Materials Needed: 1 blindfold, 1 dry erase board, 1 magnet wand, 1 paperclip
FOR THE TEACHER ONLY: This week we will be helping the children understand WHO the Holy Spirit is…basically a history lesson about the Holy Spirit. The Bible talks a LOT about the Holy Spirit in order to help us understand Him, since He is not seen. All throughout Scripture, God uses things that we CAN see and that we DO know to help us understand the things we CANNOT see. Keep that in mind as we learn about what the Bible says about the Holy Spirit.
FOR EVERYONE: Welcome everyone to Week 1 of a new series on the Holy Spirit. Who has ever heard of the Holy Spirit before? Okay…who has NEVER heard of the Holy Spirit before? Awesome. So that is what we are going to talk about these next 4 weeks. The Holy Spirit is really cool and does some AMAZING things for us. Today we are going to talk about WHO the Holy Spirit is and then do an activity to help us understand Him a little better. So let’s get started.
First we’re going to see what the BIBLE has to say about who the Holy Spirit is. Did you know the Bible mentions the Holy Spirit over 200 times?!?! So we are going to read each one of those verses right now. Just Kidding.
It would take all year (maybe more) to talk about all that the Bible says about the Holy Spirit. So we’re just going to talk some about Who the Holy Spirit is, What He does, the Gifts He gives (who likes gifts), and how He can help us as kids.
But today we are going to talk about “Who is the Holy Spirit?” There are so many places we could start! But let’s start by see what Jesus says about the Holy Spirit.
Who knows who Jesus is? Yes, He’s God’s Son, sent to be a sacrifice for all of our sins. It’s who we put our trust in, and Jesus is our example on how to live. So if He says something, it must be important.
Jesus said in John 14:26 “The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will remind you of all the things I have told you. I’m leaving you well and whole. That’s my parting gift to you.”
So Jesus said He was not leaving us to be alone when He went back to Heaven. He left us a Friend, the Holy Spirit. Who likes friends?
This friend is really special, because Jesus says that this gift of the Holy Spirit will make us well and whole. Who likes being sick? Nobody likes it, because you are not well. But when you get better and feel well again, life is so much better. You can function and do the things you were made to do.
It’s the same way with the Holy Spirit. When we have the Holy Spirit helping us through our lives, we are made well and can do what God wants us to do fully.
Let's see what else the Bible says about the Holy Spirit.
In Matthew 29:19-20, Jesus tells his disciples, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
There is SO much that this verse talks about, but one thing I want to point out is that Jesus talks about the Holy Spirit, that He is a part of God, when Jesus says to baptize the believers in the “name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” The Father is who Jesus Himself prayed to, Jesus was the Son of God sent to be the sacrifice for our sins and our example of how to live, and the Holy Spirit is the part of God who lives with us, leads us, and helps us.
Next…The Holy Spirit has been around since the VERY BEGINNING. In Genesis 1:26 it says “Then God said, “Let US make mankind in OUR image, in OUR likeness”. This is when God was creating everything, and when God decided to create people, God said, Let “US” make man. When do we use the word “us”?....when there is more than one person, right? So if I’m alone, I don’t say, (((Act this out by yourself))) “Let us go play with our toys” because there is just one of me. I would only say that if there were more than one of me there. (((Repeat again with you and two others.))) “Let US go play with OUR toys”. See, NOW it works because there is more than just me there. So when God said, “Let US make man in OUR image, in OUR likeness,” it was talking about the Father, the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit making man.
FOR THE TEACHER ONLY: The original language that the Bible was written in uses the Hebrew word “Elohim” (Hebrew word, plural for God, which consists of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit)
FOR EVERYONE: Again, Jesus is our example on how to live, so we need to really pay attention to how Jesus interacts with the Holy Spirit.
We know that the Holy Spirit wants to lead and guide us.
It says in Romans 8:14 “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.”
Once you decide to follow Jesus, you become a child of God. The Holy Spirit will try to guide us, but it’s up to us to listen. He won’t force us to follow the plan He has for us.
Do you think Jesus followed the Holy Spirit?
Matthew 4:1 says “The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the desert.”
And Jesus went! It was the plan God had for Jesus, and Jesus followed where the Holy Spirit led Him.
Again, it’s up to us if we’re going to follow the Holy Spirit when He guides us. He won’t force us to follow his plan.
Let’s demonstrate how He leads us.
(((ASK FOR A VOLUNTEER)))
I’m going to try to lead you to a certain spot, but you can’t see me, only hear me.
(((Blindfold volunteer)))
Follow my voice, and I’m going to try to help you get where you need to go.
(((Lead child by telling them where to go either by staying in front of them a few feet or by saying commands like “right, left, forward,etc)))
(((PAUSE HALFWAY THROUGH)))
Now they can continue to follow my lead, or not. It’s up to them. What happens if they decide to find their own way? They get off track. Something bad might happen to them, maybe small, maybe something big. It depends. Or they can continue following my direction.
(((Continue leading volunteer to goal, and have everyone cheer once you arrive)))
They followed my voice, and got where I was leading them. It’s the same way with the Holy Spirit.
The nation of Israel in the Bible sometimes would follow God, and sometimes not. It says in Isaiah 63:10 “But they refused to obey Him. They made his Holy Spirit sad.”
It makes the Holy Spirit sad when God’s children don’t follow Him.
So it’s up to us if we decide to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit or not.
Okay, the last thing we’ll talk about today is how powerful the Holy Spirit is.
Jesus said in Acts 1:8 “You will receive Power (((“Receive what?” Kids say power))) when the Holy Spirit comes on you. Then you will tell people about me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria. And you will even tell other people about me from one end of the earth to the other.”
So Jerusalem was the city they were in, kind of like St. Louis. Judea and Samaria was the bigger areas around them, kind of like the United States. And when it said from one end of the earth to the other, that’s the whole world!
So Jesus told them that they would receive power to tell people both close to them to the other side of the earth about Him. But why would they need Power to do this? What would be so hard about telling people all around the world about Jesus?
What about different languages? Have you ever tried talking to someone in a different country but didn’t know how to speak their language. It’s REALLY hard to communicate. Do you think that was too big for the Holy Spirit to handle, though? Nope.
There was a time when Jesus’ disciples were in Jerusalem, and people from different areas of the world came to Jerusalem to celebrate a feast called the Feast of Pentecost. That’s when something really cool happened.
Acts 2:4 says “All of them (Jesus’ disciples) 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.”
How cool! Because of the Holy Spirit, Jesus’ followers were able to speak in languages from around the world, telling those who were in town for this feast about Jesus. This allowed everyone to know who Jesus was, not just the people who spoke the language of that area. The people from other countries who were in town for the Feast were then able to go back to their countries around the world and tell others about Jesus too. So the Holy Spirit is so powerful that even something as big as language can’t stop His power. That’s how powerful the Holy Spirit is!
Alright, we’ve learned a little about who the Holy Spirit is. Let’s see how much you remember.
REVIEW TIME
Question: So today we learned about whom?
ANSWER: THE HOLY SPIRIT
True or False: The Holy Spirit is part of God.
ANSWER: TRUE!
Question: How long has the Holy Spirit been around?
ANSWER: SINCE THE BEGINNING!
Another True or False: The Holy Spirit does NOT want to lead you.
ANSWER: False. The Holy Spirit definitely wants to lead you.
Even Another True or False: The Holy Spirit will MAKE YOU follow where He is leading.
ANSWER: False. You have the choice to follow the Holy Spirit, and it makes Him sad when you don’t choose to follow Him guiding you.
Last Question: The Holy Spirit is SO powerful, that He was able to make Jesus’ followers do what to help spread the message of Jesus around the world?
Answer: Speak in other languages!
GREAT JOB EVERYONE!!!! Now we are going to play a game to help us understand a little about the Holy Spirit.