Free Sunday School Lesson on Saul and Paul in the bible for ages 10-12, teens, and older.
A Tale of Two Sauls – the Hero and the Villain
Intro to lesson: Give students a sheet of paper. Turn the paper horizontal and have them draw a line down the center. On one side, students draw a hero – whatever they imagine a hero to look like. On the other side, students draw a villain. (It helps students to participate if the teacher models.) Discuss what makes a person a hero or a villain.
This lesson focuses on two very different men named Saul. One began as a hero and ended up a villain, and one began as a villain but ended up as a hero.
King Saul
Saul from the Old Testament was better than everyone else from his time. The Bible says in 1 Samuel 9:2 (King James Version [KJV]) – “And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people.” This is why he was chosen as king. Moreover, Saul raised his son to be a hero. Jonathan was a mighty warrior and would go on to be David’s best friend.
Saul was so good and humble, that when he found out they wanted to make him king, he couldn’t believe it. He even hid. (1 Samuel 9:21; 10:21-23 KJV)
What happened?
After Saul became king, he became prideful. 1 Samuel 15:17 KJV – “And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel?”
Yes, Saul messed up in disobeying God regarding the Amalekites, but we know that David messed up, too. The difference was how Saul regarded God. God chose David because David felt about God the same way God feels about himself. He was a “man after God’s own heart.”
When David messed up, he owned up to his mistakes. He humbled himself. (2 Samuel 12:13 KJV; 1 Chronicles 21:7-8, 17 KJV).
Psalms 51 KJV – This is one of David’s great prayers of repentance after he’d messed up.
On the other hand, when Saul messed up, he blamed the people (1 Samuel 15:15, 21, 24-25 KJV). After being king for a while, he was more concerned with what people thought of him than what God thought (1 Samuel 15:30 KJV).
Saul knew that David should be king, but he hunted him anyway. He became a villain.
Jonathan, however, willingly gave up the throne because he knew God’s will. He had been raised right by Saul when Saul was still good.
Just because we start good doesn’t mean we’ll finish good.
Apostle Paul
The next man that we’re going to discuss next in this Sunday School lesson even says so – he didn’t want to end up as a “castaway” (1 Corinthians 9:27 KJV).
Paul is first introduced as a man named Saul, and he began his story as a villain. God had mercy on Saul because he thought he was doing the right thing – hunting down, torturing, and killing Christians (Acts 26:9-11 KJV). He even says of himself: “For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me” (1 Corinthians 15:9-10 KJV).
When Saul got right, God gave him the new name Paul, just how we become new creatures in Christ when we get saved.
What made Paul a hero?
He valued God more than himself, and he gave up everything to follow God’s will: his reputation, his education, etc. He counted it as “dung” (Philippians 3:8 KJV). Paul was all in. His old friends tried to kill him, his education was a waste, he lived in poverty, had terrible health, was often beaten and arrested, etc. 2 Corinthians 11:23-33 KJV outlines the sufferings of Paul.
However, he earned a crown (2 Timothy 4:7-8 KJV), and he wrote more books of the Bible than anyone else. He is still reaping treasure in heaven from his work on earth. His inspired letters in the Bible are often used to lead others to Christ.
Paul is proof that God can save anyone, and he can use anyone.
What will you be?
- A villain who started out as a good guy but decides to care more about what the world thinks? Someone who ends up following the world and gives the enemies of God a reason to blaspheme with their lifestyle.
- Or, a hero who chooses to follow God no matter the cost. Someone who God is not ashamed to be called their God.
That should be your goal. There’s a lot we can learn from the men Saul and Paul in the bible, so be sure to read their full stories.
Choosing to be like the Apostle Paul instead of King Saul should be our aim as Christians.
If you enjoyed this Sunday School lesson on Saul and Paul in the bible, be sure to check out some of my others!