Category Archives: Holy Spirit

Includes: sermons about the person of the Holy Spirit as well as gifts of the Spirit

Pentecost B

Posted on by

0

Day: Pentecost B

Lectionary Passage: Acts 2:1-21

Scripture Focus: Acts 2:2

Object: None

Today is Pentecost Sunday! We celebrate Pentecost each year to remind us what happened on the very first Pentecost. After Jesus went back up to heaven, his disciples were gathered in a room. Suddenly, there was a sound of rushing wind. It was very loud and it filled the whole room. Fire appeared above the heads of each of the disciples, and they began to speak in many different languages.

At Pentecost the disciples were filled with God’s Holy Spirit. It’s pretty hard to picture what the Holy Spirit looks like because you can’t see the Holy Spirit with your eyes. But, you can feel the Holy Spirit. On Pentecost, the disciples felt the Holy Spirit like a rushing wind. I want you to fan yourself for a second (fan yourself with your hands to show the children what you mean). Now, I can’t see the wind created by fanning, but I sure can feel it! That’s a lot like God’s Holy Spirit. We may not be able to see it, but we can feel the Holy Spirit doing amazing things.

On Pentecost Sunday we celebrate that God sent the Holy Spirit to help all disciples, including you and me. And though we might not be able to see the Holy Spirit, the more we grow closer to God, the more we’ll be able to feel the Holy Spirit all around us.

Let’s pray: We praise you, Holy God, for the gift of your Spirit who lives and moves all around us. Amen.

Pentecost Sunday A

Posted on by

0

Day: Pentecost

Lectionary Passage: 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13

Scripture Focus: 1 Corinthians 12:4-6

Object: Stickers, one per child

Note: You can use any object for this children’s that is one thing with a variety of kinds, like multiple kinds of fruit or multiple kinds of lollipops. Whatever you choose, be sure to have plenty to give one to each child to reinforce the gift theme.

This morning I’ve got some stickers with me! I’ve got Superman, and Dora the Explorer, and…, and Spiderman (tell the three or four different kind of stickers that you have to share), but even though they’re different kinds, they’re still all stickers! That doesn’t change just because one is Dora and another is Superman. They’re still all stickers.

And that reminds me of our Bible story. It’s talking about gifts from the Holy Spirit. It says there are all kinds of gifts. Kind of like I have all these different kinds of stickers. But, they are still all from the same Spirit! So even though some people get one gift and another person gets another gift, they all receive their gifts from the same Spirit.

To help you remember that we’re all given gifts from the same Spirit, I want to give you a sticker to take home. It will remind you that the Holy Spirit gives each of us different gifts but they all come from the same Spirit.

Before we get our stickers, let’s pray: God, thanks for giving us amazing gifts through the same Holy Spirit. Help us to use our gifts to serve you. Amen.

Easter 6A

Posted on by

0

Day: Easter 6

Lectionary Passage: John 14:15-21

Scripture Focus: John 14:15-17

Object: “A Spirit Detector” (A Mirror with Glitter)

Preparation: Decorate a small hand-mirror so that when you look into the mirror your face is completely surrounded by glitter. (If you are feeling very ambitious, this sermon would be very cool done with a full-length mirror so that kids see themselves fully surrounded by the Holy Spirit.)

Note: The NIV translates “Advocate” as “Friend,” which is a more relatable term for children and the one used in this sermon.

Good morning! Our Bible story for today has a really important lesson. It tells us that when Jesus had to go back to Heaven to be with God that he asked God to send another Friend to be with us. And that Friend is the Holy Spirit! We can’t see the Holy Spirit, but he is always with us. Always sticking around, right by our side, no matter what is happening, we can always count on the Holy Spirit to be right there with us because he is our very best friend!

Sometimes that’s a little hard to remember, so I’ve come up with this gizmo. I call it “A Spirit Detector!” All I have to do is look into it and I can see that the Holy Spirit is surrounding me all the time. You try… (have one of the kids look into the mirror)… see this bright shinny glitter reminds me that the Holy Spirit is always there. Even though we can’t see our friend, the Spirit is right here with us. “A Spirit Detector” just helps us remember that.

Let’s pray: God, thank you for sending the Holy Spirit to be our friend. Help us always remember that the Spirit is right here with us no matter what. Amen.


Easter 2A

Posted on by

0

Day: Easter 2

Lectionary Passage: John 20:19-31

Scripture Focus: John 20:22

Object: Breath mints, 2 per child

Good morning everyone! It’s been one week since we celebrated Easter and the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. But in our story for today, barely a day has gone by since Easter morning when the tomb was found empty by Mary Magdalene. After Mary saw Jesus in the garden she ran to tell the disciples that Jesus was alive, but the disciples still hadn’t seen Jesus for themselves. It wasn’t until late Sunday night, when they were locked in a room, that Jesus appeared to the disciples. The first thing he did was say, “Peace be with you.” And then, he breathed on them! At that moment, the disciples received the Holy Spirit. Now that’s some good breath!

I want to give each of you two breath mints. The first one is for you to have as a reminder that Jesus breathed on the disciples and they were given the special gift of the Holy Spirit. The second one is for you to share with someone and tell them Jesus has really good breath because it’s filled with the Holy Spirit and he wants everyone to be filled with the Spirit. Can you do that? (let the children respond enthusiastically) Well, alright!

Let’s pray: God, thank you for sending Jesus who breathed into us the power of the Holy Spirit so that we can do amazing things!

Lent 5A

Posted on by

0

Day: Lent 5

Lectionary Passage: Romans 8:6-11

Scripture Focus: Romans 8:6

Object: “Thinking Cap”

Preparation: Turn a baseball cap (or any hat) into a “thinking cap” by simply writing “Thinking Cap” on a piece of paper and taping it to the front of the hat. On the back of the hat, tape a piece of paper that says “Spirit Cap.”

You know, when I am faced with a tough problem or I’m working on something and can’t quite figure it out, I’ve got to put on my “thinking cap.” (Put the hat on your head but be careful not to reveal the back of the hat) My “thinking cap” helps me get in the zone so I can figure things out.

You know, I think we need a “Spirit Cap!” And that’s what our Bible story is about. It’s telling us that people who follow Jesus need to think like Jesus. That means we aren’t letting bad thoughts make decisions for us. Instead, we’re letting the Holy Spirit guide us each and every day in everything we do. That means, we’ve got our “Spirit Cap” on (turn the hat around to reveal “Spirit Cap”). With our “Spirit Cap” on, we’re allowing the Holy Spirit to guide our thoughts so that we are good followers of Jesus Christ!

Let’s pray: Help us God to remember to put on our “Spirit Cap” each and every day so that we can always be guided by your Holy Spirit to follow the way of Jesus. Amen.