The Holy Spirit Comes to the Community of Believers
(From the Book of Acts, Chapter 2, verses 1-11)
After Jesus went to heaven to live with God forever, his friends went to Jerusalem to wait for the Holy Spirit to come to them, as Jesus had promised it would. They went to a room on the top floor of a house in the city and waited patiently. While they waited, they prayed together and told stories about Jesus to one another.
This was the group that gathered in the room: Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James, Simon, Judas (James' son, not the Judas who betrayed Jesus), Matthias, Mary (Jesus' mother), several other women, and Jesus' brothers.
The festival day of Pentecost arrived. This was a day when the Jewish people living in and around Jerusalem celebrated the first harvest of the growing season. Suddenly, the group of Jesus' friends and family heard a loud noise, like the rush of a strong wind. The sound filled the entire house.
"What is happening?" someone shouted to the group. "I've never heard anything so loud in my whole life!"
Before anyone could answer, another friend yelled above the noise, "Oh my goodness - look! Fire!" He pointed across the room where a few people where sitting, holding on to one another.
Little flames danced around the room and settled over the head of each person. Even though the flames were real fire, they didn't burn anyone or anything in the room.
Jesus' friends and family realized that God's Holy Spirit was in the room with them. They got up and began to hug one another and dance around the room, clapping their hands and shouting prayers of praise to God. But guess what? Their prayers came out of their mouths in many different languages! The Holy Spirit had given them the ability to speak to everyone about God's wonderful works of power! Alleluia!
Questions to think about:
I wonder if someone has ever made a promise to you.
I wonder what you felt like when that promise came true.
I wonder if you know anyone who has the same name as one of Jesus' friends.
I wonder if you have ever been in a place where the wind was very loud and very strong.
I wonder if you can remember another story in the Bible where God came close to
someone as fire that didn't burn anything.