Re: The Man Who Fell Out Of The Window In The Bible
Henri Amazona
Paul was both an apostle and a missionary. As he concluded his third journey, he was determined to go to Jerusalem. From Greece, he could have sailed across to Asia Minor, but upon hearing of a plot against his life, he changed his plans and took a longer route over land. Paul travelled north through Macedonia and sailed from Philippi to Troas. It was there that he reconnected with his other travel companions.
Troas is on the east coast of the Aegean Sea in modern-day Turkey. It is 20 kilometres south of the ruins of Ancient Troy. This was the same city where Paul had earlier received the Macedonian Vision.
We do not know how young Eutychus was. We do know that adults find it difficult to sit quietly and still for long periods of time and that this is even harder when we are young. It was not misbehaviour that led to Eutychus falling out of the window. He simply fell asleep. We can all empathise with him.
Ask children how they show self-control. Ask them to compare how they act maturely now to when they were babies or toddlers. Be sure to tell them how proud you are of them. Children can brainstorm ways they can participate in worship but here are a few helpful hints:
Paul had a very important job to do. He was a missionary who travelled to many different cities and countries, telling people about Jesus. Being a missionary was a very important job because many people had not even heard about Jesus. They did not know that he had died on the cross so that their sins could be forgiven. They did not know that they could be with him forever if they followed him. They did not even know that Jesus wanted to be their friend.
Paul knew it was time to conclude this journey and make his way to Jerusalem. He travelled back the same way he had come. Some of his friends went ahead of him, and he caught up with them in the city of Troas.
The followers of Jesus met in a room on the third floor of a building. Everyone had to climb stairs to get to the meeting place. Paul kept preaching until midnight, so there were many lamps to help everyone see.
Paul kept preaching on and on, and Eutychus got so sleepy that he could not stay awake any longer. Finally, he fell fast asleep and leaned too far out of the window. He fell all the way down to the ground.
Have you ever fallen asleep in church like Eutychus? Or have you had a hard time listening? It is sometimes very difficult to sit still and quiet for a long time. But it is good manners and very respectful to try your best. That way, you can listen, and everyone else can listen, too. We want everyone to hear the Good News about Jesus!
This story can be told using various methods. Always remain true to the facts found in the Bible, but help children connect to its meaning by using drama, visual aids, voice inflection, student interaction, and emotion.
Click here for visual aids and story-telling methods.
Click here to download the slideshow, or click here for the printable illustrations.
Be selective. Each teacher is unique, so only use the illustrations that best relate to the way you are telling the story in this lesson. Too many illustrations can be confusing, so eliminate any that cover other stories or details you do not wish to emphasise in this lesson.
9 Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead.
Eutychus lived in a city called Troas, that was near the sea. He lived with people who had heard about Jesus and wanted to obey Him. One day, Paul and Luke and several other men came to visit them for a week.
When it was time for Paul to leave, everyone was together in an upstairs room. Since Paul was going to leave the next morning, they had a lot they wanted to learn about together. They talked and talked and talked about the Good News of Jesus. They talked for a long time.
Soon it was dark outside, and Eutychus was starting to feel sleepy. He jumped up and helped light the lamps in the room so everyone could still see. He really wanted to keep hearing more and more and more about Jesus.
Paul was still talking. So Eutychus listened and listened and listened... until... his eyes fluttered closed. His shoulders slumped. His head dropped. He was really sleeping now. He started leaning, leaning, leaning, until... whoosh, thud! He fell right out of the window. Down, down, down he fell onto the street right outside the house.
Eutychus did not fall asleep again. He kept listening more, more, more until finally the sun came up, and it was time for Paul to leave. Eutychus hugged Paul and said a very special goodbye (with an extra little wink).
A young man named Eutychus, who was sitting in the window, began to sink off into a deep sleep while Paul talked longer. Overcome by sleep, he fell to the ground three floors below and was picked up dead.
When I have the opportunity to attend different church services, a very rare occurrence since becoming a pastor, I usually sit toward the front on the right hand side. I am of the persuasion that sitting toward the front helps the worshipper with their ability to participate fully in the service. Yet, I know that others have very different opinions on where they should sit for worship.
When I was in North Carolina, I worshipped for a long time at Duke Memorial United Methodist Church. I, like many of you, sat in nearly the exact same spot every Sunday. I grew accustomed to seeing the same heads in front of me, and the voices surrounding me during the hymns, to the degree that where I sat played a pivotal role in my worship experience.
One Sunday morning I was surprised to discover a Duke undergraduate student sitting in my spot. I can vividly recall the wave of emotions I felt seeing someone encroaching on my sanctuary territory, but I eventually gave in and sat down next to the young man. He had all the markings of a polite and proper gentleman: his outfit had been perfectly ironed, not a wrinkle in sight, his hair was parted to the side, and he sat with precise posture. I attempted to introduce myself before the service started by I was interrupted by the beginning notes of the organ prelude.
While our pastor weaved through the beauties of scripture, this young man was doing everything he could think of to stay awake: he scratched his eyes, stretched his back, and even slapped his own cheek. However, nothing was helping. His head would continue to fall down only to be slingshotted back into position every minute or so.
Falling asleep in church can have dire consequences. What happened to Eutychus that night should be a fair warning for us about what happens when we fall asleep. Paul had come into town and would be leaving the next day. This night time gathering was the last and best opportunity for him to share the Word of the Lord with the people. It happened on the first day of the week, Sunday, when the people joined together to break bread.
This is the first reference to breaking bread as a community since the day of Pentecost in Acts 2; the budding Christian community has begun to sustain one another through the presence of God as experienced through the bread and the cup.
Even if we have the most wonderful and dedicated lives of service, we are weak without the revealed Word of God resonating deep into our souls. Watered-down, inarticulate and unexamined beliefs lead to weak disciples.
Do you want to be affirmed in your faith? Listen to words about scripture that leave you patting your back for having done a good job? Do you want to be challenged to live a better life through the proclamation of a sermon? What is it that you hope for from someone like me when I stand in the pulpit. Do you want to be kept awake? Do you want something to think about until next Sunday?
Paul was with the gathered church to proclaim the Word and break bread. When we gather together on the first Sunday of the month for communion, what do you want to find? Do you want to walk up to the front feeling unworthy of the gift with your head hung low? Are you hopeful for a feeling of complete joy as you dip the bread into the cup to partake in this heavenly meal?
This perhaps is the most important question for us to answer as a worshipping community. Why do we get together to do this week after week? Are we here to check up on old friends, hoping to hear about all the new and wonderful things going on in the community? Do we do church because it is what our parents did and they taught us to do the same thing?
The church today has found itself in a strange place. Unlike the past when preachers and pastors had to worry about maintaining perfect, articulate, and sound theology (fearful of sounding heretic), today one of the greatest challenges facing the church is the ethos of boredom. Instead of being caught up in the fear of making someone upset or angry because of something in a sermon, the contemporary church faces the incredible task on fighting against boredom, and in particular, being bored to death, at least spiritually.
There is life in our worship! We have encountered the living God who breathes and moves through us. We sing the hymns of our faith with resounding voices to declare the ways of God. We pray the words of our hopes, our joys, and our concerns by lifting them up to the Lord. We are called to feast at the table like all the apostles and disciples before us to be filled with the grace of God.
A man fell asleep while listening to preaching well into the night. Unfortunately this tired guy was sitting near an open window and therefore plummets to the ground and dies. The great news is God had a different plan for him and also for a good friend of mine!
One of the recent and beautiful answers to prayer this year has been meeting our brother and sister in Christ, Blake and Meggan Panzino and their three amazing boys. Blake has a fascinating and almost unbelievable story similar to Eutychus. But again, God had a different plan! Blake is taking over the remainder of the post for today. Thank you Blake for sharing your story with us!
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