Rotation.org Writing Team

Pentecost: Wind, Fire, and Faith!

Bible Skills & Games & Leaf Blower Workshop

Summary of Activities

Students will participate in a number of "leaf blower-powered games" to explore the story order of Pentecost and the larger story of Jesus' appearances after his crucifixion. To finish, using a leaf blower and a camera they'll create a "Mighty Wind Disciples Gallery" to share with others in the church, their enthusiasm for learning God's Word.

Scripture for the Lessons

Acts 2:1-8, 12-18, 36-47 ~ the story of Pentecost
(Teachers should read the entire story Acts 1:1-2:41)

Key/Memory Verse
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” -- Acts 1:8 (NRSV)

Bible Skill emphasized in this workshop:  Understanding where the Pentecost story fits in the larger narrative "after" the cross.

Lesson Objectives

See the Bible Background at rotation.org for this set's complete list of objectives, and lots of great "ways to explain this story" to your kids.

Preparation and Materials

• Read the Bible Background and scripture
• Leaf Blower (electric, not high-powered)
• Goggles or protective eyeglasses
• Camera/cellphone camera
• 4 x 6 index cards (or use the printed cards as described in the lesson for game one)
• At least one copy of the "Interactive Reading of Acts 2" script; more copies for a class of readers
• Red and yellow tissue paper
• Markers
• An 8.5 x 11" piece of card stock or printer paper
• Butcher paper for game board
• Bell & a timer (watch/phone)
• Painter's Tape

Lesson Plan

Tip: To do all the games you'll need to keep this lesson moving. If you're short on time, see the Adaptations at the end of this lesson.

Open

Welcome your students and explain how the lesson will unfold. Tell them that they need to pay close attention to the scripture reading as the games will depend on their memory of it!

Bible Study

Read aloud the story using the "Interactive Reading of Acts 2" script. This script was developed for this lesson set's Computer Workshop lesson. It presents the scripture in a kid-friendly version "with parts" to read. (In the Computer Workshop lesson, the script is acted out, but here in the Bible Skills & Games Workshop you and any students who are readers, will only read aloud the script.)

Then ask these 3 voting questions...   (walk to one side of the room or the other to vote)

1, On the Day of Pentecost, before the Spirit blew in, who would you most likely have been:

(A) Hiding with the disciples wondering what was going to happen.
(B) Standing outside in the crowd having no clue you were about to meet the Holy Spirit.

Comment: Notice that in our story, the Holy Spirit didn't just affect the disciples, it moved the crowd who heard the good news. Acts 2:17 says The Spirit will be poured out on everyone!

2. When the Holy Spirit whooshed in like the sound of a mighty wind, as a disciple would you have:

(A) Wondered what was happening and have been a little bit afraid when somebody said it was the Holy Spirit.
(B) Immediately realized it was the Spirit and been excited.

Follow-up:  Remember when the angel visited Mary and the Shepherds? The first thing the angel said was, "Do not be afraid." The presence of God can feel a little unsettling.

3. Yes or No. There have been times in my life when I have felt God close to me, felt my faith a little more strongly, or felt the spirit move me at a special time or place.

Follow-up: Ask those who said "yes" to describe their experience. Note that the Holy Spirit affects people differently and gives different gifts. It can bring calm and healing in the midst of trouble, and it can energize and strengthen those who need help. Awe, love, forgiveness, endurance –these too are signs that God is with you. Sometimes it's not a feeling, but something you just know, such as being sure you are in God's hands.

Share with your students this point of view:
Pentecost is a wonderful example of what the Holy Spirit often feels like, ...like a wind that blows in and enables ordinary people like us to believe and do amazing things. And when we feel that presence, it often feels like a burning flame within our hearts.

God knows it's not easy to believe that Jesus is Lord, and that's why Jesus called the Holy Spirit the "Helper." God's Spirit helps us do what we cannot do on our own. The Spirit helps us believe, share, love, and forgive.  

Accepting the Holy Spirit into your life is the difference between someone who "gets it" and wants to be here to grow their faith, and those who feel forced to be here and can't wait to leave. One person lets the wind lift up their faith and wants to grow the flickering flame of faith within them, while another person resists the wind and douses the Spirit with a cold bucket of attitude.  

I want to suggest that Pentecost is as important an event as the Cross and Resurrection, and here's why:  Pentecost is what Jesus was resurrected to do:  help others believe in God and serve him with their whole heart.  Pentecost began on Easter with the resurrection of one person, then the 11 disciples, then 500 in Galilee, and then to 3000 on Pentecost Sunday, and then you and me —now we're in the crowd and telling the story.

Today's games are designed to help you remember how Pentecost is part of this resurrection story—a story that continues to this very day.

Leaf Blower Game #1: Jesus & the Disciples After the Resurrection

Write the following "EVENTS" on 4 x 6 index cards, one event per card. (Or, use the cards for this game provided by St. Johns Reformed Church.) Bend the cards so that they don't lie flat. Toss them randomly on the floor near a wall.

On a large piece of butcher paper, draw squares in a row, one square for each card. This "game board" will help students arrange the cards after they have grabbed them all.

Split into teams of two or three students each, and have one team go first while the others watch (and learn!).

Start a timer and turn on your leaf blow to wildly mix up the cards you've tossed on the floor. Yell "GO" while still blowing the cards around, so that they have a fun time trying to catch the blowing cards. After they catch all the cards, turn off your leaf blower and keep timing how long it takes them to put the events in order.

When they think they have them all in the right order, they ring a bell which stops the clock. You then check their list against the timeline list in this lesson and tell them how many are wrong. Then RESTART the clock to fix their order until they ring the bell a second time to stop it. Check their order and add 10 seconds to their total elapsed time for each wrong card. See which team can get the lowest time.

Options: Depending on the number of teams you have, you can play this game a second time, but remove two of the cards ahead of time. See if they can figure out which part of the story is missing. Then give them the missing cards and have them try to fit them in the right sequence.

Events (one per card)

1. Crucifixion on Friday, about 30 A.D.
2. Resurrection on Sunday morning.
3. Jesus appears on Sunday afternoon to Cleopas and another disciple on the road to Emmaus, Luke 24.
4. Jesus appears on Sunday evening to the 11 disciples in the upper room, Luke 24.
5. Jesus appears a week later to the disciples and Doubting Thomas in the upper room, John 20.
6. Jesus appears to 500 in Galilee, Matthew 28:16–17.
7. Jesus eats fish with the disciples by the Sea of Galilee, John 21.
8. Jesus appears at Bethany outside of Jerusalem and ascends to heaven, Luke 24:50.
9. Pentecost, "Fifty" days after the Resurrection, Acts 2.
10. Jesus appears to Saul/Paul about four years after Christ (34 A.D.), Acts 9.
11. Faith in Jesus spreads across the Roman Empire
12. I believe in Jesus as my Lord and Savior
    
    

Tips: For Younger grades - remove some of the cards. Draw images on the cards, such as a cross, to help non-readers/early-readers remember what you tell them is on the card. Give them help in the form of clues to help all complete the game.

After playing, point to a couple of the cards and ask the students what that part of the story is about. Add a little bit of information and move on.

Leaf Blower Game # Two:  "A Mighty Wind!" Pentecost story order

Have your students HELP YOU write the following 12 events/quotes from the Pentecost story script on pieces of tissue paper (this will start the learning process). Allow them to illustrate the tissues to help non-readers.

Tell students that you are going to be applying a "mighty wind" to these tissues, that you want them to catch the tissues and put them in story order. This game will not be a contest.

Place all the tissues on top of a piece of cardstock or paper that you have balanced on top of the leaf blower nozzle. Count down to turn on the blower, and watch the tissues fly!  

Keep the blower going for a moment and aim it at a few pieces that the kids are leaping after, and see how long it takes them to grab the tissues and put them in the right order.

You can do this in groups of two or three students at a time. It's not a contest, and those watching the first group will undoubtedly learn the order from those who have gone before them (and that's the point).

Pentecost Quotes/Events (one per tissue paper)

1. Suddenly a sound like a rush of a mighty wind came from heaven.
2. Something like flames appeared above the disciples' heads.
3. A crowd gathers, excited to hear the disciples speaking in their language.
4. The crowd was amazed and perplexed and began to ask questions.
5. Naysayers accuse disciples of being drunk.
6. Peter says "it's only 9 o'clock in the morning."
7. Peter quotes the Prophet Joel about this being the time to "see visions and dream dreams."
8. "I will pour out my spirit on all people."
9. "People of Israel listen!  You put Jesus to death, but God raised him to life."
10. "God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."
11. The crowd asked, "Brothers, what shall we do?"
12. "Repent and be baptized."

Note: These are taken from the Acts 2 script used in the Bible Study above. If you plan on using another translation, adjust the wording to be written on the tissue paper.

Reflect:  A Picture of Me, being "blown away" by the Holy Spirit

This simple but fun reflection captures your kid's enthusiasm for learning about the Holy Spirit and sharing it with others. Have your camera ready!

Each student takes turns wearing safety goggles and having the leaf blower aimed at their face. Have them tape some strips of yellow and red tissue "flames" in their hair (which the blower will whip around wildly) and open their mouth so the air stream inflates their mouths. The more fun the better!

Print the photos and hang them in a public gallery with captions, such as, "The Holy Spirit Blows My Mind!"  "I'm on Fire for God!" etc.

Adaptations

For Younger Students:

Read aloud the story script and have them "do as you do" as you read the story. As you read the story, act out the parts, such as standing boldly with your hand in the air when Peter talks, and waving your hand on top of your head like a flame when the disciples are mentioned.
Younger children do benefit from learning story order, but you will need to reduce the number of pieces and use illustrations for each event along with a simple keyword. For example, on the Resurrection Event card draw an empty tomb and the word "Alive!" For Emmaus #3, draw a road and two persons. For #12, "draw a picture of your heart and the letters "me" inside it. (Or, use the cards for this game provided by St. Johns Reformed Church.)

For Those With More Class Time:

Review with the students the events that happened from Jesus' crucifixion to his resurrection and his appearances to his disciples afterward, to the day of Pentecost and beyond. (See the 12 events listed in Game #1.) Have students create a card for each event, with a brief description, or a simple picture.

For Those With Less Class Time:

Have fewer teams for game one.
Create the game board for game one and the 4 x 6 cards ahead of time. You may wish to pre-print the cards for this game provided by St. Johns Reformed Church.
Create the Game 2 Tissue Paper Quote in advance

Written by the Rotation.org Writing Team
Copyright, 2016, Rotation.org Inc.
updated June 2023