He Breathed on Them

Acts 2:1-4 New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost

2When the day of Pentecost came, all the believers gathered in one place. ²Suddenly a sound came from heaven. It was like a strong wind blowing. It filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³They saw something that looked like fire in the shape of tongues. The flames separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit. They began to speak in languages they had not known before. The Spirit gave them the ability to do this.

New International Reader's Version (NIRV) Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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As recommended in the worship resources, have someone say the prayer, perhaps the Lord’s Prayer, in another language. If you have a child who speaks a different language, encourage him or her to say the prayer on this day in the worship service. This will give an intergenerational feel to Pentecost Sunday.

Supplies

Small bottle of bubbles for each child. Try to get red containers for the bubbles. Find a big bubble fan for the leader to make many bubbles at once.

Children’s Message

How do you celebrate your birthday? Do you have a birthday cake with candles? Do you have a party and invite friends? Do you hand out party favors? I have a party favor for each of you. Bubbles! Birthdays celebrate the day on which you were born and celebrate your becoming another year older.

Today is Pentecost Sunday. Pentecost is like a birthday party for the church. Each year, we celebrate Pentecost, just like you celebrate your birthday each year. It is a time to remember how God powerfully sent the Holy Spirit as the promised helper. We celebrate each year and remember the way the church was born by the power of the Holy Spirit.

When you have a party, do you send out invitations? Do you invite only friends your age? When the birthday party of Pentecost happened, God’s Spirit blew like a wind onto everybody there, both old and young, people of all ages. They saw little flames of fire above their heads. The Holy Spirit filled all of them.

They began talking about what had happened in many different languages, and all the people from different lands understood all that was said. The Spirit was poured out onto every nation and every language. That tells us that God is with all people, no matter what language they speak. That means there is room for ALL people in the church It was the birthday of the New Testament church! When the church has a party, everyone is invited.

When you go to a birthday party, you either get or give a gift. What is amazing is that we all have been given the gift of the Spirit. We don’t keep this gift to ourselves. We share this gift of the Holy Spirit with everyone we meet to show them Jesus’ love.

To celebrate this birthday, let’s all blow bubbles from our red bottle. Red reminds us of the flames that were present. On Pentecost, a great big wind filled the place where the disciples were, while they experienced the Holy Spirit. We’re going to play with the wind while we blow bubbles. Let’s blow wind into our bubble wands after we say “Amen” at the end of our prayer to send it on its way.

Prayer

God, thank you for the birthday of the church. Thank you that the church has room for a person like me. Fill me with the Holy Spirit! In Christ’s name, Amen. (Blow bubbles from both individual wands and the big bubble blowing fan while the children leave the altar area).