Ages 7+ · Bible Stories · Easter and the early church
Pentecost
💨a rushing wind🎀ribbons of light🗣️many languages💦water🥖shared bread
The day of Pentecost.
The big ideaThe Bible tells how God sent his Spirit, and Jesus's friends told the news to everyone.
How it works
The Bible tells how people from many lands came to Jerusalem for a harvest feast called Pentecost. The friends of Jesus waited together in one room.
A sound like a rushing wind filled the house, and the friends began to speak in other languages. The Bible says it looked like little flames of light, and this was the Holy Spirit, God's gift.
Visitors from Egypt, Rome, Crete and Arabia hurried over, and each heard the friends in their own language. Peter stood up with the eleven and spoke to the crowd.
He told them to turn back to God and be baptised, which means to be dipped in water as a sign of a fresh start. About three thousand people joined that day, and that was the first church.
The day, in order.
🥖shared their food🧎prayed together📖learned from Peter🎁gave to people in need
The first church.
Example 1: Many languages
In those days each land had its own language.
Visitors from Egypt, Rome, Crete and Arabia stood in the crowd.
Each one heard the friends speak in their own language.
Example 2: What baptised means
To be baptised was to be dipped in water.
It was a sign of a fresh start.
Many people were glad to say yes to Jesus and were baptised that day.
Example 3: Make room for newcomers
The first friends of Jesus opened their group to newcomers.
They shared their meals and gave to people in need.
You can show a new child around, or ask them to play.
Words to know
Spirit
The Holy Spirit is God's gift, who came to the friends of Jesus.
baptised
Dipped in water, as a sign of a fresh start.
Pentecost
A harvest feast kept in Jerusalem, when many visitors came from other lands.
Watch out
Each visitor heard the friends in their own language, not in one language only.
Pentecost was a harvest feast kept in Jerusalem, and many visitors came from other lands.
Peter was the one who stood up and spoke to the crowd.
About three thousand people joined on that one day, many more than thirty or three hundred.
Try it
What filled the house at Pentecost?
In which language did each visitor hear the friends?
How many people joined that day?
What did the first church do together?
Answers: 1. A sound like a rushing wind · 2. Their own · 3. About three thousand · 4. Shared meals, prayed and learned from Peter
Try at homeWith a grown-up, share a meal or a snack with a neighbour or a friend, as the first church did.
For grown-upsFor a faith reviewer and for you: the telling says what the Bible says about the Holy Spirit and the flames of light in plain words, and draws nothing over anyone's head. Your tradition may say more, so add your own words. Then share a meal or a snack with a neighbor or a friend, as the Mission suggests.
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