Single lesson
Paul Speaks in Athens
Acts 17:16–34
In Athens, Paul saw a city full of idols and spoke about the true God. In this lesson, children will sequence what happened, notice different responses, and learn what Paul said about God, people, repentance and Jesus’ resurrection.
Before you teach
This passage begins while Paul is waiting in Athens. He reasons in the synagogue and in the marketplace, then philosophers bring him to the Areopagus because they want to hear his teaching. There Paul explains who God is and calls people to repent, and the listeners respond in different ways.
Students will be able to retell the order of Acts 17:16–34, name at least two truths Paul says about God, and identify the three different responses to his message.
Welcome: What did Paul notice in Athens?
5 minShow the Bible reference and explain that today’s story happens in Athens. Ask children to listen for what Paul saw first and what he chose to do next. Read Acts 17:16–17 aloud. Point out that Paul was deeply troubled by the idols, so he spoke with people in both the synagogue and the marketplace every day.
Acts 17:16, Acts 17:17
Read and explain: Why was Paul taken to the Areopagus?
7 minRead Acts 17:18–23. Explain that philosophers were talking with Paul because he preached Jesus and the resurrection. Some dismissed him, but others wanted to know more. The Areopagus is the place where Paul spoke to them. Notice how Paul begins with something they already know: an altar marked ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD’.
Acts 17:18, Acts 17:19, Acts 17:20, Acts 17:21, Acts 17:22, Acts 17:23
Discuss: What does Paul say about God and people?
7 minRead Acts 17:24–29 slowly. Help children list the truths in order. God made the world and everything in it. He is Lord of heaven and earth. He does not need people to supply him with anything, because he gives life and breath. He made the nations, and people should seek him, because he is not far from each one of us.
Acts 17:24, Acts 17:25, Acts 17:26, Acts 17:27, Acts 17:28, Acts 17:29
Make and respond: Sequence the choices and outcomes
7 minChildren make simple sequence cards showing key moments from the passage: idols in Athens, Paul reasoning, Paul at the Areopagus, the true God announced, the call to repent, and the three responses. As they place the cards in order, ask them to match each scene to a verse and to say what choice people made in that part.
Acts 17:16, Acts 17:17, Acts 17:23, Acts 17:30, Acts 17:32, Acts 17:34
Closing: What were the responses to Paul’s message?
4 minRead Acts 17:30–34. Explain that Paul says God commands all people everywhere to repent and says that God has given assurance by raising the appointed man from the dead. Then notice the three responses: some mocked, some wanted to hear again, and some believed. Finish by reviewing the story in order together.
Acts 17:30, Acts 17:31, Acts 17:32, Acts 17:33, Acts 17:34
Questions to explore
What did Paul see in Athens, and what did he do because of it?
Use the first two verses to connect Paul’s concern about idols with his choice to reason with people in the synagogue and the marketplace.
Acts 17:16, Acts 17:17
Which words in Paul’s speech tell us that God is greater than idols and temples?
Look for phrases saying that God made the world, is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands, and is not like gold, silver or stone.
Acts 17:24, Acts 17:25, Acts 17:29
How did people respond when Paul spoke about the resurrection of the dead?
The passage gives three clear responses, so find each one and compare them: mocking, wanting to hear again, and believing.
Acts 17:32, Acts 17:34
Make, think or respond
Acts 17 Story Sequence Cards
What you’ll need
- plain paper or scrap cardboard
- pencils or textas
- Bible
- scissors
Try it together
- Help the children choose six key moments from Acts 17:16–34 and draw one moment on each card.
- Read the passage again and ask the children to place the cards in the correct order.
- Under each picture, write the matching verse reference together.
- Invite each child or pair to retell the account using the cards in order.
This activity helps children follow the sequence of the account and notice the choices Paul and the listeners made in Acts 17:16–34.
Adapt for your group
- For younger children, prepare six simple picture prompts in advance and let them place the cards in order before retelling the account with short phrases.
- For older or more confident children, ask them to add a caption to each card explaining one truth Paul teaches about God or one response from the crowd.
An optional closing prayer
You could pray: “God, thank you that you made the world and give life and breath. Please help us listen carefully to what you say, turn to you, and trust Jesus who was raised from the dead.”
Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic
Acts 17
16 Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw the city full of idols.
17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who met him.
18 Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also were conversing with him. Some said, “What does this babbler want to say?” Others said, “He seems to be advocating foreign deities,” because he preached Jesus and the resurrection.
19 They took hold of him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is, which you are speaking about?
20 For you bring certain strange things to our ears. We want to know therefore what these things mean.”
21 Now all the Athenians and the strangers living there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell or to hear some new thing.
22 Paul stood in the middle of the Areopagus and said, “You men of Athens, I perceive that you are very religious in all things.
23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription: ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ What therefore you worship in ignorance, I announce to you.
24 The God who made the world and all things in it, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, doesn’t dwell in temples made with hands.
25 He isn’t served by men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he himself gives to all life and breath and all things.
26 He made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the surface of the earth, having determined appointed seasons and the boundaries of their dwellings,
27 that they should seek the Lord, if perhaps they might reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.
28 ‘For in him we live, move, and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also his offspring.’
29 Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold, or silver, or stone, engraved by art and design of man.
30 The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked. But now he commands that all people everywhere should repent,
31 because he has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he has ordained; of which he has given assurance to all men, in that he has raised him from the dead.”
32 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked; but others said, “We want to hear you again concerning this.”
33 Thus Paul went out from among them.
34 But certain men joined with him and believed, including Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.
Source passages
Something to make together
These activities connect with the passage. Choose one that suits your group and the time you have.
