THE EARLY CHURCH — EPISODE 5: PHILIP AND THE ETHIOPIAN
Based on Acts 8:26-40
Series: The Early Church | Episode 5 of 5
Target audience: Kids ages 7-15
After I went back to my Father, some of the wildest stories happened in the most unexpected places. This one? A desert road in the middle of nowhere.
An angel appeared to Philip the evangelist — one of the same servants chosen alongside Stephen. The angel said: "Get up. Go south. Take the desert road from Jerusalem to Gaza."
No explanation. No "here's why." Just... go.
Philip went. And this is what I love — he didn't argue. He didn't ask for a detailed plan. He just obeyed.
On that empty road, Philip spotted a fancy chariot. Inside was a very important man — an Ethiopian official, the treasurer for the queen of Ethiopia. He'd traveled to Jerusalem to worship God and was heading home, reading out loud from the scroll of Isaiah.
The Holy Spirit said: "Go over to that chariot."
Philip ran over. Literally ran. And he heard what the man was reading — Isaiah chapter 53. About a servant led like a sheep to the slaughter, pierced for our transgressions.
The man was reading about me. He just didn't know it yet.
Philip asked a simple question: "Do you understand what you're reading?"
And the Ethiopian said something so honest, so humble: "How can I, unless someone explains it to me?" Then he invited Philip to climb up into the chariot and sit with him.
Philip sat down and, starting with that very passage, explained the good news about me. He showed how Isaiah was painting a portrait of someone specific, hundreds of years before I was born. The Ethiopian's eyes went wide. It all clicked.
As they traveled along the road, they came to some water. The Ethiopian said, "Look — water! What's stopping me from being baptized?"
Nothing. Nothing was stopping him.
They went down into the water, and Philip baptized him right there. A desert road. A random pond. The most important decision of the man's life.
And then — the moment they came up out of the water, the Holy Spirit snatched Philip away. Gone. Supernaturally transported to another city.
But the Ethiopian didn't panic. He went on his way rejoicing. Full of joy. He carried the gospel all the way back to Ethiopia.
God sets up divine appointments. He puts the right people in the right place at the right time. Your job? Be like Philip. Be ready to go when God says go. And be ready to explain your faith when someone asks.
