A TELLING TRUTH

PentecostActs 2:1–24

AD 33

OVERVIEWBIBLE TRUTHGod gives us the Holy Spirit.

BIBLE VERSEYou will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:38

LEARNER GOALI know God the Holy Spirit is my helper.

LAW & GOSPELWe think we can come to understand and trust in God by our own power. The Holy Spirit works faith in our hearts as we hear His Word proclaimed.

SCRIPTURE SNAPSHOTWith the sound of a rushing wind and tongues of fire, the promised Holy Spirit descends on the disciples. As they speak “in other tongues” (v. 4), their hearers, from a multitude of nations, hear about “the mighty works of God” (v. 11) in their own languages. Beginning with Old Testament prophecies, Peter’s sermon proclaims Jesus, the promised Messiah.

LESSON PREPBASIC Read Acts 2:1–24 in The Lutheran Study Bible along with study notes.

MORE T IME Read the article “Pentecost” in The Lu-theran Study Bible, page 1835.

IN DEPTH Read through the Third Article (Part 1) in Luther’s Small Catechism with Explanation (2017).

SUPPLY LISTFOR THIS LESSON

☐ Variety of dry pasta & muffin tins, or play dough, cookie cutters, rolling pin, & buttons

☐ Blocks, gift wrap, bows, & tape

☐ Electric fan, candle, candlelighter, & bowl of water

☐ Buddy or another puppet

☐ Cupcakes with red & orange sprinkles

☐ Oatmeal containers or poster board, crepe paper, yarn, scissors, tape, foil or paper, & hole punch

FOR EVERY LESSON

☐ Bible, songbook, & classroom supplies

☐ Copies of Discover Leaflet, stickers, & music downloads

☐ Supplies for bonus activities

EARLY CHILDHOOD

Unit 3LEADER GUIDE

Lesson 9

Enduring Faith™. © 2019 Concordia Publishing House. Scripture: ESV®. Permission granted to purchaser to reproduce this page for use in educational settings. 433100. L9-1-21

LAUNCHBUILDING RELATIONSHIPS

PASTA OR DOUGH Set out various sizes of pasta to sort into muffin tins, or play dough in many colors, a rolling pin, people cookie cutters, and buttons. Talk about how pasta comes in different shapes and sizes or how the people look different from one another. Say, People come in different sizes, shapes, and colors too. They don’t all look the same. But Jesus loves us all.

BLOCKS AND GIFT WRAP Set out blocks, a variety of gift wrap paper, bows, and tape. Let children wrap the blocks as pretend gifts. Ask, Do you like to get gifts? What are some times when you get a gift? (Christmas, birthdays) Today, you will hear about a special gift Jesus gave His friends.

JESUS T IMESING “Good Morning, Dear Jesus!” (digital resource center) or

“Jesus Loves Children” (Little Ones Sing Praise, p. 108)

SAY Jesus loves us. Today, you’ll hear about a special gift He gives us.

PRAY Dear Jesus,* help us listen* and learn* more about You* and Your love for us.* Amen.* *Pause at the asterisks and have children pray the phrase back to God.

LEARNINTRODUCE THE BIBLE STORYSay, Let’s play a guessing game. I will give you a clue about a person who helps in a certain way. I want you to guess who the person is and how the person helps us. Okay? Here’s your first clue: I wear a special coat and big boots and a hat. I ride in a red truck and use a big hose to spray water. Who am I? (A firefighter) How do I help? (I put out fires.) Good job! Here is your next clue: I sit in a tall chair high above the water. I wear a bathing suit and help people in trouble. Who am I? (A lifeguard) How do I help? (I rescue people who are in trouble in the water and keep them from drowning.) Give additional clues in the same way. Say, God gives us lots of helpers. Today, we’re going to hear a true story from God’s Word, the Bible. It is about a very special helper Jesus promised to send us.

TELL THE BIBLE STORYTell the story, using the Discover Leaflet as a guide. If possible, bring an electric fan, a candle and candlelighter, and a bowl of water. Use these props when you tell about the wind, the tongues of fire, and the people being baptized.

SAY THE BIBLE VERSEHave Buddy share how he stayed at his grandma’s because his mom and dad went away on a trip. He liked being at his grandma’s, but he was sad and missed his parents too. Before they left, his parents told him they loved him and would pray for him. They said they’d send a gift. Then one day, the mail carrier brought a big box for him. It was the special gift from his parents! The gift reminded him that his parents loved him.

Say, Before Jesus went back to heaven, He promised to send His friends a gift too. Our Bible words tell us what the gift was. Read the Bible Verse from Acts 2:38: “You will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Jesus gives us this gift too. Have the children say the verse with you.

LEADER NOTEGreet children at eye level, and get them started in an activity that connects what they know to what they will learn.

BONUS ACTIVITYTry the “Candle Counting” activity.

LEADER NOTEShow your Bible, and tell the children that all the stories in God’s Word are true.

BONUS ACTIVITYTo review the story, use “Fire and Wind Wands.”

L9-2-22 Enduring Faith™. © 2019 Concordia Publishing House. Scripture: ESV®. Permission granted to purchaser to reproduce this page for use in educational settings. 433100.

LIVEDISCOVER LESSON TRUTHSSeparate the Discover Leaflet into two pages. Send the first page home with each child, or put the page into a purchased binder. Hand out the second page, stickers, and crayons.

SIDE 1 Review how the Holy Spirit showed He was with Jesus’ helper friends. Give chil-dren a wind sticker to put on the scene as you talk about how the Holy Spirit came in the sound of a mighty rushing wind. Give them flame stickers to add to the disciples as you talk about how these rested on them.

SIDE 2 The Holy Spirit is one of the three persons of the Trinity. He is not a force or an it, but a divine personal being, just as God the Father and Jesus are. He is the Lord and giver of life. While young children can express that Jesus is their Savior and friend and that God is their heavenly Father who cares for them, it is much more difficult for them to grasp who the Holy Spirit is and what He does for us. It will take years for them to grow in this understanding; nevertheless, it is not too soon to begin introducing them to what the Holy Spirit does for us. Use this activity for that purpose.

One picture at a time, have children point to it and tell about it. Then read the sentence to them. Unpack the statements for children by giving some examples they’ll understand that show how the Holy Spirit works in their lives. Ask children if they think the state-ment is true (most will just guess). Tell them they can color the flames next to those that are. You will need to coach them so they know that all the statements are true.

ENGAGE IN ACTIVE LEARNINGTake time to reinforce the Learner Goal with active learning. Turn to “Active Learning” on the back page for instructions on the activities below.

☐ MOVEPlay “Pentecost,” a version of tag where Peter tags the children and they become believers, joining him in catching others. When all are caught, sing “Go Tell It on the Mountain.”

☐ SNACKServe cupcakes to cele-brate how Pentecost is the birthday of the Church.

☐ CREATEMake a wind sock as a reminder that the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost in a sound like a mighty rushing wind.

CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDINGAsk children how the Holy Spirit came on Pentecost. Say, God the Holy Spirit is our helper. Check for understanding by asking children to tell how the Holy Spirit helped Peter and how He helps us.

LEAVESING “We Are the Church” (Little Ones Sing Praise, p. 106) or

“I Can Tell” (digital resource center)

SAY Jesus gave us a wonderful gift. He sent God the Holy Spirit to be our helper.

PRAY Dear Jesus, thank You for sending the Holy Spirit to be our helper. We are glad to be Your children. Help us show Your love for others and tell them about You too. Amen.

CHRIST CONNECTIONJesus sends the Holy Spirit to His Church, calling people to repentance and forgiveness and creating faith in the hearts of those who receive Him.

LEADER NOTERemember you are just introducing the children to the work of the Spirit. It will take years of growing in God’s Word for the children to mature in their understanding.

BONUS ACTIVITYMany children have not seen the baptismal font or altar up close. Go on a “Sanctuary Visit” to talk about the work of the Holy Spirit.

L9-3-43Enduring Faith™. © 2019 Concordia Publishing House. Scripture: ESV®. Permission granted to purchaser to reproduce this page for use in educational settings. 433100.

Enduring Faith™. © 2019 Concordia Publishing House. Scripture: ESV®. Permission granted to purchaser to reproduce this page for use in educational settings. 433100.

ACTIVE LEARNING ☐ MOVE

Have children scatter around the room. Ask one child to be Peter at Pentecost, “catching” people for Jesus. Explain that when Peter touches someone, he says, “Pentecost.” Child then becomes a believer and joins Peter in tagging others until everyone has been tagged. Say, On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came to Jesus’ friends and gave them power to tell people about Jesus. Many people came to believe in Jesus that day. The Holy Spirit helps us tell about Jesus too. Lead children in singing: Go tell it on the mountain, over the hills and ev’rywhere; go tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ loves you.

☐ SNACKServe cupcakes with red and orange sprinkles. Talk about how Pentecost is often called the birthday of the Church because it is the day the Holy Spirit came to be our helper. He makes us brave to tell others about Jesus so more and more people will believe in Jesus and become part of His Church. As children snack, talk about the color red that they see in church on Pentecost. What are things that are red? What does red remind them of?

☐ CREATECut oatmeal containers into 3- to 4-inch wide rings, or cut a 3 × 16-inch or 4 × 16-inch piece of poster board and roll it into a ring, taping seam. Paint or cover each ring with foil or paper. Attach craft stickers. Cut eight 18-inch strips of crepe paper. Tape to the bottom edge, or punch holes around rim and tie crepe strips through them. Punch two holes in the top of the ring. String with yarn for hanging. Say, We can’t see wind, but we can feel it and see what it does. We can’t see the Holy Spirit, but we can see what He does for us. When the wind blows through your wind sock, you can remember how God the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost to be our helper.

BONUS ACTIVITIESCANDLE COUNTING 10 minutes

Set out a variety of colored birth-day candles. Tell children to sort them by color or pattern, or set out candles in a pattern and challenge them to continue the pattern. Ask, When we light candles on birthday cakes, what does it mean? Yes, it shows we are celebrating some-thing special: someone’s birthday. God used fire in a special way too. He used it to show that He was sending the Holy Spirit to be our helper. How does He help us?

FIRE AND WIND WANDS 10 minutes

Attach lengths of blue or red and orange ribbon to craft sticks. Give some children a blue wand to move in front of their bodies for wind. Give others red and orange wands to move in a circle over their heads for fire. Say, On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came in wind and fire to help people hear and believe in Jesus. Tell main points of story, or play “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow” (digital resource center) and wave wands.

SANCTUARY VIS IT 15 minutes

Take children into the church to look at the baptismal font up close. If possible, ask your pastor to come talk to them about Baptism and what it means. Talk about baptizing babies and adults too. Emphasize that God gives us His helper, the Holy Spirit, when we are baptized. Also look at the altar Bible. Talk about how the Holy Spirit works through God’s Word to teach us about Jesus. He helps us share God’s love.

CONNECTING IDENTITY & CALLINGIDENTITY: WHO AM I?God the Holy Spirit reaches me through His Word and gives me new life in Jesus, enabling me to live as His disci-ple.

CALLING: WHY AM I HERE?I am called and equipped to tell others of the new life Jesus gives through His death and resurrection for all who believe.

GROWING IN FAITH FOR L IFESee how this lesson builds on previous learning for each age.

ADULTI can consider the importance of the role of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and in the life of the Church today. YOUTHI can recognize the work of the Holy Spirit at Pen-tecost and in the Church today as the creator and sustainer of faith in me and all believers.ELEMENTARYI understand that God gives me the Holy Spirit to work faith in my heart.EARLY CHILDHOODI know God the Holy Spirit is my helper.

Enduring Faith™. © 2019 Concordia Publishing House. Scripture: ESV®. Permission granted to purchaser to reproduce this page for use in educational settings. 433100.L9-4-44