Sermon
Pentecostal Power
Theme
God sends his Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost
Object
A portable electric fan with some bright red streamers tied to the guard.
Scripture
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Acts 2:1-4 (NIV)
Activities + Resources
On a hot summer day, an electric fan can really help to keep us cool. How does a fan help to keep us cool? That's right, it keeps us cool by blowing air. I think I will turn the fan on now. Do you see any air coming out of the fan? Well, if we can't see the air, how do you know the fan is working? There are several ways we can tell that this fan is working.
One way that we can tell that the fan is working is that I have tied some bright red streamers on the front of the fan. Even though we can't see the air, we can see the air blowing those streamers. That is one way we know the fan is working.
Another way we can know that the fan is working is that we can feel the air from the fan blowing against our faces. We can't see the air, but we can feel it.
Finally, we know that the fan is working because we can hear the sound of the air and the rattling sound of the streamers as they blow. We can't see it, but we can hear it.
Today is a special day which many churches celebrate. It is called the day of Pentecost. Here is the story of how it all began.
The Bible tells us that on the day of Pentecost, the Jesus' followers were all gathered together in one place and God sent the Holy Spirit to give them the power to teach others about Jesus. Now, they couldn't see the Holy Spirit, so how did they know the Holy Spirit was there?
The Bible says that they knew the Holy Spirit was there because they could hear the sound of a mighty rushing wind coming from heaven. They couldn't see the Holy Spirit, but they could hear the sound of the wind just as we can hear the air blowing from this fan.
Then the Bible tells us that they saw what seemed to be flaming tongues of fire that came and rested on their heads. They couldn't see the Holy Spirit, but they knew that the Holy Spirit was there because they could see the flaming tongues of fire just as we can see these red ribbons on our fan.
Finally, the Bible tells us that they knew the Holy Spirit was there because they could feel his power. When they were filled with the Holy Spirit, he gave them the ability to speak in languages that they didn't even know, so that they could tell everyone about Jesus. They couldn't see the Holy Spirit, but they could feel his power in their life just as we can feel the air from this fan.
The Holy Spirit is still with us today. We can't see him, but we can hear him as he speaks to our hearts, we can see his moving in our life, and we can feel the power of his presence as he guides us through each day.
Dear Father, thank you for sending your Holy Spirit to be our teacher and guide. Help us to listen and obey as he teaches us how to tell others about Jesus. Amen.
