KIDS KORNER

Pentecost

After Jesus went up to Heaven, His disciples became very afraid. When they met with other followers, they locked all the doors of the house because they were afraid they would be arrested for following Jesus. They prayed a lot and asked for God’s help. While they were praying, on a special day now called, Pentecost, they suddenly heard a great, strong wind blowing through the house.

The disciples didn’t know what was happening. They were very afraid and prayed harder. Suddenly they looked at each other, and saw what looked like flames of fire over each person’s head. They were filled with God’s Holy Spirit. They remembered that Jesus had said He would send down His special Helper, the Holy Spirit. The disciples realized that the flames were a sign of the power of God’s Holy Spirit. Then everyone in the house began to speak in different languages that they had never heard before.

All the excitement caused a great, loud noise to come from the house. People walking outside the house heard the noise and stopped to listen. They could not understand what was happening because the people on the street began to hear their own languages being spoken amongst all the noise. Passersby said, “How can these people be speaking our language? We know they are from Galilee! They are talking about God’s great power. This has to be a miracle!"

There were also enemies of Jesus standing outside the house, and they thought that these people inside the house were just acting strangely. They did not believe that this was a miracle at all! They began to make fun of them. Suddenly, Peter came out of the house and asked for quiet. Peter began to speak to the gathering crowd. He said, “We are not crazy or strange. This is not a party! All this is happening just as Jesus told us it would happen. He has sent His Holy Spirit just as He promised. Listen to me! Jesus did many wonderful miracles while He was on earth. Then He was killed by those who hated Him. But God raised Jesus from the dead. He is God’s only Son. We know that He has returned to Heaven, and now sits on His throne. Today, He sent us His Holy Spirit to be our Helper here on earth."

The crowd of people asked Peter, “What do we do to receive the power from the Holy Spirit?” Peter said, “Ask Jesus to forgive you for the wrong things you have done and be baptized in water. That is what salvation is all about."

Because of the great power of the Holy Spirit, the people who received this power began baptizing people. There were over three thousand people who accepted Jesus, and were baptized that day. That was how the Church began, and why Pentecost is considered the birthday of the Church!