There are four Pentecost "All Age"/Assembly talks I have used.
An idea that I have yet to develop is the one of the Holy Spirit being like a (school) teacher who is with us all the time to teach us, help us, guide us.
Wouldn't it be great to take an exam with the tacher next to us!!
Pentecost Assembly/All Age Talk 2012
I don't know if you have been watching the Olympic torch being carried round the country?
Show torch.
( I ordered one of these & it arrived next day, by first class post )
25th May ( assembly )
From the riverside city of Worcester, through the Malverns into Wales before ending the day in Cardiff.
27th May - Pentecost Sunday
The torch sets out from Swansea, visits the ferry town of Fishguard before ending in Aberystwyth,
On 8th July the torch will be travelling through Stevenage.
This coming Sunday is ? Pentecost or Whit Sunday.
It is the birthday of the church. The church was born on Pentecost when God came to live within his people by His Spirit.
Acts2. 1 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
The Spirit came with the sound of a rushing wind and looked like tongues of fire.
8,000 people will carry the Olympic flame
3,000 were inflamed with the Spirit on the day of Pentecost, soon there were 5,000 people in the church.
At the ceremony in Greece this year the wind blew the fire out. Last Monday the torch fire went out because of a problem with the burner.
The fire burns within Christians. Fire is powerful, and the Holy Spirit gives Chistians the power to live for God.
Fire can be used to purify things, to burn away rubbish. The Holy Spirit makes Christians more pure, burning the rubbish away in their lives.
The fire can be passed on, like the Olympic Torch. The Holy Spirit can spread from person to person. Unlike the Olympic torch, you don't need to be a famous or an outstanding person. Anyone can come to God and, once the fire is lit, it will never, ever go out. Even death cannot put it out.
I had to blow up my torch. It is filled with my breath so it could be what it was meant to be. Followers of Jesus are filled with the breath of God so they can be what God wants them to be and do what He wants them to do. To live for Him and tell others about Him, so the fire will spread.
All Age Talk/Assembly ; Pentecost 2006
The Wind
The wind blows hard from East to West
From North to South without a rest.
This moving air that's all around
As a gentle breeze makes a humming sound.
But when it comes with a mighty force
It blows the sailor off his course.
And when the North wind starts to blow
It very often brings the snow.
A hurricane is so unkind
Leaving destruction and chaos behind.
We tend to know when the wind's around,
Signs of its work can always be found.
It blows the washing 'til it's dry.
It steers the clouds across the sky.
It scatters seeds, it bends the trees.
It whips across the land and seas.
And when it blows with all its might
Its harnessed power can give us light.
It works with the sun, it works with the rain,
So that life as we know it on the earth shall remain.
Props : A portable electric fan, perhaps with some bright red streamers tied to the guard.
Turn the fan on
How do we know the fans is working?
We hear the noise.
Feel the wind it makes.
See the effect it has on things.
Can you see the air it is blowing? No.
In two Sundays time the church celebrates Pentecost or Whit Sunday when the Holy Spirit came like a wind upon the first followers of Jesus to give them power to live for Him...
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)
On that day of Pentecost the disciples couldn't see the Holy Spirit.
But they could hear the sound of a mighty wind coming from heaven.
They couldn't see the Holy Spirit but it had an effect on them It gave them the ability to speak about the wonders of God in other languages.
They couldn't see the Holy Spirit but they could feel it upon them.
It gave them power to be more like Jesus and to be brave and tell other people about what who he is and what He had done.
The Holy Spirit is given to everyone who decides to follow Jesus and lives inside them.
The Holy Spirit teaches us about Jesus. He gives power to be more like Jesus, power to tell other people about Jesus, and gifts to serve Jesus with.
Father God, thank you for sending your Holy Spirit to give us power and be our teacher and guide. Help us to listen and obey as he teaches us how to live and tell others about Jesus.
"All Age" Pentecost talk 2005
Ask children what languages they can speak?
What about the teachers?
Ask for volunteers to say something in another language.
Last Sunday what was the name of the festival celebrated by the church? We celebrated Pentecost, the birthday of the church.
1 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 as the Spirit enabled them. 5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? 11b we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!"
When the followers of Jesus were together they heard a sound like a wind that filled the house where they were. God breathed His Spirit into the first followers of Jesus.
The Holy Spirit lives in the heart of everyone who is a Christian. He helps Christians to be like Jesus and to tell others about Jesus.
There were people in Jerusalem from many countries and the Holy Spirit helped the followers of Jesus to speak to them about God in their own languages!
I am not very good at languages, so I think that was a wonderful gift! The day of Pentecost showed that the good news of Jesus is for everyone.
Pentecost was the birthday of the church. It is about the power of the God being available to people to make us be more like Jesus. It shows us that Jesus is for everyone of whatever language or country.
Pray.
Dear God,
Thank you for sending your Holy Spirit for everyone who follows Jesus.
Help us to become more like Jesus in the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen.
"All Age" Pentecost talk 2004
Get some balloons with 'Happy Birthday' on them.
Invite those who are old enough, say a boy and a girl or two teachers in an infant school, to have a competition to see who can blow the balloon up the faster.
Give them balloons as presents?
Ask what was needed to blow up the balloons?
Wind/air and power, especially when the first puff starts to inflate the balloon.
This Sunday we celebrate Pentecost, the birthday of the church.
When the followers of Jesus were together they heard a sound like a wind that filled the house where they were. Just as our balloons were filled by the power of the lungs of our 'blowers' so God breathed His Spirit into the first followers of Jesus. The Holy Spirit gave them power to speak about Jesus and about three thousand people became followers of Jesus that day.
What else might we have when it is a birthday?
Talk about presents. Show a wrapped 'present'. Point out that when it is someone's birthday one person gets all the presents.
On the day of Pentecost everyone received one present, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit lives in the heart of everyone who is a Christian. He helps Christians to be like Jesus and to tell others about Jesus.
The day of Pentecost showed that the good news of Jesus is for everyone. There were people in Jerusalem from many countries and the Holy Spirit helped the followers of Jesus to speak to them about God in their own languages! I am not very good at languages, so I think that was a wonderful gift!
So Pentecost is the birthday of the church. It is about the power of the Holy Spirit. It shows us that Jesus is for everyone and that the Holy Spirit can live in our hearts to help us be more like Jesus.
Read Acts 2:1-8.
2:1 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 as the Spirit enabled them.5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? 11b we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!"
Pray.
Dear God,
Thank you for sending your Holy Spirit for everyone who follows Jesus.
Help us to become more like Jesus in the power of your Holy Spirit.
Amen.