God allowed you to become queen. Esther, you can save your people. So what did she do? Esther gathered her courage and prepared a feast. A feast? Why? She invited the king and Haman. And just as they were starting to enjoy the meal, she told on Haman. She said, King Xerxes, someone is going to kill my whole family and me. The king was surprised. What? Who would want to kill my queen? That man. Haman? He plans to kill all the Jewish people. And I, I am a Jew. Like I said, King Xerxes had a temper. And he said, Hey! Hmm? Whatever you were going to do to the Jews will be done to you. No, no, no. I'm sorry. That was the last time anyone had to worry about Haman. Wow. God really used Esther's bravery in a big way. Yes, he did. God used the bravery of Esther, an orphan girl who became queen, to save the children of Israel. Do you remember what a prophet is? Someone who delivers messages from God. Right. Usually prophets were excited to deliver God's message. Yes, Lord. I'll do that right away. But this is a story about a prophet who was not. His name was... Jonah. Jonah was a prophet in Israel, and one day God gave him a new message to share. Jonah, I have a message for you to deliver. Yes, God. Right away. Where in Israel do you want me to go? I'm ready. This message is not for Israel. It's for Nineveh. Nineveh? I want you to tell them to stop being mean. You're kidding, right? You better get going. Jonah was confused. I'm a prophet for Israel, not Nineveh. The people of Nineveh are mean bullies, and what if they listen to God's message and say... We will obey God. Will God just forgive those mean bullies? Jonah didn't want to forgive them? Not at all. Why not? The thought of God letting them off the hook for all the bad they had done just made Jonah feel sick. I don't want God to forgive them. So what did he do? I'm out of here. Jonah ran away. Oh, no! How could he run away from God? Well, he couldn't really, but he tried. Since Nineveh was east... I'm heading west. And he went so far west that he ended up on the shore, where he found... A ship. Now I don't have to deliver that message. But as soon as the ship got out to sea, a huge storm tossed the ship around. And the sailors were scared. Really, really scared! I sure would be. So the captain called out... Everyone pray so we don't die! So what did Jonah do? Nothing. Nothing? Not a thing. He was below deck. Sleeping? Until the captain found him. Hey, wake up! Oh, are we there already? No, we're not there already. We're in the middle of a storm, so you better get up and pray. Jonah felt really bad. He couldn't bring himself to pray to God. Why not? Because he felt guilty. He was running from God, and he was pretty sure that God had sent the storm because of him. So he yelled out... It's my fault! Throw me into the sea and the storm will stop! Boo! Boo! Boo! Well, okay. Grab it! So they threw Jonah into the sea, and the storm stopped. Hey, it worked! Yahoo! Even though Jonah was wrong for running from God, God wasn't trying to hurt Jonah. He wasn't? Nope. God was trying to give him a second chance. Jonah was running away from God, and God knew it would take something big to turn Jonah around. So what did God do? He sent something as big as a whale. You've got to be kidding. And the whale swallowed him up. Oh, my. So I guess that's the end of the story. Not at all. God protected Jonah in the belly of the whale, and inside the belly of that whale, Jonah prayed to God and said, Okay, God, I know you want me to give those bad people a second chance. Please, give me a second chance, too. And just then, the whale spit Jonah right up. Ew, gross! It probably was. But now Jonah was ready to do what God had told him. So he ran to Nineveh and gave them God's message. I hope he took a bath along the way. Maybe, but one thing we know for sure. What's that? When the people of Nineveh heard God's message, they listened, and God gave them a second chance. Just like Jonah. That's right. Isn't it great to know that God loves us so much that he gives us second chances? Do you want more Laugh and Grow Bible? What do you mean? Sign up for Minnow and get more Bible stories and loads more amazing shows. Wow, how cool is that? Minnow is a great place to stream Christian shows for kids. Amazing! Download the Minnow app and start your free trial today. Yay!