Tessera Materials

Prayer

Living God,
you have created all that is.
On this Pentecost Sunday
send forth your Spirit
to renew and restore us,
that we may receive and embody
your good news in ways and words
that all of your creation
will be healed and made new. Amen.

Scripture

Romans 8:14-17
*If children are present we also suggest reading from God's Big Picture Bible Storybook: Page 230 "Jesus Sends God's Holy Spirit" to help set the Pentecost story before them.

Reflection and Discussion

Welcome to Pentecost. Fifty days after Jesus’ resurrection, the disciples were gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the late spring wheat harvest. They were also remembering the moment when God met Moses at Mount Sinai, giving the Torah (God's instruction to ancient Israel) while appearing in fire. In the wilderness, God continued to dwell with his people — this time as a pillar of fire resting over the tabernacle.

Now, in Jerusalem, the promised Holy Spirit appears and rests like flames of fire upon each disciple. They have become living temples, filled with and embodying the very presence of God.

Today’s passage from Romans reminds us of our identity as children of God — an identity made possible through the gift of the Spirit. It’s often said that good parenting gives children both roots and wings. Roots ground us and make us stable, reminding us who and whose we are. Wings empower us to move forward in beauty, carrying love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control into the world.

• These qualities are gifts the Spirit gives to us as we often don't find them naturally developing within us. Which of these qualities do you most long for the Spirit to give you in this specific season of your life — to root you in it and also give you wings to live it out? Why did you choose these things?

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