Unit 6 Early Church--Lesson 1 NT6.1 The Holy Spirit …...In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. Memory Verse: The memory verse is Acts 1:8 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit

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NT6.1 The Holy Spirit Comes © Beverly Wilson, 2015

Unit 6 Early Church--Lesson 1

NT6.1 The Holy Spirit Comes

Scripture: Matthew 28: 19-20; Acts 1, 2

Lesson Goal: In this lesson we are going to learn about the day that God first sent the Holy Spirit to the

believers. This day is special because it was the beginning of the church. Children will experience what it means to be enabled by the Holy Spirit. They will learn that God sent His Holy Spirit to the early believers. They will understand that the Holy Spirit helps us too and discover how they can receive the gift of the Holy Spirit in their own life.

Introduction: This is the first lesson in Unit 6: The Early Church. This unit covers Acts 1-12 and tells the story

of the apostles spreading the gospel in Jerusalem and Samaria. This lesson is about the day that God first sent the Holy Spirit to the believers on the Day of Pentecost. It is described by Luke in the book of Acts. Acts tells the story of the history of the church. Let's say the names of the gospels plus the book of history--Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and Acts.

Attention Getter: What you think I have here? Yes, it's a cake with a candle, balloons, a party hat, and a package wrapped in pretty paper and tied with ribbons and bows. What kind of a celebration do you think these things might suggest? Of course, a birthday party! Now, there might be someone here today who is having a birthday, but that is not why we are celebrating. Today is the day that we celebrate the birthday of the church. The birthday is not just of our church but the birthday of the church of all believers everywhere! It is the day that the church really got its start. We call it the Day of Pentecost and it is when we remember the day when God sent the Holy Spirit to his people just as Jesus had promised that he would.

Opening Prayer: Father, we are so glad that you have sent us the Holy Spirit. He is our Comforter, our Helper in times of need. He gives us the power to live a life in victory over sin and He gives us the courage we need to tell others about Your love for us. Thank You that You have provided us with resurrection power — the same power that raised Jesus from the dead — through the Holy Spirit Who dwells in us. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Memory Verse: The memory verse is Acts 1:8

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on

you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Lesson Video: http://youtu.be/51mHGEESwCQ After rising from the dead, Jesus met with his disciples and followers, giving convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. Once, while eating with them, Jesus commanded, "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which I have spoken about. John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. "When the Holy Spirit comes, you will receive power and you will tell people everywhere about Me." One day when Jesus was with them on the Mount of Olives he told them, "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the rest of the world." The disciples were to preach the gospel to everyone everywhere! After Jesus said this, He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. As the disciples gazed upwards, suddenly, two men dressed in white stood beside them, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking into the sky?" they asked. "This same Jesus , who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way as you have seen him go into heaven."

http://youtu.be/51mHGEESwCQ

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Jesus' followers returned to Jerusalem and met regularly for prayer. Jesus' friends loved Him and wanted to obey Him. So they stayed together in Jerusalem. They were all staying together in an upstairs room of a house. They obeyed Jesus and waited. While they were waiting, Peter stood up in the group of around 120 believers, to talk about a replacement for Judas who had betrayed Jesus. The prophecies about this incident in Psalm 69:25 and Psalm 109:8 stated "May another take his place of leadership." Judas had used the thirty pieces of silver he had been given to buy a field. He had gone to the field and hung himself from a tree. The field was now know as the "Field of Blood." Peter said the replacement must be chosen from those who had been with Jesus from the time He was baptized by John to His resurrection. The new apostle would be a witness to the fact that Jesus was alive. Two men Joseph, called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias were nominated. They prayed, "Lord, you know everyone's heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over from Judas." Then they cast lots. The lot singled out Matthias. He joined the eleven apostles making a total of twelve. It had been 50 days since Jesus' resurrection and ascension into heaven. When the day of Pentecost came, the followers of Jesus were all together. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent rushing wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. This was no ordinary wind, it was coming of the Holy Spirit. And it was blowing around each person inside the house. Then they saw something very strange. It looked like little flames or tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. The flames were burning above each of their heads! The fire was to symbolize God's holy presence. The tongues were to symbolize speech or words and to show us that God wants us to tell people the good news about Jesus. Everyone was filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues or languages. And that is just what the disciples did! Other Jews from many countries, who had come to Jerusalem for the Feast heard the commotion and were amazed to hear the disciples declaring the wonders of God in their own languages. "These men are from Galilee and yet they are telling us about the great things that God has done in the languages that we speak in our lands far away from here! They were a little scared. "This has got to be a miracle! What does this mean?" they asked. " Some of the people, however, made fun of them and said, "They have had too much wine." "These people are not drunk," protested Peter. "It's only nine in the morning! You are seeing what the prophet Joel spoke about. "In the last days, God will pour out His Spirit on all people." When Peter stood up and spoke he did so in a loud voice so everyone could hear. "Jesus of Nazareth performed miracles, wonders and signs as a sign He was sent from God. You handed Him over to be put to death. But God raised Him from the dead." Then Peter said, "We are all witnesses that Jesus is alive and he is now exalted at the right hand of God." The Holy Spirit had changed Peter. He was not like the coward who had denied Jesus three times. He was full of courage and power. "Let everyone in Israel be sure of this; God has made Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah." Today He sent us His Holy Spirit to be our Helper here on earth. God promised that He would send the Holy Spirit from heaven to live in all the people who believe in Him. Jesus has given us the Holy Spirit. You have seen it and heard it happen here today!" When the people heard this, they were distraught and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do? The crowd of people asked Peter, "What must we do to receive this power that the Holy Spirit gives?" Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all whom God will call." Peter was telling them that they needed to ask Jesus to forgive them and believe that He was the Christ the Son of God.

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Then Peter told them, " After you have asked Jesus to save you then you should show that you believe and want to follow Jesus by being baptized in water. God will give you His gift of the Holy Spirit, too. That is what salvation is all about." Wow! Peter was boldly speaking for the Lord, wasn't he? He was empowered by the Holy Spirit. He became a powerful witness for the Lord. He told thousands of people about what the Lord Jesus had done to save man. Those who accepted this message were baptized--about three thousand people. Everyday Peter and John preached the good news about Jesus in the temple. And many more people were saved. The Bible says that soon there were 5000 believers. That church had grown very large in just a few days. Everyone was excited to be in the church. They loved each other very much. They loved God and praised HIM. They even gave whatever they had to help those who were needy. Every day the new believers held a meeting in homes so they could teach others about God. The Holy Spirit helped them to know what to say. He is the best Teacher! The believers also shared communion with each other. This was a special time where they remembered that Jesus had died on the cross for their sins. The same message that Peter preached on that first day of the church is the same news that we have today! If you and I want to go to heaven we must do the ABCs. A is for Ask. We must ask Jesus to be our Savior. We do that by simply praying and talking to God. We just tell Him that we love Him and we want Him to save us. B is for Believe. We must believe that Jesus is really the Son of God and that He died on the cross for us. We must believe that He is alive now and has gone back to heaven to be with God. C is for Confess. We must confess our sins or tell God that we are sorry for what we have done that is wrong. The Bible says that the things that are wrong are stealing, lying, not obeying your parents, and taking God's name in vain. Have you told God that you are sorry for doing those things? Have you asked Jesus to be your Savior? When we believe in Jesus, God promises us that we can go to heaven someday with Him. God also gives us the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God. The Holy Spirit is not someone that we can see or touch. However, His presence is very real. It's kind of like the wind. We can't see it, but we can see the effect of it. The Holy Spirit helps us live like Jesus did. He gives light to our lives. When the Holy Spirit comes into our lives He makes us like a new person. He changes our attitudes and helps us be like Jesus. He gives us strength. He comforts us when we are sick. He gives us wisdom from the Bible about how to live our lives. He gives us the power to say "No! to sin. He gives us the power to live the Godly life. And most importantly He gives us the power to tell others about Jesus. Remember let's celebrate Jesus' gift of salvation to us--the Holy Spirit!

Review Questions/ Game: Blow the Pinwheel Preparation: Give each child an inexpensive colored pinwheel. Procedure: Divide the class into two teams. When one team correctly answer one of the review questions below, then the members of that team may blow on their pinwheel! Remind the children that their breath is like the Holy Spirit. The wind is a power source to moving the pinwheel. The Holy Spirit is our power source to live the Christian life.

1. What Jewish celebration was going on that brought all the foreigners to Jerusalem? (Pentecost)

2. What is Pentecost? (It’s like Thanksgiving; it’s a festival of thanksgiving for the harvested crops.) 3. In what spectacular way did God send the Holy Spirit to the believers? (Violent wind, tongues of fire.) 4. Why did God send tongues of fire? What did the tongues and the fire symbolize? (Tongues symbolized

speech and fire symbolized God’s purifying presence.) 5. What did the disciples begin to do when the tongues of fire sat upon them? (They began to speak with other

tongues or languages.)

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6. What did all the foreigners in Jerusalem think was happening? (They were all amazed and marveled; then some of them began to make fun of the disciples, saying they were drunk.)

7. What did Peter do? (He stood up, raised his voice, and began to explain God’s plan of salvation.) 8. What suddenly gave Peter the courage he lacked only a short time before? (He was filled with the Holy Spirit.) 9. What was the reaction of the crowd of people when they heard Peter preach? (After Peter’s powerful, Spirit-

filled message, the people were deeply moved and asked, "What shall we do?") 10. What did Peter tell the people to do when they asked, "What shall we do?" (He told them to repent and be

baptized in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins.) 11. In what amazing way did the Holy Spirit use Peter’s message? (3,000 people gave their hearts and lives to

Jesus!) 12. How do you receive the Holy Spirit? (When you call upon the Lord Jesus to save you.) 13. What does the Holy Spirit give you? (The power you need to live boldly for the Lord, to make godly choices, to

say, "No!" to sin and to speak with confidence about the things of the Lord.) 14. What can you do when you feel too shy to talk to someone? (Remember that the Holy Spirit is in you and

gives you power.) 15. What can give you courage when you are afraid to speak up for the Lord? (Thank God that the Holy Spirit

lives in you to help you be brave! You can count on the Holy Spirit to help you and to work in the hearts of those who listen.)

Bible Memory Verse Activity: Clothesline and Pins

The memory verse is Acts 1:8 8

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends

of the earth.” Let's say that verse again

together. Have children locate the verse in the Bible. Read the verse aloud with children several times. Procedure: Bring a long string and clothes pins. Tie the string up or let two kids hold the ends. Write each word of the verse on an index card. Pin each word of the verse on the line. Scramble up the words ahead of time and see if the kids can arrange them correctly.

Group Learning Activity: Filling of the Holy Spirit (Grades K-5) Preparation: You will need paper cups for each child. Procedure: Have the children sit in a circle. Give each child an empty paper cup. Say: "What's inside your cups?" Hold up a paper cup, and say, "If we don't have Jesus in our lives, we may be like these cups: empty inside with nothing to give other people." Pour water into the cup you’re holding. Say, "When we believe in Jesus and ask Him to be the Lord of our lives, God promises to pour His Spirit into us and fill us with His love, just as the water fills this cup." Say: "Why did God give us the Holy Spirit? What happens when we’re filled with God’s Spirit?"

Have the children stand in a circle, holding their paper cups. Say, "Let’s see how being filled or baptized with the Holy Spirit helps us live a victorious Christian life." Pour your water into another person’s cup and whisper, "The Holy Spirit gives you strength." Then have that person pour the water into the next person's cup and repeat, "The Holy Spirit gives you strength." So on around the circle. Go around the circle again saying, "The Holy Spirit gives you comfort." Ask the children to think of things that the Holy Spirit gives them when they are filled with the Spirit of God. For example, (1) The Holy Spirit gives you wisdom. (2) The Holy Spirit gives you power to say, "No!" to sin. (3) The Holy Spirit gives you power to live a Godly life. (4) The Holy Spirit gives you power to tell others about Jesus.

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Group Learning Activity: “Make Picture Books” (Grades K-5) Preparation: You will need drawing paper and colored markers. Say: “In this lesson we learned about the coming of the Holy Spirit and the beginning of the church. We also learned about the Holy Spirit’s role in empowering us to share the gospel with everyone. Our learning activity today is going to help us understand the gospel better so we can comfortably share it with those we meet and those we already know. Procedure: Give each child a sheet of drawing paper. Have students make a booklet by folding the page in half and then in half again. Write on board or white board the following sentences for students to print on each page. Read each point of the “Gospel”. Give time between each point for kids to finish their drawings.

Front Cover: Jesus can save you from sin.

First Page: Admit you have sinned. "All have sinned." (Romans 3:23)

Second Page: Believe Jesus died for your sins. "Christ died for our sins." (I

Corinthians 15:3)

Third Page: Call on Jesus to save you (Romans 10:13)

Demonstrate how a tract is to be used to share your faith with someone. Give children an opportunity to practice in class with a partner. Encourage those that have questions about the gospel to talk to you, another teacher, or a parent. Conclude with a prayer that God will use the books to help boys and girls understand and share the good news.

Group Learning Activity: “Pentecost Birthday Celebration” (Grades K-5) Preparation: Bring a birthday cake with red candles, some red balloons, and a package wrapped in red paper to class. Say: "Today is the day that we celebrate the birthday of the church. The day that the church really got its start. We call it the day of Pentecost and it is when we remember the day when God sent the Holy Spirit to his people just as Jesus had promised that he would. These items which we use to celebrate a birthday are also going to help us to remember what happened in the church on the day of Pentecost. They will also remind us that the Holy Spirit is still at work in the church today. “ Procedure: Have children help you prepare the room for a birthday celebration. Say: “Balloons can add a lot to any celebration, but, as you can see, these balloons are flat and lifeless. They need to be filled. They need someone to breathe some life into them. (Blow up the balloon.) The Bible tells us that on the day of Pentecost, the followers of Jesus were all together in one place when suddenly they heard a sound from heaven like a mighty rushing wind and it filled the whole house. We are here today waiting for the Holy Spirit to fill this place and to breathe new life into the church of Jesus Christ. I have a balloon for each of you. I want you to take the balloon and -- as you breathe life into it -- remember that just as the balloon needs to be filled to be what it was intended to be, you and I need the Holy Spirit to fill us so that we can be all that God wants us to be.” Say: “Like any good birthday cake, our cake is covered with candles. As I light each candle, we are reminded that on the day of Pentecost tongues of fire came and rested upon each of the people in that place and they were filled with the Holy Spirit. They began to speak in other languages as the Spirit gave them ability. Just as on the day of Pentecost, we need the Holy Spirit to come and light our fire and give us the power to do things which will bring glory to God.”

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Say: “What is a birthday celebration without gifts? On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit gave the early church the gifts of forgiveness, truth, and a new life. The Holy Spirit offers those same gifts today. He leads us to truth, forgives us, and gives us a better way to live.” This has been a great birthday celebration, but it seems to me that there is something we have forgotten. Oh, I know what it is! We forgot to sing "Happy Birthday" to the church. Let's sing! "Happy birthday to you...".

Group Learning Activity: Bible Study “Holy Spirit” (Grades 3-5) Purpose: To understand the Coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. Preparation: Students will need Bibles, pens or pencils, and spiritual journal. Procedure: Help students locate the following verses of scripture. Read verses aloud. Discuss the work of the Holy Spirit and what God says in the Bible. Highlight the Biblical principles being taught. Say: “People from many countries had come to Jerusalem for the Jewish celebration of the "Day of Pentecost." God commanded the Israelites through His servant Moses to come together to celebrate seven different annual feasts each year. One of them was called the "Day of Pentecost. " Pentecost is Greek for "fiftieth day" and is actually a feast to celebrate harvest. It is like the American holiday of Thanksgiving, it is a festival of thanksgiving for the harvested crops. Pentecost is held 50 days after Passover. Read more about Pentecost's meaning in Exodus 23:16a; 34:22a; Leviticus 23:15-21; Numbers 28:26-31 and Deuteronomy 16:9-12. Say: “For Christians Pentecost has become a term for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the apostles. Pentecost was the day that God sent his Holy Spirit to breathe life into His church so that the church would be all that God intended for it to be. Before God sent his Holy Spirit, the church was lifeless. The church was not witnessing and telling people about Jesus. After the Holy Spirit breathed life into the church, people began telling everyone they saw about Jesus. It didn't even matter if they spoke the same language. They told everyone about Jesus and they understood. Thousands of people were added to the church. The church became alive and was doing the things God had commanded. Discuss the following questions:

What did the Holy Spirit help the disciples do? (Talk in other languages to tell others about Jesus.)

What can the Holy Spirit help us do today? (Tell others about Jesus; be kind to others; obey God.)

What did Peter say we had to do to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit? (Turn from your sins and turn to God. Believe in Jesus.)

Have students record what they have learned about the Holy Spirit in their spiritual journals.

Group Learning Activity: Bible Study: “The Work of the Holy Spirit Today” (Grades 3-5) Purpose: To understand the work of the Holy Spirit today. Preparation: Students will need Bibles, pens or pencils, and spiritual journal. Procedure: Help students locate the following verses of scripture. Read verses aloud. Discuss the work of the Holy Spirit and what God says in the Bible. Highlight the Biblical principles being taught. Say: In our lesson we heard how Jesus promised the Christians who would come after them. Let’s discover more about the work of the Holy Spirit, and what it does to help us today.“ Form six groups and give a reference to each. Have each group read their text and report to the class what they learned about the Holy Spirit.}

John 14:16--He is a Comforter (NOTE: KJV refers to Comforter, NIV says “Counselor.”)

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John 14:17-- He is the Spirit of truth.

John 14:26-- He will teach us all things, and will remind us of the things Jesus said.

John 15:26-- He is the Spirit of truth and will testify (tell about) of Jesus.

John 16:13-- He will guide us in truth, and tell us what is to come.

John 16:14-- He will bring glory to Jesus

Say:” What does it mean to you to know that the Holy Spirit will be a guide? How does the Holy Spirit teach us? (The Holy Spirit teaches us through our study of the Bible.) Point out that Peter’s sermon led 3,000 to be baptized. In what way does the Holy Spirit remind us of Jesus? The Holy Spirit is also with us when we worship and praise God. He enables us to tell others about the gospel.

Group Learning Activity: “Language Hunt” (Grades 2-5) Preparation: You will need 3” X 5” cards or small pieces of paper. Procedure: Write the following words on 3 x 5 cards: Dutch, French, Japanese, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish. Make sure to have at least two of each language. Each child is to have a card. Have some spares for visitors. Give out the cards. Help nonreaders discover the word on their card. Say: When I say “go,” I want you to walk around, calling out the language on your card. Form a group with others who have the same language. Say: “How did you feel before you found someone else who “spoke” your language? What made it difficult to find your language? (noise, confusion) How did you feel when you found others “speaking” your language? (Invite people who speak a different language to come to your class.) Write “Jesus loves you” on a card. Have guests read the card to the class. Have the children repeat it after them. Then teach the children to say “Jesus Loves you” in sign language. Here are the words and the matching actions in sign language:

Jesus--- Place wrists about an inch apart and touch the right palm with the middle finger of the left hand, then the left palm with the middle finger of the right hand.

Loves---- Make an X by crossing your arms across your chest. You---Point to someone.

Say: “Can any of you speak a different language? How do you feel saying “Jesus loves you” in a language you don’t know? (strange, awkward, funny, different) How many languages does God understand? (He can understand every language.) Sometimes it sounds confusing when people are speaking different languages, but God never gets confused. He understands all of us. Being able to speak different languages is one of God’s gifts to us.” Say: “In this lesson we learned that the Holy Spirit helped some people learn about Jesus in their own language. When the power of the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples they were able to speak foreign languages that they had never learned or studies. God performed this miracle so that everyone could hear the message of salvation in their own language. No one would be left out. Everyone was given an opportunity to repent of their sins and believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior. Then they could enjoy worshiping together.”

Group Learning Activity: “Power Experiments” (Grades 2-5) Preparation: You will need a hair dryer, table tennis ball, 9 “ balloon, book, clean, empty water bottle with lid; vegetable oil; water; measuring cups; food color Have children read Acts 2 and Acts 1:8. Say: “Power is the ability to act or do something. What are some things that have a lot of power? How does the power of these items affect things around them? Today we are going to discover the power of wind, air, and water.” Procedure: Perform the following experiments with wind, air pressure, and water:

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Power of Wind: (Gather: hair dryer, table tennis ball)

1. Turn the hair dryer so the air blows up, toward the ceiling. 2. Balance the table tennis ball in the air stream. 3. Allow a child to slowly pull the ball out of the air stream. When the ball is about half way out of the air

stream, he should feel a force trying to pull it back. Without pulling the ball all the way out of the air stream, watch what happens when the ball is released.

Power of Air Pressure (Gather: 9-inch balloon, book, table

1. Inflate and deflate the balloon several times (to make the balloon easier to inflate). 2. Place the deflated balloon on the table, with the neck and half of the balloon hanging off the edge. 3. Place a book on the other half of the balloon. 4. Kneel beside the table and inflate the balloon. 5. Guide the children to observe what happens to the book.

Power of Water (Gather: clean, empty water bottle with lid; vegetable oil; measuring cups; food color; water)

1. Pour ¾ cup water in the bottle. 2. Add a few drops of food color to the water. 3. Add ¼ cup of oil. 4. Place the lid on the bottle and tighten.

5. Hold the bottle on its side and rock the bottle back and forth to create a wave.

Say: "Have you ever felt the power of wind, air pressure, or the strength of a wave? Some powers are very strong and can knock you down or damage things, while other powers just cause minor changes to things around them. God wants us to help people change their lives. He wants us to help them know how they can receive Jesus as Savior and Lord." Say: "This week when you feel the air blowing or see waves in water, think about the power of these items. God gave us the Holy Spirit to help us. The Holy Spirit has power to help us tell people about Jesus. I challenge you to tell at least three people about Jesus this week." Pray for opportunities to tell people about Jesus.

Craft Learning Activity: Tissue Paper Windsock (Grades K-5) Preparation: You will need tissue paper, heavy drawing paper, scissors, and glue. Procedure: Hold up a sample tissue paper windsock. Have a volunteer come up and blow on the windsock. Say: “How do you know that this person is actually blowing on the windsock? Can you see the air that is moving it? I can see him blowing on the windsock but I can't see air. When you are outside, you can't see the wind, so how do you know it is there? The trees move; things blow around; See what the wind does. The Holy Spirit is sort of like the wind. We can't see the wind, can we? But we can see when the wind is moving something. That's like God's Spirit. We can't see the Holy Spirit but we know he's living in our heart by the what the person does. We can see how the Holy Spirit changes a person so he or she acts more like Jesus. Procedure: To make a wind sock: Cut strips of heavy drawing paper 4" X 11". Form a loop with the strip and take the ends together to make a top border strip for the windsock. Give one large sheet of tissue paper to each child (approximately 28" X 28") Draw a line about 4" from the edge along the side of the tissue paper. Using the line as a stopping point cut the tissue paper into long strands to form the streamers of the wind sock. Glue the edge of the top border strip to the top edge of the tissue paper streamers. See diagrams below.

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Craft Learning Activity: “Wind Chime” (Grades K-5) Preparation: You will need ½” dowel rods, twine, scissors, metal washers in various sizes, and permanent markers. Procedure: Give each child a dowel rod, some twine, scissors, washers, and markers. Instruct the group to color their washers with the markers and then begin stringing the with the twine. They can put multiple washers on one string and make the strings various lengths. Then secure each strand of washers to their dowel rod by looping it around the rod and making a knot. Loop one more piece of twine around the middle of the rod to hang the wind chime. Say: “This Bible lessons today talked about the Holy Spirit being like a rushing wind. These wind chimes can serve as a reminder about the Holy Spirit and how He empowers us to share the gospel with everyone.”

Craft Learning Activity: Flaming Fire twirlers (Grades K-5) Preparation: You will need red or orange craft foam sheets. Procedure: Cut a piece of red or orange fun foam in a circle. Then cut around in a spiral until you get to the middle of the circle. Decorate the spiral with fun foam shapes. Hang it up with a piece of yarn. This craft will remind your children that the Holy Spirit came with flames of fire to show us the cleansing presence of God. You can use paper plates cut in a circle. Have students decorate them with red/ orange markers. Hang from ceiling.

Craft Learning Activity: “Holy Spirit Headband” (Grades K-3) Preparation: You will need construction paper and copy of the fire flame template below printed on white paper for each student.

Procedure: Cut up strips of red paper for the headband part. Have students secure the strips the appropriate width of their headband with staples (crude, but quick). Then pass out the sheet of paper with three parts of a flame on it. One was large, the second smaller, and the third the smallest. Have students color the shapes red, yellow, and orange (it didn’t matter which one was colored which). Then cut out those shapes, stack them on top of each other biggest to smallest, and then they stapled that onto their headbands. You can use glue sticks or a stapler to assemble the three-part flame. Have each child write the memory verse on the side of the headband.

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Craft Learning Activity: “Holy Spirit Flying Doves” (Grades K-5) Preparation: Print out the template of flying doves below on white heavy drawing paper. You will need one copy of a dove for each student. You will need white tissue paper, glitter, and a craft eye (optional). Procedure: Pass out the dove drawing. Have students cut out their dove on the outside heavy line. Cut the center slit on the marked line. You can decorate the dove with glitter and color the eye or attach a craft eye. Fold a square of white tissue paper into a fan fold and push it through the slit, until it is halfway through. Hold the top piece of the paper fan on each side and pull it up to join together at the top and secure with tape, glue, or a staple. Attach a string to the connecting fan wings and hang.

Life Application Challenge: Talk to your students to see if they believe in Jesus. If they do share how they can tell others about their faith in Christ, just like Jesus' disciples did. If many have not trusted Christ, then use this opportunity to share your testimony with them. Be sensitive to each child. Try to make sure each one understands what Jesus has done. Also make sure that each child understands but do not pressure anyone into trusting in Jesus. Suggest they talk to you privately or to their parents if they have questions.

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The Day of Pentecost

Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you,

and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

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Tongues of Fire

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Documents

Unit 6 Early Church--Lesson 1 NT6.1 The Holy Spirit …...In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. Memory Verse: The memory verse is Acts 1:8 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit