Leader Guide

Video Leader Guide

Welcome, everyone! Today is the second lesson of our Superbook story, “Tower of Babel and the Day of Pentecost.” Jesus’ followers gathered in unity to pray for God’s promised gift. His gift is also promised to all of us today! Let’s stand up as we sing and praise God in unity together!

Play Video 11: (Song) All Creatures of Our God and King (2.5 minutes)

Be sure to preview the song so you can sing along and do the motions with the children. They may clap and do freestyle movements during the animation sections.

All Creatures of Our God and King

SuperTruth and Discussion (1 minute)

Our SuperTruth today says: “I will pursue the Holy Spirit.” What does pursue mean?

It means to follow someone or something very closely. Jesus’ disciples pursued the Holy Spirit and received this gift from God on the day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit is not someone we pursue only once. We should determine to pursue the Holy Spirit every day so that we can continually be full of God’s power, wisdom and love. Let’s say the SuperTruth together: “I will pursue the Holy Spirit.”

Introduce Condensed Bible Story (1 minute)

If all children watched the Bible story video in the previous lesson, you may skip it here and go straight to the Bible Background Video.

If you were here last time, why did Joy and Chris think it would be difficult to play soccer with their new friend? The boy moved to their city from India. He spoke a different language so they could not understand each other. It would be difficult to teach him the team’s soccer plays when they couldn’t communicate.

Do you remember why Gizmo began speaking in different languages? Chris canceled Gizmo’s download updates. This caused his language files to be mixed up.

For the children who haven’t seen our Bible story yet, we are going to watch a short version of the “Tower of Babel and the Day of Pentecost.” If you have already seen the full video, watch closely for what appeared above the believers’ heads as they pursued God in prayer.

Play Video 4: Condensed Bible Story (10.5 minutes)

Superbook takes Chris, Joy and Gizmo to Babel, where God stops people from building a great tower for their own glory. Then they visit Jerusalem, where God sends the Holy Spirit to unite and empower believers for His glory. The children learn that language and customs may divide us, but God’s power and love can overcome all obstacles.

Condensed Bible Story

Discussion (1 minute)

Who was paying attention—what appeared over the believers’ heads as they prayed? Tongues of fire.

Imagine being in the upper room on the day of Pentecost. What would you think if you saw that?

Would you be scared or excited?

Can any of you speak more than one language?

How long does it usually take to learn a new language?

How would you feel if you spoke a different languagefrom everyone else, yet suddenly you could hear that language being spoken by people who had never been able to speak it before?

I would call that a miracle, wouldn’t you?

Introduce Bible Background Video (1 minute)

We had an exciting time visiting both the Tower of Babel and the upstairs room on the day of Pentecost. Now let’s watch our Bible Background Video and learn more about these two exciting events! When Gizmo asks a question in the video, wait for him to suggest some answers, then call out the one you think is right!

Play Video 5: Bible Background (8.5 minutes)

Bible Background

Play Video 10B: SuperVerse Graphic 2

Graphic loops 2.5 minutes without audio; turn off or freeze video after children repeat the verse.

SuperVerse Graphic 2

SuperVerse Discussion (1 minute)

Let’s say our SuperVerse together Acts 2:1:

When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

Pentecost is an important celebration and feast that has been celebrated every year for thousands of years by the Jewish people. Jerusalem was filled with people from different nations who came to celebrate Pentecost.

What do you think “all with one accord” means?

The 120 believers came together in agreement to wait on God’s promise as Jesus had instructed. They had one purpose and one focus—seeking God and His promise.

Let’s say our SuperVerse in one accord! Acts 2:1:

When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

Children will have more time to learn the SuperVerse in Small Group. Younger children may not be able to memorize the entire SuperVerse. They may simply repeat it several times while older children may memorize part or all of it. Be sure all children understand its meaning.

Prayer and Send-Off (1 minute)

Let’s pray: Dear God, just as the believers came together to wait for God’s promised gift, help us to pursue the Holy Spirit every day to empower and guide us. Fill us with power and boldness to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Let’s go to our Small Group where you will play a game about air in motion! What is another name for air in motion? Wind.

Are you ready to see what this game is all about?

Teachers take children to Small Group classes for Grades 1–3 and 4–6. If the combined group is small, all children may stay together for Small Group time.

Game

Read Acts 2:2:

Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting.

When the Holy Spirit came on the Day of Pentecost, it sounded like a mighty windstorm to those gathered together in the upstairs room. The Holy Spirit is represented as the wind many times in the Bible. The Hebrew word behind the word “Spirit” actually means “air in motion.” So, let’s play a game about wind or air in motion.

Demonstrate how to use the plate to create wind to move the balloon.

Divide the class into two equal teams—Team 1 and Team 2. If teams are unequal, one player may play twice. Divide each team into two groups.

One group for each team lines up behind the first mark, while the other group for each team lines up behind the second mark, with groups facing each other.

Give a plate and balloon to the first player in one group of Team 1. Then, walk to the mark on the opposite side of the room and give a plate and balloon to the first player of Team 2’s group standing there.

The object of the game is to move the balloon along the floor to the opposite side only by the wind.

Players may only move the balloon by quickly fanning the plate to create wind.

The plate cannot touch the balloon at any time! If that happens, the player must start over again.

Optional: if a player touches the balloon past the midway point of the course, you may have them return to the middle and resume play from there.

When a player’s balloon crosses the line at the opposite side, the next player on that team takes the plate and begins fanning it to move the balloon to the other side.

Continue play until all players have reached the opposite end with their balloon.

The first team to do this wins.

Conclusion: That looked like a lot of fun. Let’s find out more about the Holy Spirit, who came with the sound of a roaring, mighty wind on Pentecost!

Teaching

Who remembers our SuperTruth? “I will pursue the Holy Spirit.”

How many of you have watched a TV show or movie where someone pursues a person by running after them, or chasing them in a car?

Maybe you’ve had to pursue a younger brother or sister who wandered away from your yard. When does the chase end?

The pursuit ends when the person is found or caught. It is a one-time event.

To pursue the Holy Spirit is not a one-time event. He wants us to pursue Him in all areas of our life—every day. Jesus’ followers did not stop pursuing the Holy Spirit after they received God’s gift on the day of Pentecost. It was only the beginning! How do we know this? A short time after the Holy Spirit filled the believers on the day of Pentecost, He filled them again as they prayed together!

Optional: Read Acts 4:23–24a, 31, or have three older children each read a verse aloud:

²³ As soon as they were freed, Peter and John returned to the other believers and told them what the leading priests and elders had said. ²⁴ When they heard the report, all the believers lifted their voices together in prayer to God. ³¹ After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness.

Not long after the day of Pentecost, Peter and John were arrested for preaching boldly about Jesus. They were freed from jail, and then they gathered in prayer with other believers. The place where they prayed shook, and the Holy Spirit filled all of them again. They preached the Word of God boldly even though they had been warned not to preach about Jesus ever again. Yes, we can be continually filled with the Holy Spirit as we pursue Him.

Why should we pursue the Holy Spirit? I am going to move along this path as if I’m following or pursuing the Spirit. Walk to each card in order, pick it up and show the children, present the information below, then move to the next card.

1. Power: Jesus told His disciples to wait for the gift of the Holy Spirit so they would be filled with power to spread the Gospel message over allof Earth. See Acts 1:8.We just heard how Peter and John were filled with power and boldness to share the Gospel.
2. Prayer: Sometimes we pray selfishly or not according to God’s will. We may askfor things that are not pleasing to God, or things He knows could cause us harm. The Holy Spirit prays through us and for us according to God’s heart and will. The Spirit also helps us to pray for others. See Romans 8:26–27.
3. Guidance: When we are led by the Spirit, we can avoid and overcome Satan’s tricks and temptations that lead to disobedience and sin. By following the Spirit closely, we can have God’s wisdom to make good choices and grow stronger spiritually.

Galatians 5:16 says in a modern translation (hcsb):

I say then, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.

4. Gifts: When we pursue the Holy Spirit, we allow Him to work through us. We make ourselves available for His spiritual gifts to work in us for His glory.

1 Corinthians 12:4,11 says:

There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all.It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.

What if I had stopped pursuing the Holy Spirit at Step 1?

Or what if I had stopped at Step 2 or 3 or 4?

I would have missed out on many important things that God has for me. When we continue to pursue the Holy Spirit, He will fill us with His presence not just once, but continually. We can learn new things and experience something wonderful about God every day.

Can we ever know everything there is to know about God, or can we ever experience everything that He has to offer us? No.

Why not?

God’s power and wisdom and love is unlimited and eternal. That’s why we should pursue Him every day of our lives, as long as we are on Earth.

Let’s shout the SuperTruth together: “I will pursue the Holy Spirit.”

Discipleship Challenge/Practical Application

Give a Unity Chain Pattern to children who missed Lesson 1. Have them follow the instructions on the pattern to assemble their craft at home.

Hold up the sample of the Unity Chain. Let’s discuss the Discipleship Challenge from Lesson 1. What was our first unity challenge? Thank Jesus daily for dying for us and forgiving us, and tell someone what He has done for you.

Who remembered to thank Jesus each day for dying for us?

Did you tell someone else what God has done for you? What happened when you did?

It’s not too late to begin doing the challenge from Lesson 1! At the same time we’ll begin the challenge for Lesson 2—Unity in Prayer.

Let’s read Matthew 18:19:

“I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, My Father in heaven will do it for you.”

Who do you think is speaking in this verse?

Jesus is saying that when two people pray in unity together for something, God will answer their prayer. The first part of our challenge for Lesson 2 is to look up and read that verse at home. It’s found on Link 4 of your Unity Chain. The second part of the challenge is on Link 5: Unite with a friend or family member to pray about something together. Try to do this each day with someone until class meets again. You could do it together, on the phone, or just agree to pray each day at a certain time. Use your chain as a reminder to pray in unity with someone. Next time, I’ll ask you to share your experience!

Prayer

You did a good job learning the SuperVerse. Now who can remember today’s SuperTruth? “I will pursue the Holy Spirit.”

In the video, we watched as Jesus’ followers pursued the gift of the Holy Spirit. They prayed and sang songs in God’s presence. They joined together in unity to wait on God and receive His promised gift—no matter how long it took! Sometimes in prayer, we may tell God what we want or need and then say, “Amen”—without ever giving God the opportunity to speak to us! Prayer is not only talking, it is also listening and patiently waiting in His presence.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 18:19–20:   

“I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, My Father in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three gather together as My followers, I am there among them.”

Isn’t that wonderful? Jesus says that when we gather together in unity with other believers and pray in His name, He is with us. This means that right now, Jesus is in our presence! Isn’t that amazing?

Today in our prayer time, we are going to pursue the Holy Spirit together in unity. God desires to pour out His gift of the Holy Spirit on believers today who pursue Him, just like on the day of Pentecost.

When Peter was preaching about the Holy Spirit, he said in Acts 2:39:

“This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away—all who have been called by the Lord our God.” 

I am going to pray a short prayer and then we will wait and enjoy His presence. Have children bow their heads and close their eyes as they focus on God.

Close in prayer, allowing time after each phrase for the children to pray silently: Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for Your promise to be with us as we gather in Your name, in unity with believers. … Thank You for Your gift of the Holy Spirit to live inside us … to give us power … to help us pray … to guide us … and to fill us with Your spiritual gifts. ... Help us to continue to pursue You every day and spend time in Your presence. … In Your powerful name we pray, Amen.                     

Note: For more scriptures on the Holy Spirit, look up John 14:12, Acts 1:8, and Luke 11:11–13; also see the Bible Study in the Additional Activities for this lesson. 

SuperVerse

Read Acts 1:4–5:

Once when He was eating with them, He commanded them,“Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift He promised, as I told you before.John baptized withwater, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Jesus appeared to His disciples many times after His resurrection and before He was taken up to heaven. He instructed them to wait in Jerusalem until God sent the promised gift of the Holy Spirit. They knew what water baptism was, but soon they would be baptized in the Holy Spirit! Jesus’ followers were united together with one purpose, with one mind; to pray and wait for God’s promised gift!

Let’s read our SuperVerse on the board together, saying it slowly. Acts 2:1:

When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

Have children look down at the floor and/or close their eyes as you erase one word or phrase at a time, such as: Pentecost, fully, come, one, all, accord, place, Acts 2:1.

Next, ask them to raise their hands and say what you erased. You may write it back on the board for younger children, or leave it blank for older children.

Make the activity more difficult by erasing more than one word or phrase at a time, then conclude by erasing the entire verse and reference to see if the children can say or shout it from memory.

Conclusion: The followers of Jesus were obedient to do just what He instructed them to do —to wait. It isn’t easy to wait for a gift, isn’t it? It must have been difficult to wait in the upstairs room together, especially not knowing when the gift would arrive or even what the gift would look or feel like! God was faithful. He poured out the gift of His Holy Spirit upon all of them—just as He promised!

Activity

Have four older children each read two verses from Acts 2:1–8:

¹On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place.²Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting.³Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them.⁴And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.⁵At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem.⁶When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers.⁷They were completely amazed. “How can this be?” they exclaimed. “These people are all from Galilee,⁸and yet we hear them speaking in our own native languages!”

Imagine being in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost with people from other countries hearing their own languages spoken by Jesus’ followers, who had never learned those languages! The church grew and the people were united in their faith and service to God. The Holy Spirit worked powerfully through the apostles to perform many miraculous signs and wonders. The believers were united together by the Holy Spirit and praised God for all that He was doing among them!See Acts 2:42–47.

In this activity, we will praise God, just like the people did in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost— in many languages! Hold up one of the Language Posters, say what language it is, and show the children what the words look like in that alphabet. If you are using an audio file, play it on your Internet-connected device loud enough for all to hear, then ask the children to repeat the phrase. Do this a few times. If not using an audio file, pronounce the phrase phonetically and have the children repeat after you several times. Do this with each language.

Optional challenge: After you have repeated each language together, divide the class into groups and assign each one a language. Then, on the count of three, have everyone shout “Praise God” together in their assigned language.

How did Jesus’ followers speak all of those languages? They were not highly educated people. They did not study a lot of foreign languages in school.See Acts 4:13.According to Acts 2:4, they spoke as the Spirit gave them the ability. The Holy Spirit brought unity as He enabled the people to communicate. When we are filled with God’s Spirit, He will empower and enable us to do amazing things! Let’s say our SuperTruth together:“I will pursue the Holy Spirit.”

Chase Game

Who can say today’s SuperTruth?

Yes, let’s all say it together:“I will pursue the Holy Spirit.”

We are learning how important it is to follow the Holy Spirit as closely as possible. When we do this, He equips and enables us to accomplish God’s will and purpose in our lives. Sometimes God leads us in a straight path; other times, there may be twists and turns we may not expect or understand.

The Bible contains many examples of when Jesus’ followers were led to places they did not expect to go.See Acts 16:6; Acts 8:26. Like Jesus’ followers, we must pursue the Spirit by faith. The Holy Spirit always leads us in the direction of God’s will and will always work for our good. We must listen carefully to recognize and follow His voice!

In this game, you will not pursue a person—you will follow after a bouncy ball. That may seem easy; however, these are no ordinary bouncy balls.

Bounce a ball to demonstrate if you wish.

Divide the children into two equal teams. If teams are uneven, one player may play twice. Try to mix younger and older children.

Have the teams stand at one end of the room.

The first players for each team stand together.

Show each team the color of ball they are to pursue and catch.

Bounce the balls at the same time and say Go.

The children will pursue the balls.

The first player to return the ball to you scores one point.

Continue until all players have taken at least one turn.

Have a Sixth Grade helper or another volunteer keep score on the board.

The team with the most points wins.

Conclusion: What made pursuing these balls more difficult than regular balls?

Yes, the ball bounced in random directions and you could not anticipate where it would go next. That was just a fun, crazy game of pursuing something. It is important to understand that pursuing the Holy Spirit may take us in different directions; however, it is never random. There is always a purpose and specific reason wherever God leads us! It may not be a straight path, yet it always keeps us on God’s path!

Craft

The Holy Spirit was given to the believers who prayed together in the upstairs room. He came with the sound of a mighty, roaring, windstorm and appeared as a flame of fire over each person’s head. The Holy Spirit not only brings power to share the Gospel; He also brings peace, joy and unity.

Have the children read Acts 2:42–47:

⁴²All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.⁴³A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders.⁴⁴And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had.⁴⁵They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need.⁴⁶They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—⁴⁷all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.

This was an exciting and powerful time in the birth of the New Testament church! There were many reasons to praise God in any language! Today, you are going to make a bookmark to take home to remember the day of Pentecost and to pursue the Holy Spirit every day! This bookmark has the words “Praise God” written in different languages. Just like people heard people praising God in many languages on the Day of Pentecost, people still praise Him in many languages today!

Place the tape or glue sticks, scissors, hole punches, crayons, markers, and colored pencils at each table. Give each child a Praise God Bookmark Pattern and yarn. Children will cut out the flame and bookmark and then color the flame or glue yarn to it. Display the model and be ready to assist any children who need help.

Bible Study

Ask 10 children to be volunteer readers. Give each one a section of the Spirit Scriptures Worksheet and have them look up the verse so they are prepared to read it aloud. If you have fewer than ten children in the class, have each child look up more than one verse.

After each child reads a scripture, have the class discuss how the Holy Spirit is represented in that passage. List any symbols on the board.

1. Mark 1:10 Dove

As Jesus came up out of the water, He saw the heavens splitting apart and the Holy Spirit descending on Him like a dove.

2. Matthew 3:11 Fire

"I baptize with water those who repent of their sins and turn to God. But Someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I'm not worthy even to be His slave and carry His sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

3. Acts 2:3 Fire

Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them.

How was this verse a fulfillment of Matthew 3:11?

4. Exodus 13:21 Cloud and Fire

The Lord went ahead of them. He guided them during the day with a pillar of cloud, and He provided light at night with a pillar of fire. This allowed them to travel by day or by night.

5. John 16:13:

When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on His own but will tell you what He has heard. He will tell you about the future.

Discuss how the Holy Spirit now lives inside us and is our guide. Compare John 16:13 with Exodus 13:21.

6. Acts 2:2 Wind

Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting.

7. John 3:8 Wind

“The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”

In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word that spirit comes from means “air in motion.” It is the same word for “breath.” This word also means “life.” The wind, air and breath represent the Holy Spirit. In the New Testament, the Greek word for the word Spirit means “a current of air,” “breath” or “breeze.”

8. John 4:14: Water

“But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life."

9. Psalm 133:2 Oil

For harmony is as precious as the anointing oil that was poured over Aaron’s head, that ran down his beard and onto the border of his robe.

10. Acts 10:38

And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.

Compare Acts 10:38 with Psalm 133:2. The oil was poured out on God’s chosen priest to anoint Him. Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is poured out on us to serve God.

Conclusion: God’s Spirit is represented in many different ways in the Bible. The Holy Spirit is invisible, yet He lives in all who believe in Jesus as their Savior.

Dear God, Help us to continue to pursue You every day. Thank You for breathing life into us and giving us the power to live for You! In Jesus’ name, Amen.