Sermon
The Holy Spirit
Theme
The Holy Spirit--Pentecost
Object
Atomic Hot Balls
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
These past few weeks have been reviewing the Holy Trinity, God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. First it was the s’more analogy—then the garden analogy—well let’s keep with the theme shall we….This week we celebrate Pentecost— "It was on the day of Pentecost that God sent his Holy Spirit to the church. The Bible tells us that the apostles were all gathered together when suddenly there was a sound like a mighty, rushing wind. Then, it says, they were filled with the Holy Spirit. Tongues of fire came to rest on each of the apostles and they were filled with the Holy Spirit" (A New Wind Blowing @ Sermons4kids.com)—well…to me that must have been something like eating one of these hot balls.
It looks so innocent (well except for the atomic part and the fire part!)-- here in my hand. Yummy and sweet—really, it’s candy—it must be sweet RIGHT? Well, if you’ve ever tried one—not so much—HOT HOT HOT! So hot you wonder if you can keep it on your tongue. But, the longer you suck on it, the sweeter it gets, until finally, it’s not hot anymore—just yummy sweetness.
My guess is that the Holy Spirit is the same way… It’s pretty uncomfortable at first—You try really hard to share your love of Christ—I mean really—you are on fire for him!! But, when your friends look at you like you are crazy and tell you you are weird, well, you want to cast it off—It’s really not much fun at all. However, you stick with it anyway—it’s still hot, but just a little less so. The spirit keeps whispering in your ear every time you go against God’s wishes and it still wants you to share your love of Christ with others, but it gets easier—your friends still thing you are weird, but they see the changes in your life. You are making better choices. Good things are happening to you. Finally, the hot ball is only sweet—and so is the Holy Spirit. The fire still burns in you, but it is comfortable and sweet. You are confident in the ability of the Holy Spirit to guide you on the right path, even if your friends think you are weird. So, the next time you have a hot ball—I hope it reminds you that the Holy Spirit lives in you and that you should be spreading the fire to others, even when it's uncomfortable.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for sending the Holy Spirit to live in us, to whisper in our ears and our hearts when we don't follow your path for us. Help us to be on fire for you, Lord, and spread your word out into the world.
