From Tuthill House to Yours
Pentecost and Visitors
By, Patty Cole
May 21, 2018
Sunday was a very busy day at church and at church school! Here is some basic info for your family, so that you can carry on the discussion during the week at home.
What happened during the Children’s Message on Sunday?
Pastor Jim read Acts 2:1-4, which tells about the time that thousands of Jewish people, and Jesus’s disciples, were in Jerusalem for a festival, when suddenly there was a great wind and flames appeared above the disciples’ heads. They began speaking in languages that they had never learned. At this point, five different adults in our congregation read Psalm 150 in five different languages, all at the same time, so we could all experience how chaotic and strange it must have been. We then discussed how it was the Holy Spirit that came through the disciples and allowed them to do so. That day, as many as 3,000 people became Christians, marking the “birthday” of the Christian church.
What did we do in church school on Sunday?
After checking in on our growing veggies, the kids worked with Kim Ridley to help plant a flowering shrub, just to the right of the outdoor worship area. Kim taught the kids about Arbor Day and read a prayer about trees and plants. Each child took a turn digging. We will think of this shrub as the Church School shrub and will watch it grow! Next, we all went into Tuthill classrooms and did activities that had to do with fire and wind, two elements we associate with Pentecost.
The PK-2 kids colored a picture of Jesus’s disciples speaking languages, and they glued tissue paper “flames” over their heads. Next, they played a game with straws that had to do with wind. The Grades 3-5 kids also played the straw game, and they made a bright red wind spinner. They wrote Alleluia! Praise God! In five different languages on their spinners. The 6-12 group played a game, reviewing Pentecost and things they had learned all year.
Why is it important to learn about Pentecost?
We often speak of God and Jesus in church school, and outside of church school, but we do not talk about the Holy Spirit often. It is hard for many to explain what the Holy Spirit is, yet it is the third part of our triune God. It is also an interesting event in the Bible and it influenced thousands of people to become Christian. It was a good lesson to have, as we had a lot of visitors to church on Sunday!
How can we pray about this?
You may use this prayer, or make up your own:
Dear God, Spring is here and we have so much to be thankful for. Thank you for the trees and the flowers and the grass. Thank you for Mrs. Ridley, who teaches us about plants and helps protect the earth. Thank you for all the different languages and people in the world. May the Holy Spirit always help us to understand each other. We pray that the Holy Spirit will come to us and help us teach others about Jesus and all the good things God has done. Thank you for wind and for fire and for always giving us what we need. Amen.
Which scripture verses did the kids hear this week?
This is the one that describes what happened just before Jesus’s friends spoke in different languages:
Acts 2:1-4 New International Version (NIV)
2 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[a] as the Spirit enabled them.
This is what was read in English, Spanish, French, Norwegian, and German:
Psalm 150 The Message (MSG)
Hallelujah!
Praise God in his holy house of worship,
praise him under the open skies;
Praise him for his acts of power,
praise him for his magnificent greatness;
Praise with a blast on the trumpet,
praise by strumming soft strings;
Praise him with castanets and dance,
praise him with banjo and flute;
Praise him with cymbals and a big bass drum,
praise him with fiddles and mandolin.
Let every living, breathing creature praise God!
Hallelujah!
