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Who is the Holy Spirit? Why should we care? Use this exciting Pentecost object lesson to teach children about the Holy Spirit and what happened when the disciples began to live a spirit-filled life.
Scripture Focus: Acts 1 and 2
Materials:
- two $10 bills
- towel
- lighter
- 91% rubbing alcohol
- water
- salt
- glass bowl
- metal tongs
- fire extinguisher (just in case!)
**DISCLAIMER: This should not be done with children sitting close to you and do not get your fingers wet.
Geography: Israel; Jerusalem
Background: After Jesus rose from the grave, He appeared to His followers over the duration of 40 days.
Preparation: Fill the glass bowl with 1/2 cup of 91% rubbing alcohol, 1/2 cup of water, and 1/4 tsp of salt. Allow the $10 bill to soak in the bowl for at least 5 minutes while you talk.
Pentecost Object Lesson:
{Hold up one of the bills. Ask:}
- This is valuable isn’t it? What would happen if I lit this $10 bill on fire? (It would burn.)
Let’s say YOU are this $10 bill. You are valuable to God. He created you. He created me. But because of sin, we deserve death. The wages of sin is death.
BUT! God sent Jesus, the Living Water, to save us from burning.
{Put the other $10 in the clear liquid “water”. Read Acts 1:4-8}
For 40 days Jesus appeared off and on to the disciples after He had risen from the grave. During that time Jesus spoke to them about God and the kingdom of God. They soaked everything in that they could.
But they were confused. They wondered when Jesus was going to restore the kingdom of Israel back to its former glory.
{Show the bowl with the money in it. Read Acts 1:9-17, 20-26.}
Like this $10 bill soaking up the liquid, they soaked up as much of the teaching of Jesus as they could. Knowledge, love, attitude, behaviors, ANYTHING they could soak up from Jesus, they did. Then one day Jesus took them all up to the Mount of Olives, told them to wait and receive the power of the Holy Spirit, explained that they were to be His witnesses throughout the world, and He rose up into the air and left them.
Two angels told the disciples that Jesus would return one day the same way He left. The disciples disbursed and they returned to Jerusalem. The eleven disciples were in an upper room, along with some women, Mary, Jesus’ mother, and Jesus’ brothers. Judas was no longer with the disciples, so they decided to choose another man to replace him.
{Ask:}
- Who was in the room waiting? [Peter, James, John, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James, Simon, Judas son of James, Mary the mother of Jesus, his brothers, and some women.]
- What were they doing in the room? [praying]
- How many people were there? [about 120]
- What type of man would they choose to take the place of Judas Iscariot? [He had to have been with Jesus from the time John baptized Jesus to when Jesus went up to heaven. He also had to be a witness of the resurrection.]
- What does it mean to cast lots? [Casting lots was an Old Testament way of allowing God to show His answer, or will, for a decision. There is no mention of casting lots after Pentecost.]
Two men were chosen with these credentials: Justus and Matthias. Matthias received the position of being with the other eleven and was called an apostle.
And then the group of disciples waited.
{Read Acts 2:1-13.}
On the day of Pentecost the disciples were STILL gathered in the upper room. Pentecost was a Jewish Festival, also called the Festival of Weeks, which was 50 days after the last day of the Passover. Remember the last supper? That was Passover. This festival used to be a harvest festival, but over the years, the Jews used this festival to celebrate the giving of the Law to Moses on Mt. Sinai. The Law allowed Israel to become a nation as they traveled to take over their land and settle. The Law allowed for the birth of a nation holy unto God.
{Ask:}
- On the Day of Pentecost, how were all of the disciples? [in one accord, or agreement, or one mind]
- What came from heaven? [A sound that sounded like rushing wind. It filled the room. Something like tongues of fire appeared to sit on them.]
- What happened next? [They were filled with the Holy Spirit and started to talk in different languages because the Holy Spirit was giving them the power to do so.]
In Acts 2, something different happened on Pentecost. The 120 disciples were in the upper room and they heard the sound of rushing wind. It filled the room. There appeared to be tongues of fire sitting on top of each disciple. Each disciple had been with Jesus. Each had soaked up, learned, experienced the Living Water as much as they could.
{Show the bowl again. Use the tongs to pull out and hold the $10 bill over the bowl.}
As the tongues of fire were over the heads of the disciples, they each started to speak in languages.
{Use the lighter to light the $10 bill. The fire should burn off the alcohol and leave the bill solid, but wet. The water will not allow the bill the burn. The fire should flash quickly as it burns the alcohol.}
The Holy Spirit filled the disciples and in a moment they were gifted with the ability to speak another language.
{Ask:}
- Who heard the disciples? [Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven]
- What did they think about what they were hearing? [They were confused. They could hear their language being spoken, but they knew the people speaking were Galileans.]
- Why did they think the disciples were speaking this way? [The Jews thought the disciples were drunk with new wine.]
Because of the festival, Jews from the surrounding areas and countries were in Jerusalem. Evidently the rushing wind was REALLY loud because the Jews in Jerusalem gathered together in confusion and were listening to the languages being spoken. They were amazed to see poor Galileans speak in their own languages. Some were skeptical and stated that the disciples were drunk.
{Read Acts 2:14-15, 22-23, 37-42. Ask:}
- How did the people respond to Peter’s words? [They were “cut to the heart,” or convicted, of their sin an asked what they needed to do.]
Peter stood up and told the crowd they were not drunk, and he then told the people all about the scriptures and then who Jesus was. He accused the people of killing Jesus and they were cut to the heart! They asked what they needed to do. Peter told them to repent and be baptized. Three thousand souls were added to the church that day.
The church was born on Pentecost. A people who are to be holy unto God.
Life Application for Pentecost:
The Holy Spirit was sent by Jesus, God’s Son. God is God. Jesus is God. The Holy Spirit is God. Each person of God has a purpose.
{Ask:}
- Remember the flame you saw? What happened to the bill first? [The bill had to be soaked in the liquid and then the flame could burn without the bill burning up.]
When you accept the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit will indwell you because you believe in Jesus. Once the Spirit is there, then you need to soak yourself by reading the Bible, going to church, praying, humbling yourself, seeking Jesus and soaking up Jesus, then you will be ready when the Holy Spirit wants to burn in your heart and tell you to do something, or teach you something new.
God is the All Consuming Fire. He wants to burn in your heart so that you will have the same power and boldness that Peter had when he told those Jews about Jesus.
What can we learn from Pentecost? Unless you are soaked in Jesus, the fire of the Holy Spirit won’t burn brightly. He might try to speak to you, correct you, and train you in the right things to do, but because you aren’t soaked in Jesus, you might miss Him. Are you distracted? What do you need to do today so you are soaked in Jesus? Get soaked, then watch the Holy Spirit burn in you as you tell others about Jesus!
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