23 May 2021

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Bible readings for today

• Acts 2:1-21 or Genesis 11:1-9
• ​Psalm 104:24-34,35b
• Romans 8:14-17 or Acts 2:1-21
• John 14:8-17, (25-27)

Collect

Holy Spirit of God, 
as of fire, forging, purging, all-consuming: 
touch us with love, 
purge us from the dross of sin and self, 
so that we may tell your glory 
in the furnace of the world. 
With the Father and the Son, 
you live and reign, 
one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The Story of Pentecost (Acts 2: 1-21)

Today's story looks at the birth of the church, as God sent the holy spirit to empower the disciples - just as Jesus said. 

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Pentecost Flame Hats

You will need

• 1 A4 piece of red paper, orange paper and yellow paper (per child)
• Pen, scissors and tape/stapler and glue

What to do

• Fold the red piece in half long ways.
• Next, fold it backwards and forwards like a fan.
• Cut a flame shape along the fold edge as shown, making sure that you leave the paper joined at the sides.
• Open in out, and you should have two long pieces.
• Stick the pieces together at one end with tape.
• Repeat all the above for the orange and yellow pieces. 
• Next, lay the yellow piece on the table and spread a line of glue across the bottom as shown.
• Lay the orange piece on the yellow making sure that you can still see the yellow flames\
• Spread a line of glue on the orange piece and then lay the red piece on top, again making sure you can still see the orange flames.
• Fit for size on your head, and then staple together.

Variation
​You could get the children to write as many ways of saying hello in different languages that they can.

Game: What country am I from?

You will need
White sticky labels and a pen. 

Preparation
Write the names of a different country on each of the labels. 

What to do

• Get all the children to line up along a wall, facing the wall. Then put one label on each of their backs. 
• Get them to turn around and explain that each of them comes from a different country. The object of the game is for everyone to work out what country they are from. 
• However, they can ask other children questions to help them work out where they are from. But they can only be answered with 'yes' or 'no'. 
• Also, they can only ask a child one question, no more. 
• Time them to see how long it takes!

Quick Questions

• What are some of the symbols of the Holy Spirit?
• Why is Pentecost so important to us?
• What do you think the Holy Spirit looks like?

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Flame activities

Popcorn

What you need:

• Popcorn 
• Popcorn maker / microwave. 
• Recipe for coloured popcorn

Activity
Talk about what happened at Pentecost. Then show them some popcorn, talk about how the disciples were like this popcorn before Pentecost.  When God sent his Holy Spirit, like the warm air in this popper, look what happened to them! They exploded! We all have loads of exciting possibilities inside us, we just need God, Jesus and the Holy spirit to let it all burst out.

Download: Dove + Flame Prayers and Flying Flames

Preschool Activities

Kids Media

God sends the Holy Spirit

Acts 2: The Holy Spirit Comes (Share Faith Kids)

A creative take on the story of Pentecost.

Holy Moly Pentecost

BibleProject

The BibleProject has some great resources to help unpack the whole story - particularly placing Pentecost within the context of Acts.  They also have a podcast episode on this: Pentecost and the Expected Unexpected Spirit

BibleProject: Acts 1-7

BibleProject: The Holy Spirit

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The Acts Poster from BibleProject (All Rights reserved) - free to download on their website. 

Gospel Conversations from the Diocese of Dunedin
This week Michael hosts a discussion with Gillian Townsley (St Hilda's and Otago University); Jenny Dawson (a past ministry educator and present spiritual director from Wellington Diocese) and Alec Clark (previous Duendin Diocese Ministry Educator). Together they start to untangle some of the complexities of John's story of the coming of the Spirit. (From last year's reading)