Before he went to heaven, Jesus had promised that the disciples would receive power when the Holy Spirit came to them. They were excited to find out what that would mean.
The disciples were waiting in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit to come. When it came, it came with a new gift: languages! Acts 2:4 gives an example of words that bring people together in the best way possible.
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 . 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. 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.
When God started his church, he sent the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gave the gift of language: language that allowed all the listeners to hear about Jesus in a way they would understand. On that day, God was not only fulfilling his promise from Jesus to the disciples, He was fulfilling a much older plan to unite all the different people of the world. God used language to divide people at the Tower of Babel, and he used it to bring people together as he started his church.
God knew that words are powerful. The Holy Spirit helped Peter use his words to point others to Jesus. How can you use your words to do the same?
Time for a song www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEyyJuZxlHk
They were waiting, waiting, waiting………
So here is a puzzle for you. Which language are these “Hello’s “from (answers at the end)
A. Bonjour B. Hallo c. Γεια σας
D. שלום E. Ciao F. こんにちは
G. Cześć H.. Hola
Craft Time
Time for a prayer
During this time between when Jesus went back to heaven (Ascension) and the coming of the Holy Spirit (Pentecost) we have been praying for “5” …5 people who we would like to get to know JESUS. Who will you pray for?
Amen!
Answers…A= French, B = German, C= Greek, D= Hebrew, E= Italian F= Japanese, G = Polish and H = Spanish