Pentecost

Video Workshop

Summary of Lesson Activities:

Uses the DVD - The Visual Bible: Acts

Supplies List:

• The Visual Bible: Acts
• Costumes

Leader Preparation:

• Read the scripture ahead of time.
• Gather the materials.
• Preview the video.

Lesson Plan

Opening:

Greet the children and introduce yourself.

Open with a prayer.

Dig:

First...
Assign the following roles to students and give them some costumes to put on:

Peter
Disciples

Foreigners:
Cappadocians
Parthians
Medianites
Egyptians
Cyrenites
etc.

Naysayers

Holy Spirit (two people with a piece of cardboard to fan or large fan)

Tell them they need to watch the video to look for their roles and what to do.
----------------

Watch the opening two chapters of ACTS from the Visual Bible Series.
Stop after verse 41 or so. Acts 1 will help them place the story in the timeline of "After Holy Week Events"

Group the characters in different parts of the room and ask them what happened and what their characters did.

Verbally summarize what the story.
Now help them walk through the story starting with the Disciples in their upper room. After you have walked through it, have them take their seats back in the theater chairs.

Ask a couple of questions (these can also be asked during the mini-skit if you like):

• Were the Disciples EXPECTING the Spirit? (Yes the angels said to expect help)
• Did they know what was going to happen? (no... God's presence is often surprising and strange).
• What was the reaction to this surprising event? (surprise and astonishment)
• What was the special gift given at Pentecost? (gift of speaking in a way that others can understand)
• In our day, what are the ways OUR church speaks in different ways about God? (worship, sunday school, fellowship)
• How can you speak the Good News of God's Love to others...
  with your body language
  with your facial expressions
  with your words of thanks
  with your words of appreciation
  with the way you help people who are hurt, feeling down, bullied
  with your presence in church
  with the way you sit in worship
  with the way our church looks
  with our cookies and juice
  with our mission program
  with our songs

Reflection:

Have the class PRACTICE OUT LOUD some of these ways we can speak God's love to others in a way that will be understandable and meaningful to them.

Leave them with this idea: we are the Bible many people read. When they look at us Christians, they see for better or worse what our God is like.

If you want to extend this visual idea here's an idea to expand on: Create a large cut out of a Bible from cardboard. Have students walk behind the cut out "open the Bible" cover and each of them acts-out or shows an idea of SOMETHING THEY CAN DO to show others the message that God cares.

A lesson by Neil MacQueen

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