Did you know that Pentecost is the official Birthday of the Christian Church (Eleanor’s candle idea is very appropriate for a Birthday). Well, what happened, you might ask, on this special day. The disciples were together in a room in Jerusalem because it was a Jewish Harvest Festival and Jerusalem was packed with people coming to worship and celebrate at the Temple. The Disciples didn’t feel like having a party, they were miserable because Jesus had just returned to God, leaving them on their own. They had forgotten that Jesus had promised He would send them something to help them, and that Jesus had said “I will never leave you” (that goes for us too).
Suddenly there was a sound like a wind blowing and above their heads were tongues of fire – Jesus’ helper, the Holy Spirit had arrived! They were suddenly full of energy, smiling, laughing, and wanting to tell the people gathered in the street below, all about Jesus. The Holy Spirit helped them with what to say and everyone, even those that spoke a different language, understood. It was the day that Jesus’ Church was born!
The Holy Spirit is a super charger. It is a bit like a mobile phone, it won’t work unless we charge it, and we won’t work to the best of our ability unless we plug into God, and we do that through prayer. God, through Jesus, will send us the Holy Spirit to help us be energised Christians .
Happy Birthday to us all because we are Jesus’ Church!
Activity - Pentecost Candle The Pentecost Candle shown below is very easy to make with some card and coloured pens, pencils or crayons. Before you roll the card into a candle shape and stick the ends with sellotape you need to write some words of Greeting in different languages just as Delphine mentioned in her message. See how many words you can think of and ask your family and friends if they know some more. You can start with Hello, Hi, Hola, Bonjour, Ciao, Shalom. Add a brightly coloured flame on top of your Pentecost Candle and remember the Holy Spirit.Best wishes from Eleanor, Delphine and the Messy Church Team