Materials Needed: Lego Bricks from the Week 2 object lesson.
For the Teacher Only: A lot of children limit themselves on what they think they can do. They may think they cannot accomplish much because they are “just kids”. Society sometimes also causes them to believe this. When it comes to the Holy Spirit, and the power He gives to accomplish His will, the Bible gives no age limit. Why? Because the faith that children have can be so strong, such as when Jesus said in Mark 10:14-15 “Let the little children come to me. Don’t keep them away. God’s kingdom belongs to people like them. What I’m about to tell you is true. Anyone who will not receive God’s kingdom like a little child will never enter it.” Jesus wants us to have qualities like little children. When you combine those qualities with the power of the Holy Spirit, there’s no telling what amazing things can be accomplished.
FOR EVERYONE: Welcome, everybody to the FINAL week of our Holy Spirit series! We’ve learned so much about the Holy Spirit the last 3 weeks, and this week we’re going be finishing by talking about how the Holy Spirit can guide kids! I want to start this week by asking you a few questions:
Question #1: How many of you in here think you are young?
Alright…almost all you. Nice.
Question #2: How many of you in here think I (the teacher) am young? What???
Okay…question 3#: Do you think I am old???
Alright…I see how it is. You’re young, I am old…got it.
Okay, last question: Do you think, as a kid, that God doesn’t help you do amazing things like he does someone who is older?
That is what we are talking about today… “Does God help kids like he does adults?”
So let’s start by reading from the Bible.
Acts 2:17 says ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Holy Spirit on ALL people.” (Everybody say “ALL PEOPLE”). Then it says, “Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions. Your old men will have dreams.”
God said a long time ago that He would give the Holy Spirit to ALL people, which means people all from over the world, no matter where you lived. He then goes on to say that both sons AND daughters would prophecy, so it doesn’t matter if you are a boy or a girl, the Holy Spirit is available to you as a gift. That same verse also says that the Holy Spirit will help those who are YOUNG and also those who are OLD.
Who in here is young?
Who in here is old? (((me, according to you all)))
So no matter if you are a boy or a girl, young or old, the Holy Spirit wants to be your friend and to guide all of us!!!
In fact, the Bible makes it really plain when it says in Revelation 2:7, “Whoever has ears should listen to what the Holy Spirit says to the churches”
Raise your hands if you have ears. Great!!! Then the Holy Spirit wants to lead you (Yay, ears!), but here’s the thing, you have to be willing to listen to what the Holy Spirit is telling you. Again, God will not force you to listen to Him. It’s your choice, but the results of your choice can be really different depending on if you choose God’s way or your own way.
Alright, next we’re going to play a little game called “Where is God?” Here’s how it works: I’m going to read a verse, and you have to tell me where God was when He was talking to Moses. We’ll see who guesses correctly.
In 1 Kings 19: 11-13, it says “The Lord said (talking to Moses), “Go out. Stand on the mountain in front of me. I am going to pass by.”
Alright, here is where we have to guess where God was. “As the Lord approached, a very powerful wind tore the mountains apart. It broke up the rocks.”
Okay, who thinks God was in the powerful wind? Raise your hands if you think He was there.
Let’s find out.
“But the Lord wasn’t in the wind.” (Wah-wah to whoever thought that one.)
Alright, next it says “After the wind there was an earthquake.”
Okay, who thinks God was in the earthquake?...Let’s see.
“But the Lord wasn’t in the earthquake.” (Wah-wah to that group too)
Next it says, “After the earthquake a fire came.”
Okay, who says God was in this fire?
Let’s see: “But the Lord wasn’t in the fire.” Wah-wah if you said the fire.
Alright, the next part says “And after the fire there was only a gentle whisper.”
Alright, who thinks God was in the whisper?
Let’s see what it says… “When Elijah heard it (talking about the whisper), he pulled his coat over his face.”
Ding-Ding-Ding, we have a winner, folks! God was in the whisper! So much so that Elijah couldn’t take it and pulled his coat over his face!
So remember a few minutes ago when we talked about how the Bible says “Whoever has ears should listen to what the Holy Spirit says to the churches”?
One reason that this verse is important is because the Holy Spirit won’t yell at you to listen to Him. He’ll whisper to you. That may be in the form of a feeling to do something, or maybe just a reminder about a part of the Bible you read. And if you’re not listening, then you can miss what God wants you to do.
So how can we listen to the Holy Spirit? There’s a few ways.
Don’t be so busy through your days that you don’t have time for God. Make sure to make some time through your day to read the Bible and pray. Both of these are important because prayer is you talking to God, and reading the Bible is where God can a lot of times tell us how He wants us to live. Then, the Holy Spirit can remind you of what you read in the Bible to guide you, like a whisper. But if you don’t make time to do those things because you are too busy, then you are not doing what you can to listen to God. Does that make sense?
So, what if you do take time to listen to the Holy Spirit guiding you in your life and follow what He wants for you, then what will happen?
Before I answer that, let me ask you something. Who knows what fruit is?
Okay, what is your favorite fruit? (Listen to a few favorites)That does sound good. (Tell your favorite fruit)
Alright, can anybody tell me how fruit is made? (listen to a few children)
Good. So first you have to plant a seed. It has to be in the right soil, or dirt. Then it has to have the right amount of water, and sunlight, and then the plant will grow. If the plant has everything it needs, then the plant will eventually produce the fruit. So the fruit is the RESULT (((everybody say “result”))) of many things that came before it, right?
So keep that in mind when we read the next verse.
In Galatians 5:22 it says “the fruit (or the result) the Holy Spirit produces is love, joy and peace. It is being patient, kind and good. It is being faithful and gentle and having control of oneself.”
Wow! That sounds amazing. So the result of the Holy Spirit leading your life is that you have Love, Joy and Peace inside you, as well as you becoming Patient, Kind and Good, and you learning how to be Faithful, Gentle, and having Control of Yourself. By following the Holy Spirit, God creates you to be an even more amazing version of yourself. You are still unique with your own personality and special gifts, but the Holy Spirit supercharges those gifts to make you even more amazing! That’s what happens when you let the Holy Spirit lead your life! Pretty cool, huh?
Do you think all that completely happens as soon as you start listening to the Holy Spirit?
It does START to happen, but it takes time for God to fully create you into what He wants you to be. Just like fruit is not created the next day after the seed is planted, it takes time for God to create you into who He wants you to be, so be patient with God and with yourself. You’re going to mess up along the way.
Ephesians 2:22 says “And because you belong to him, you too are BEING BUILT together. You are BEING MADE into a house where God lives through his Spirit.”
You are a work in progress. I am a work in progress. We all will mess up. The important thing for us to remember is to let the Holy Spirit continue leading and guiding us to become that amazing version of ourselves that only God can make us to be! We cannot do that on our own. With God, you will make an impact on the world in amazing ways because the Holy Spirit is with you.
Alright, we have 1 more verse that we’re going to read before we play today’s object lesson game.
In 2 Corinthians 3:17 it says “Now the Lord is the Holy Spirit. And where the Spirit of the Lord is, freedom is also there.”
Whenever we have the Holy Spirit leading and guiding our lives, we have freedom. Who knows what freedom is?
(Listen to a few definitions from the kids.)
Freedom is not being controlled by something else. We get lots of freedom when we let the Holy Spirit lead us.
First, we have freedom from sin. Remember, the Holy Spirit is proof that you are God’s child, and God forgives you of all your sin when you decide to follow Jesus.
Second, you have freedom from being alone. No matter where you go, the Holy Spirit will be there with you, guiding you and giving you the strength to accomplish all that He wants you to do.
And finally, we have freedom from living a boring life. The Holy Spirit will lead you to make an impact on Earth that nobody else could make but you, using your special gifts and talents that God gave you, no matter how old you are. When you combine your gifts and talents with the power of the Holy Spirit, you are going to do AMAZING things!
Okay, REVIEW TIME! Let’s see how many you guys can get right before our game.
Question: True or False: The Holy Spirit only uses grown-ups to do amazing things around the world.
Answer: False: The Holy Spirit is available to the young and old to do amazing things.
Question: True or False: I’m old.
Answer: False: I’m young (joking)
Question: A lot of times the Holy Spirit will guide you with a gentle _______.
Answer: Whisper. That’s why it’s important to take time through our busy day to listen to God through reading the Bible and talking to Him by praying, so that we can hear him when He leads us.
Question: Another True or False: Once you let the Holy Spirit lead your life, you will not mess up anymore.
Answer: False: we all are a work in progress, but God will continue working inside you to create an amazing life that does so many wonderful things if we let Him.
Last Question: Name one of results (or fruit) that the Holy Spirit will produce in you if you let Him lead your life.
Answers: Love, Joy and Peace, Being patient, kind and good, and being faithful, gentle and having control of yourself. And don’t forget that with the Holy Spirit you get Freedom! Everybody say “Freedom!!!”
I’m so proud of all of you for learning about who the Holy Spirit is and what He does these last 4 weeks. Now it’s time for a game to help us understand how important it is to set aside time to hear God instead of just living a busy life.