A Pentecost Sunday school lesson teaches children about the Holy Spirit. Kids, especially younger ones, might picture a ghost like they see on television. But the Holy Spirit is one of our greatest blessings from God. He is a loving advocate and intercessor who pleads on our behalf.
This Pentecost Sunday school lesson explains what it means to have an advocate (someone who goes to bat for them). It also explores the role of intercessor (someone who takes our needs to God).
Scriptures for This Pentecost Sunday School Lesson
Romans 8:26 – The Holy Spirit helps us by praying when we don’t know what to pray.
1 John 2:1 – The Holy Spirit talks to God on our behalf.
Hot Air Helper
This Sunday school activity takes about 10 minutes.
You’ll need:
- 30 balloons
- timer
- air or balloon pump (available at party-supply stores or on Amazon)
Tell kids you have a big challenge for them. You’ll give three of them one minute to each inflate and tie off 10 balloons. Ask for three volunteers. Tell them you know it will be a challenge. But challenges can be fun!
Start the timer and give them one minute to inflate all the balloons. It’s highly unlikely anyone will be successful. (If they are, they must have superpowers!)
After the timer goes off and they’ve all caught their breath, continue.
Ask:
- How did this challenge seem impossible?
- Tell about a time you had to do something that seemed impossible.
- What’s something that would’ve made your impossible situation easier?
The Holy Spirit Is Our Helper
Say: The great news is that God doesn’t expect us to handle every challenge that comes our way all alone. God gives us the Holy Spirit to help us rise to the challenge of difficult situations. In other words, God gives us a “balloon pump”—the Holy Spirit.
Pull out the balloon pump.
Say: And help in tying the balloons. Have two assistants stand beside you. The right tools change the challenge of inflating these balloons from impossible to possible. Let’s try again!
Set the timer and use the balloon pump and your assistants to inflate and tie the balloons, 10 in one minute.
Say: And now what seemed impossible was possible. The Holy Spirit isn’t some magical creature who makes your problems disappear. The Holy Spirit is God—your helper and friend who teaches you and makes the difficult challenges in your life a whole lot easier. Let’s explore this another way…
Backpack Burden
This portion of the Pentecost Sunday school lesson takes about 25 minutes.
You’ll need:
- Bibles
- backpack
- numerous heavy objects (large beanbags, thick books, rocks, water bottles, and so on)
- masking tape
- marker
Prep: Label each heavy object with masking tape and marker. Write the words fear, worry, sadness, anger, and loneliness, along with other similar words. Prepare the backpack by filling it with heavy objects.
Have one child come to the front of the group. Ask him or her to pick up the backpack and put it on. It should be heavy enough to make this really difficult.
Say: I need you to carry this for me. Can you do that? Let the child answer. I was hoping you could carry it for the rest of our time together. Then turn your attention to the rest of the group while the child with the backpack stands beside you.
Ask:
- Let’s talk about things that weigh us down. What things make life harder for kids your age? After kids name a few things, turn to the child with the backpack.
- Is that backpack feeling heavy? Let the child answer. Let’s see what’s inside. Pull out the item marked fear.
Say: Hmmm. This heavy item says “fear” on it. What things are kids often afraid of? Let kids respond. Pull out the item marked worry.
Ask:
- What do you worry about? Let kids respond.
Repeat this process as you pull out the rest of the items (sadness, loneliness, anger).
