The verse anchor
"And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost."
Acts 2:4 · King James Bible
The story
After Jesus rose from the dead, he stayed with his disciples for forty more days. He taught them. He ate with them. Then he went up into heaven, right before their eyes. Angels told them he would come back one day, just as he had gone.
Before he left, Jesus told them: "Wait in Jerusalem for the promise of the Father. You shall receive power, when the Holy Ghost is come upon you."
So the disciples went back to Jerusalem. They stayed together in an upper room. They prayed. There were about a hundred and twenty of them — the eleven apostles, Mary the mother of Jesus, and many others who loved him.
Ten days went by.
On the day of Pentecost — a great Jewish feast, fifty days after Passover — they were all gathered together in one place.
Suddenly there came a sound from heaven, like a mighty rushing wind. It filled the whole house. Then they saw what looked like tongues of fire. The fire divided, and one flame sat upon each of them.
"And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."
Jerusalem was crowded that day. Jews from every country in the world had come for the feast. When they heard the noise, they came running. And each of them heard the disciples speaking — in the language of their own country. "How hear we every man in our own tongue?" they asked. "What meaneth this?"
Peter — the same Peter who had denied Jesus a few weeks before — stood up in front of the whole crowd. He was not afraid anymore. He preached about Jesus: how he had died, how he had risen, how he was the promised Saviour.
Peter said, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."
That day, three thousand people believed. They were baptized. The Church of Jesus was born.
The Holy Spirit had come. And he has never left.
One thing we learn
The Christian faith is not just following rules or reading a book. God himself — the Holy Spirit — comes to live in the hearts of everyone who believes in Jesus. That is what makes a Christian.
Memory verse
"Repent, and be baptized… and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."
Acts 2:38 · KJV
Say it three times before bed. In seven days you will know it forever.
A prayer
Come, Holy Spirit.
Live in me and in my house.
Teach me. Comfort me. Make me brave.
Amen.
Beneath the story · for grown-ups
To walk further with the household: