Pentecost: The Coming of the Holy Spirit Sunday Service Children s Story

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1 Pentecost: The Coming of the Holy Spirit Sunday Service Children s Story Materials: Pictures to show during story Chart of the Divine Self Preparations: Prepare any necessary materials. Invite children up to steps of altar. Reader of story sits in a chair with children sitting on floor in front of her. Include children s story, even if there are no children in your congregation, to welcome families who may come to the service. You can add your own creativity to the stories. You may feel comfortable using props or presenting them just as they are written. Feel free to adjust the content to fit your time frame. However, for the spiritual development of the child, we encourage keeping as much of the Ascended Master s Teachings as possible. Time: minutes depending on the storyteller s delivery and children s responses. Good morning and welcome to our children s story! Today we are celebrating Pentecost. Does anyone know what pente means? (Allow children to answer.) It means five. We celebrate Pentecost fifty days after Easter which is the celebration of Jesus resurrection. Ten days before the feast of Pentecost, something very important happened in Jesus life. Do you know what that was? (Allow children to answer.) Jesus made his ascension. Before Jesus left his disciples, he told them to stay in Jerusalem until the Father provides them with power from on high. Jesus also said, For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days 1

2 hence. The disciples did not understand all that Jesus had told them, but they obeyed. They tarried in Jerusalem, not knowing when or how this power from on high would come to them. Now, the Jews had always celebrated Pentecost, but for a different reason than we do today. Traditionally, this was a joyous time of giving thanks and presenting offerings for the new grain of the summer wheat harvest in Israel. The Jews also believed that it was exactly at this time that God gave the Torah to the people through Moses on Mount Sinai and so they celebrated that as well. So, hundreds of devoted Jews were in Jerusalem at the time this story takes place. Let s hear now the story of Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit. The Story of Pentecost Our story begins in a certain room in Jerusalem, the same upper room where the Last Supper took place. The room is completely filled with more than a hundred people. There was much excitement, for the people there wanted to ask the disciples about what they had seen and what Jesus had said before he was lifted into the air, making his ascension. As soon as the disciples arrived, the questions began. Did you really see Jesus go up into the sky? one of the people asked. Yes, we did a disciple answered. What did he say to you? asked another. 2

3 Jesus told us to wait in Jerusalem until we should receive power from on high. He also said, Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. Of course none of them knew how they could preach to the ends of the earth as they did not know any language other than their own. How can that be? one of those gathered asked. We do not know, answered a disciple. We will have to wait and see. The disciples and all the people had gathered in the room to pray for Pentecost. But now they had another reason to pray. They knew that if Jesus was going to send them power from heaven, they must ready themselves to receive it. So they began to pray and continued all day. The disciples thanked God for sending Jesus to live among them and teach them. They asked God for courage and strength to witness for Jesus. They wanted to be brave and good and faithful. They asked for forgiveness for any actions or words not of God that they may have committed. On the third day, Jerusalem was crowded with devoted Jews who had arrived from various towns to celebrate the Feast of Pentecost. While the visitors in the town prayed, the disciples and the others had gathered once again in the upper room to pray together. This is when something very wonderful happened. Suddenly, without any sign of storms or change in the weather, there was a sound of a rushing mighty 3

4 wind. It rattled the windows, slammed the doors and shook the whole house. Then all of a sudden there appeared cloven tongues of fire upon the head of everyone in the room Cloven means split in two. Here is a picture of the cloven tongues appearing over everyone s head. (Show picture.) For a moment it seemed as though the whole house was on fire, yet nothing burned. And the mighty winds did not put out the fires. For the winds and fire were the power of the Holy Spirit. Until this very moment the room had been hushed and quiet. Only the voices of people praying could be heard. Now, all had changed. In one swift moment everybody was filled with zeal and activity. All began talking at once about the wonderful love of Jesus. To their astonishment, they all began to speak in other languages, which they had never learned! The noise from the wind and from all the people speaking at the same time was so loud that people outside on the street down below were beginning to wonder what in the world was happening up there in that room! People gathered below the window to find out what all the commotion was about. They were amazed that they were hearing people speaking in their own language. Are not these men and women who speak, Galileans? they asked. How is it that we can hear and understand what they are saying? Peter stood up and walked outside. From the balcony he started to preach to all the people standing outside. He explained that what they 4

5 were seeing and hearing was the power of the Holy Spirit. Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem what you see and hear was prophesied by the prophet Joel: And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. Peter continued preaching to them about some of the prophecies in the Old Testament, about the teachings of Jesus and about Jesus truly being the Son of God. He told them that if they accepted Jesus Christ, they too could receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Jesus fulfilled the prophecies of old. Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly that God has made him both Lord and Christ. Even the disciples were amazed at Peter s boldness. This was the same Peter who had been filled with fear and denied Jesus three times. Now he spoke with the power and comfort of Holy Spirit. Then voices were heard in the crowd. Brethren, what shall we do? they cried. Repent and ask for forgiveness, answered Peter. Be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ and ask for forgiveness, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. What Peter was saying to the people was to stop doing those things you know are not right and do those things that will make God happy. And you too will have the Holy Spirit as your helper. The response was marvelous. For on that day three thousand people accepted Jesus and were baptized. The word of Jesus began to spread throughout the land. 5

6 CONCLUSION: Why do you think Jesus gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit? (Allow children to answer.) The Holy Spirit is our helper. When we pray to the Holy Spirit, he strengthens us and lives within our hearts helping us to make the right choices in our life. The Holy Spirit is a gift that helps us become the Christ as Jesus did. We don t hear a blowing wind or see dancing flames, so how do we know that the Holy Spirit is with us? (Allow children to answer.) We know when we feel joy in our hearts. Sometimes this just comes from us doing what makes God happy, just like in the story when Peter told the people to do those things that would make God happy. The Holy Spirit is the third aspect of the Trinity, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. It is often depicted as a dove descending through the air. Here is a picture. (Show picture.) The dove is shown here in the Chart of Your Divine Self. (Point to chart as you explain the following.) You can see that it s coming down upon the Holy Christ Self. That signifies the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit s love passes through the crystal cord to radiate through our hearts to the lower figure that represents us on earth. When that happens, you truly become the temple of the Holy Spirit. Do you think the Holy Spirit is present in your life today? (Allow children to answer.) The ascended masters have told us that at the moment we were born, God as the Holy Spirit breathed into us the breath of life and ignited our threefold flame. 6

7 If we ask the Holy Spirit to come and help us, we will see amazing things begin to happen in our lives. He is our unseen helper. Let us end our story today by calling to our unseen helper. Let s say, Come Holy Spirit, enlighten me. Close your eyes and see the dove coming down to the threefold flame in your heart as we say this. (Recite devotionally 1x.) Thank you for sharing in our story. Have a wonderful day. 7

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