Spirit Unbound

Youth Lessons

Numbers 11:24-30,  Acts 2:1-21 (CEB)

Focus Verse:

Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? If only all the Lord’s people were prophets with the Lord placing his spirit on them!”

(Numbers 11:29 CEB)

Supplies:

• Paper
• Pens or pencils

Note to the Facilitator

This lesson moves from the physical description of what happened at Pentecost to a consideration of Pentecost moments in our lives today. It asks students to consider what it would be like for God to speak through each of us. We learn that Moses wanted this for the Hebrew people, and we reflect on this desire being fulfilled at Pentecost and look for it to continue today! The goal is for students to place themselves in this moment and consider ways the Holy Spirit may speak through them here and now.

Icebreaker: The Common Thread (10 min.)

Break into groups of three and give students forty-five seconds to find one weird, unexpected thing that everyone in the group has in common. Have each group, in rapid-fire fashion, share the common thread they found. Immediately, switch groups to new groups of three and repeat the process. This round, they need to find DIFFERENT threads that haven’t yet been discovered. Continue for three or four rounds, as time allows.

Read Scripture (5 min.)

Recall with the students that we learned about Moses leading the Hebrew people out of Egypt. They were on this wilderness journey for so long—forty years! Sometimes, this journey seemed like an epic group project. The Hebrew people were accustomed to having a single prophet who served as the link between the people and their God. If you have ever been the “leader” in a group project, you can probably relate to Moses a little earlier in the chapter, when he became overwhelmed and didn’t think he could do it all. 

Relatable, right?

Invite students to open their Bibles to Numbers, chapter 11, and look at what happens when two other leaders rise up as prophets, which helped Moses, but definitely made some of the Hebrew people a little nervous.

Invite a student to read Numbers 11:24-30.

Discussion (10 min.)

When have you felt you were carrying the workload for a whole group? How would it feel to have two other leaders be there suddenly and willing to take some of the lead? How do you think Moses felt about that? (Not only did these two men, Eldad and Medad, take some of the load off Moses, but the other people recognized that they could follow other leaders. They didn’t need to rely solely on Moses.)

• Share a time when you saw someone make people uncomfortable by stepping into a leadership position. Explain what happened.
• What do you think the people in this passage felt when they realized there could be multiple leaders within one community?
• Where in your life do you see people “gatekeeping” as leaders or wanting to look to a particular leader only?
• What might it mean for YOU to be someone through whom God speaks?
• If the Holy Spirit showed up at your school tomorrow, what do you think it would look like?

Activity: Pentecost Remix (30 min.)

Explain to students that the Holy Spirit did show up in the New Testament at an awesome celebration that was taking place!
Read the story of Pentecost in Acts 2:1-21. Point out that we often don’t understand those around us. Invite students to think about speaking with people from different generations. When we use slang, or the person we are talking to uses slang, it can be hard to understand what the other person is saying! What are some phrases or sayings from other generations that the youngest generations in the room wouldn’t understand?

Discuss that sometimes when we read the words in the Bible, it can feel a little like this, too, like it’s another language. In Numbers, Moses wishes that others could be prophets. What if WE can be those prophets for people around us? Let’s try it.

Invite students to break into groups of up to four people and give each group paper and pens or pencils. Invite the groups to rewrite the Acts passage in a modern setting (maybe in a school hallway or in an online gaming chat—somewhere they are comfortable and could see this type of experience happen). After fifteen minutes, invite the groups to share their remix with the larger group.

Closing: 

In Numbers 11:29, Moses says, “If only all the Lord’s people were prophets with the Lord placing his spirit on them.” What if Moses were here right now? What if he were saying, “I wish that all God’s people…” How do you think he would finish that sentence today? Invite students to share how they think Moses would finish the sentence. Close the session in prayer.

Total time: 50 minutes