BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

the other prisoners were listening to them singing when, "Suddenly, a great earthquake shook the foundations of the prison. All at once every prison door flung open and the chains of all the prisoners came loose" (verse 26). Suddenly, they were free! Not just Paul and Silas, either. ALL the prison doors flew open and the chains were loosed from every prisoner! The jailer thought they all ran away, and he was in big trouble, but not even one of them ran. Why didn't Paul and the other prisoners try to escape? What would make them stay? In the middle of their worship, the presence of Jesus showed up in that prison and they entered into the kingdom of God, held still by the glory. Jesus Himself makes His plans work in those hard places! Just like the cross put Jesus in the right place to live out His true purpose to be our Savior, Paul being in prison was exactly where he needed to be to fulfill his mission. If his job was to tell people about Jesus, there was no better place than the prison at Philippi! He had a whole audience of people, chained and going nowhere! Paul didn't need a nice church building to preach to Philippi. Those people became the church in Philippi! Never forget, Superkid, when we refuse to be stopped by the enemy, God can cause what tries to distract us to become the very opportunity we need to do what He has asked us to do. The next time you feel like things are going wrong, remember Paul and Silas. Superkid, this journey we are on is an adventure that never ends. Here is a perfect word to remember from Ephesians 3:7 (New Living Translation), "By God's grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News." It was God's power that changed Paul's prison into a house of worship, just like Lydia's. And it's His power that changes your every day into a BOLD adventure with Jesus! Never turn back, Superkid! Commander Kellie B V O V : 3 1 Commander Kellie's Corner Kellie Copeland is responsible for Covenant Partner Relations at Kenneth Copeland Ministries and is the developer of the Superkid Academy curriculum. Through her ministry and as "Commander Kellie," she fulfills the mission of drawing people of all ages into a personal, growing and powerful relationship with Jesus Christ. We've discovered our identity in Jesus as we've studied Ephesians, so don't forget to bring your ID (identity). We've learned from the life of the Apostle Paul that as we draw closer to Jesus, our love for Him creates a deep passion and connection with our God- given purpose. Paul wouldn't leave home without it! Because of his love for Jesus, Paul was a prisoner to his purpose; to share the gospel, the goodness of God, to those who were not Jews and did not know God (Ephesians 3:1-2). On our recent journey to Greece we learned about Lydia, who lived on the river near Philippi. Lydia's heart was open to receive the good news and she became the first person to be born again in Europe! The Bible calls her house a house of prayer and worship. Superkids, that's a key we need to take on our journey. When I was in Greece and saw Lydia's river, my heart began to worship our Jesus. I believe yours is burning with love for Him right now. Take a minute to sit with Him. He loves you so much. As we continue to follow the journey of Paul and Silas, it gets crazy. It was a short bus ride for me from Lydia's river and an easy walk for them to the busy market town of Philippi. They came out of a nice worshipful rest into a Wild West kind of showdown with a woman controlled by an evil spirit (you can read about it in Acts 16:16-22). They came to preach in the city, but she followed them around for days, stirring up confusion and ® trouble to distract them from their mission. When the city leaders ordered that they should be beaten and thrown into prison, it seemed like they had failed at what God asked them to do. Have you ever felt like you were doing what God asked you to do and then, BAM, something happened that messed up everything? That's the enemy's trick to stop us from fulfilling our purpose. For example, Satan thought he could stop Jesus by sending Him to the cross. Wow, did he get that one wrong! The cross was the very place Jesus needed to be to fulfill His purpose— to die for our sin! Satan didn't win, Jesus won (and so did we)! What about Paul? Was it over for his assignment to preach in Philippi? Would being beaten and thrown into prison stop him from completing his purpose there? Sure, it looked bad. The jailer put Paul and Silas in a cell with no windows and bound their feet in chains. But Paul and Silas didn't even try to escape! Instead, they sang and worshipped God! They were surely not being quiet about the goodness of God. You might think they would worry, but they were not afraid. The Bible says Prison or Purpose! Superkids, pack your bags for our next journey into the Kingdom realm!

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