Pentecost Sunday

Bible Lesson for Kids

Learn about the Feasts of Israel

Pentecost is a Greek word in the New Testament meaning "fifty." In the Old Testament, Pentecost is called the Feast of Weeks or the Feast of Harvest. It is one of the Feasts of Israel (see Leviticus 23) and was observed fifty days after the Feast of Firstfruits.

Today, Christians celebrate Pentecost fifty days after the resurrection of Jesus, our Passover Lamb, the firstfruits of those who have died in Christ (1 Corinthians 15:20). Pentecost reminds us of the day God gave believers the power of the Holy Spirit to do His work on earth.

Activity before the lesson
Have children work in teams using the letters in PENTECOST as an acronym to describe powerful things. Possible responses, but don't let your class in on these until they've attempted to fill in the answers for themselves: Powerful, Energy, Nuclear, Turbo, Explosion, Christ-follower, Omniscient-God, Sonic, Thunder.

P__________________________

E__________________________

N__________________________

T__________________________

E__________________________

C__________________________

O__________________________

S__________________________

T__________________________

BIBLE LESSON

Read from a child-friendly Bible or summarize Luke 24:1-53. (I teach 5th and 6th graders, and we often take turns reading the Scripture together.) Many Bible scholars believe Luke wrote the book of Acts as a Part 2 to the Gospel of Luke. Have children imagine and discuss how the disciples must have felt after Jesus' death. Ask: How would you feel if someone you loved had been brutally killed?

Jesus' followers had hoped He would deliver them from Roman rule. But now their hopes and dreams seemed crushed, and their leader was dead. Then everything changed! After His resurrection, Jesus appeared to His disciples, explained the Scriptures to them, restored their hope, and instructed them to stay in Jerusalem until they received God's promised power.

The word power in the New Testament is the Greek word dunamis, from which we get our English word dynamite. Soon, the same mighty power that raised Jesus from the dead would be available to all believers through the Holy Spirit! Luke tells us that Christ's followers returned to Jerusalem and regularly gathered together at the temple while they waited for God's promise to come.

Read Acts 2:1-21 from a child-friendly Bible.

On the Day of Pentecost, the believers were gathered together, probably at the temple, when God's Spirit descended upon them with tongues of fire,* and they were filled with the Holy Spirit. God gave them the dynamite power to do His work, and a joyful and mighty miracle took place.

People from many nations had gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Weeks (also known as Pentecost), and through the power of the Holy Spirit, they were able to hear and understand the message in their own languages! This miracle helped the Good News of Jesus spread quickly to the surrounding nations represented by the people gathered there.

Peter stood before the crowd and explained that this miracle was part of God's plan foretold long ago. He boldly proclaimed, Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved!

The joyful news is that God's Spirit and mighty power are still available to all who believe today. Everyone who calls on the name of Jesus will be saved.

*Fire in the Bible represents God's divine presence and judgment; see Exodus 3:2, and Matthew 3:12.

Get our Pentecost Activities that coordinate with this lesson!

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