JOIN THE JOURNEY JR.
Families Abiding in Jesus together
With shorter reading assignments and kid-specific focus areas, Join The Journey Jr. is designed to help parents disciple their kids and engage with Scripture in the best ways for their age.
This month's memory verse
I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
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And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Acts of the Apostles2
The Holy Spirit Comes
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! 9Here we areParthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia, 10Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome 11(both Jews and converts to Judaism), Cretans, and Arabs. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done! 12They stood there amazed and perplexed. What can this mean? they asked each other.
13But others in the crowd ridiculed them, saying, Theyre just drunk, thats all!
Peter Preaches to the Crowd
14Then Peter stepped forward with the eleven other apostles and shouted to the crowd, Listen carefully, all of you, fellow Jews and residents of Jerusalem! Make no mistake about this. 15These people are not drunk, as some of you are assuming. Nine oclock in the morning is much too early for that. 16No, what you see was predicted long ago by the prophet Joel:
17In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
Your young men will see visions,
and your old men will dream dreams.
18In those days I will pour out my Spirit
even on my servantsmen and women alike
and they will prophesy.
19And I will cause wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below
blood and fire and clouds of smoke.
20The sun will become dark,
and the moon will turn blood red
before that great and glorious day of the Lord arrives.
21But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord
will be saved.*
Have you ever waited for a super special surprise? In Acts 1, Jesus promised His disciples something amazing: the Holy Spirit would come and give them power! (Acts 1:4, 8) The disciples didn’t know exactly what to expect, but they obeyed Jesus, went to Jerusalem, and prayed together. Then, on Pentecost, whoosh! The Holy Spirit arrived like a mighty wind, with flames like tongues of fire above their heads! Suddenly, they could share the Good News about Jesus in languages they’d never spoken before. It was incredible!
But you might be thinking, ”Why did Jesus send the Holy Spirit?” Jesus knew his disciples might feel scared to talk about him. Some religious leaders didn’t like Jesus’s teachings and might mistreat the disciples for sharing that Jesus died and rose again to save us. But God loves everyone so much that he wanted the whole world to hear the Good News! The Holy Spirit gave the disciples boldness to speak about Jesus, even when it was hard. He even gave them the right words to share with people from all over, in their own languages!
Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit’s power, stood up bravely and told everyone about God’s promise from long ago: the Holy Spirit is for everyone who believes in Jesus. He said, “Anyone who calls on Jesus’ name can be saved!” That promise is for you, too!
Jesus lived a perfect life, died for your sins, and rose again to beat death. If you have never asked Jesus to forgive you of your sins and trusted in him, you can do that today!
If you believe Jesus lived a perfect life, died for your sins, and rose again to beat death, the Holy Spirit lives in you! He gives you courage to share God’s love, even when you’re nervous. He softens your heart to care for others who don’t know Jesus yet. Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you with boldness and love. Ask him to help you tell others about Jesus, just like the disciples did.