Pentecost
Do you know what church holidays occur after Easter? I didn’t grow up in a tradition that celebrated the high church calendar but there’s a lot of good in remembering events from it. And one of those events is this week. Do you know which one? I’ll give you a hint, it’s the next big event after Jesus ascended to Heaven. Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit’s PENTECOST! 
Teaching kids about this special day is a cool way to see how the whole Bible fits together.
You really have to start with the first Passover, when God was preparing to set the Israelites free from Egypt. To be kept safe from the tenth plague, the Israelites had to put the blood of a lamb on the door frame of their houses so the death angel would pass over their house and no one would die. See, the lamb had already died for them. They had put their hand on the lamb’s head to symbolize that the lamb was receiving their sins. They put the blood on the top middle of the door frame and on the sides. Now we see how Passover points us to Jesus, the pure lamb of God, who died on the cross for our sins.
After the Israelites were freed from Egypt and left on their long journey, something really special happened 50 days later. That’s when they received the Law from God. Now, you probably know that pente means five, like a pentagon has five sides. Pentecost means 50 days. The law of God showed people what they needed to do to please God. But people weren’t able to keep the law, they kept going against God’s way. So, they needed to continue with blood sacrifices to pay for their sins. They continued to put their hand on the lamb’s head to say they believed God and this lamb was receiving the punishment for their sins. Even though they couldn’t keep the law perfectly, it remained very important to the Israelites.
Now, fast forward fifteen hundred years to when Jesus died on the cross for our sins during Passover, showing that He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The book of Hebrews teaches us that His sacrifice was enough for all our sins. We no longer need the repeated sacrifice of animals. After Jesus died, He was buried in a tomb, then rose again. Many people saw Him and then He ascended into heaven. He said He would not leave us without comfort or guidance but would send the Holy Spirit to us. Guess how many days it was between His death on the cross and the arrival of the Holy Spirit!
I hope you guessed 50 days! The Jews were gathered for Pentecost, which was a celebration remembering the giving of the Law. Little did they know that year they would receive something better! the Holy Spirit came to His followers and has continued to come and indwell every believer in Jesus. He comforts us and guides us. Read Acts chapter two with kids to hear all about it.
This wonderful day signified that we no longer need to know and follow all the details of the Law for salvation. The Law showed us that sin is very wrong, and we fall far short of God’s perfection so we could never be accepted by a holy God. Now, the Holy Spirit shows us that God gave us a new promise, that if we believe in Jesus and acknowledge that we need Him to take away our sins, His blood will make us righteous and clean before God. The Holy Spirit teaches us every day how much God loves us and how to live a life full of joy and goodness. That is SO much better than trying to obey lots of rules every day.
For a song and the description of a game that kids can play in learning about the Holy Spirit, find this article about Pentecost at the website, cefonline.com.
Did you enjoy hearing about some of the parallels between the Old and New Testaments today? Kids can appreciate these deep truths, but often we need resources to help us and them understand truths. Check out CEFPress.com for great lessons and song visuals, devotions, and curriculum for teaching kids. These materials are going to teachers all over the world to help them disciple children through the Boxes of Books Program. Check it out today at CEFPress.com.

A fun way to help kids remember some of the work the Holy Spirit does in the hearts of believers is to play a game with them. You could write down on colored notecards things like “Helps me know God,” “Comforts me when I’m sad,” “Fights sin,” “Gives gifts to serve others,” and “Grows spiritual fruit.”  Have one set for each kid and hide them around the house or classroom. Challenge the kids to find one of each, then talk with them about what each point means and how they can look for them in their own lives. You can even add actions to the points. For example, you could give a thumbs up for “Helps me know God,” give yourself a hug for “Comforts me when I’m sad,” or stand tall with your hands on your hips for “Fights sin.”
When talking about the Holy Spirit, questions often come up about the Trinity. This may also be a good time to talk to kids about how God is one God in three persons. You may want to use the “Trinity Song” music video to help teach kids about this big concept. You can find it on our U-NITE® app or at unite.cefonline.com.  
Many kids—and a lot of Christians for that matter—know very little about the Holy Spirit. You might find Pentecost is a great opportunity to start talking about the work of the Spirit in our lives.  

Pentecost 50-Day Connection
Pentecost Sunday is a great opportunity to teach kids about the Holy Spirit. Start with background for Pentecost (which means 50 days) because it’s an amazing story. The Israelites had the first Passover when they put a lamb’s blood on their door posts and escaped the death angel and slavery in Egypt. Fifty days later, they were given the Law. Jesus gave His blood on Passover as the lamb of God for the forgiveness of sin and to allow us to escape the slavery of sin. Fifty days later, they were given the Holy Spirit as part of the New Covenant. His work in our lives is relationship-based instead of law-based. Learn more from the article Pentecost at cefonline.com

Pentecost Special Event Acts 2
Since this Sunday celebrates Pentecost, you may want to read the story from Acts 2 and talk about it with the kids in your life. Pentecost was celebrated by Israelites as the special day when God gave His Law to His people on Mount Sinai. This time, in Acts chapter two, God Himself was showing that HE would be with His people in a special way—through the Holy Spirit! Even though we can’t see Him, we can know that the Holy Spirit is with everyone who believes in Jesus because we can see the amazing things He does in our lives, something we call fruit. You can read the full article with amazing parallels about the Old and New Testament Pentecost celebrations at cefonline.com.

Pentecost Holy Spirit Helper
As we celebrate Pentecost this week, you can help kids remember how Jesus promised the Holy Spirit to help those who believe in Him by playing this game. Write down on colored notecards ways the Holy Spirit helps like, “Comforts me when I’m sad,” “Helps me know God,” “Fights sin,” “Gives gifts to serve others,” and “Grows spiritual fruit.” Have one set of cards for each kid and hide the cards around the house or classroom. Challenge the kids to find one of each, then read each card and talk about what it means and how the Holy Spirit can help in their own lives.  You can read the full article on exciting truths about Pentecost at cefonline.com. 

Pentecost Promised Holy Spirit
During this week of Pentecost, you have a great opportunity to talk with kids about the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Many kids—and a lot of Christians for that matter—know very little about the Holy Spirit. You can share about when Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit in John 16, and then about when He came in Acts 2. When talking about the Holy Spirit, questions often come up about the Trinity. The truth about how God is one God in three persons can be hard to understand but it’s a wonderful attribute of God. You may want to use the “Trinity Song” music video to help teach kids about this big concept. You can find it on the U-NITE TV® app or at unite.cefonline.com.