This week’s word of the week is Pentecost.
Pentecost occurs 50 days after Easter Sunday.
Jesus had left the disciples and they were all lost and didn’t know what to do. Then the Holy Spirit came upon them in a fiery wind and they were able to spread the Good News in multiple languages and they knew this was their purpose. They felt renewed, reenergised and purposeful.
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles
When the day of Pentecost came, all the believers were gathered together in one place. Suddenly there was a noise from the sky which sounded like a strong wind blowing, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then they saw what looked like tongues of fire which spread out and touched each person there. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to talk in other languages, as the Spirit enabled them to speak.
Acts 2:1-4
The Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
It was a huge change. There was nothing subtle about it. They had been in hiding, scared out of their wits. Jesus had been arrested. Rumours flew that the high priests wanted Him crucified. The “Powers-that-be” wanted to send a message to all who would dare challenge their authority. The message was received, loud and clear. None of the disciples were around to witness the events of that Friday, the one we call Good. None, that is, except John, as well as his mother, Mary and a few other of Jesus’ closest friends. But now, fifty days later, the eleven remaining disciples were publicly proclaiming Jesus Christ, right there in the Temple area, right where those who murdered Jesus could see them. “You cannot kill God’s plan,” they said. “You couldn’t even keep Jesus in the grave, for He rose and gave His Life to all who believe in Him.” And they went out and, empowered by the Holy Spirit, they spread the Good News.
We’ve heard how the disciples went out and spread the Good News by speaking in different languages. But how can we spread the Good News? We can use both our words and our actions.
We could:
- Invite someone to come to go to church with you
- Pray/meditate with your family or friends
- Follow in Jesus’ footsteps by being kind, helpful, sharing, giving
Let us know in the comments below how you have achieved this week’s mission to spread the Good News.
5 comments
In year 5, we remembered one of our earlier topics that involved us looking at the ‘Good New to the Poor’ scripture. We remembered what Jesus did and spoke about why he did this. Going forward, year 5 have said that they will be kind and caring to each other and spread the good news by being inviting in all situations.
In year 6 we thought about the big ways we can spread the word of God like the apostles, such as asking parents to go to church and inviting friends to join us. We could also share our favourite Bible stories and hymns with each other. On a smaller scale, we can spread the Good News by making choices inspired by the Holy Spirit that help us to live in the light. For example having fortitude when things get difficult, using our knowledge and wisdom to help others and by remembering how wonderful our God is, being thankful for all He does for us.
In Year 4 we talked about what spreading the Good News means and how we can do it in our everyday lives. We decided that we would take care of each other and encourage others to be more like Jesus by telling them his stories.
In Year 1, we had a lovely liturgy on Pentecost. The children remembered their previous RE topic on Pentecost and that Pentecost day is a holy day.
We sang the song tongues of fire and talked about how the apostles became courageous after the holy spirit descended on them.
We concluded our liturgy by thinking about how we can spread the good news and the children came up with beautiful responses such as, telling our friends and family that Jesus is a merciful, he loves everyone and he is a forgiving God.
In Year 3, we will use the gifts of the Holy spirit to be more like Jesus by using our knowledge of the Bible to share and spread the Good News.