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!