A Birthday Celebration

We are going to have a celebration today! Let me show you what I have for this party. (Hold up the birthday gifts, birthday candles and balloons). Can you guess what kind of celebration we might be having? Of course: a birthday party. Now, there might be someone here today whose birthday is close, but that is not why we are celebrating. 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’s when we remember the day when God sent the Holy Spirit to His people just as Jesus had promised that He would.

These birthday party items are 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.

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 balloons.) 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. (Let the air out of one balloon so kids can hear the rushing sound.) We are here today waiting for the Holy Spirit to fill this place and to breathe new life into the church of Jesus Christ.

Like any good birthday cake, we have candles. (Show the candles.) Later on, we will light the candles and be 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.

What is a birthday celebration without gifts? (Show the 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.

As we celebrate the birth of the Church, let’s remember that the Holy Spirit is still alive and at work in us today like He was in the people of the early church. 

Dear Father, we thank You for sending the Holy Spirit. Help us to remember that the Holy Spirit still fills the church with power today, just as He did on the day of Pentecost. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.