OBJECTIVE: To teach children what the Holy Spirit does in their lives and in the lives of others. (Note: The visuals of this lesson can be used for any age group, even adults. The text was written for children but can easily be adapted to teach anyone.)

INTRODUCTION: Boys and girls, today you are going to learn about the Holy Spirit. The Bible says that God is "three in one" and "one in three." God the Father; God the Son - Jesus; and God the Holy Spirit are only one God. The Father sent Jesus to die for our sins so we could be saved, and Jesus sent the Holy Spirit. Today you will learn exactly what the Holy Spirit does in the world.

THE HOLY SPIRIT'S WORK WITH LOST PEOPLE

Boys and girls, those of you who are saved had the Holy Spirit work in your hearts to convict you of your sin and show you your need to receive Jesus as your Saviour. (Put up "LOST" word strip.) The Bible says that this is one of the jobs that Jesus sent him to do.

1.) The Holy Spirit tells people that they are lost and need Jesus.

John 16:8  And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9  Of sin, because they believe not on me; 10  Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; 11  Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

(Put up "REPROVE WORLD" visual.) To "reprove the world of sin" means that the Holy Spirit tells people that they are sinners and that, as they are, they cannot please a righteous and holy God. You must know that you are a sinner before you can be saved. People who listen to the Holy Spirit are convicted of their wickedness. Then the Holy Spirit will point them to Jesus, the only one who can wash away their sins. (Put up "SIN" visual.) There was a man like that in the book of Acts. He knew he had to do something about his sin, so he asked Paul and Silas.

Acts 16:30  And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? 31  And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

The Holy Spirit always points people to Jesus, because he is the Saviour that can take away their sins. The worst sin of all is not believing in Jesus. That is the sin that sends a person to hell forever.

There is another way that the Holy Spirit convicts people of their wickedness. We know that Jesus died to wash our sins away; but he also died so that we could be with God in heaven. (Put up "RIGHTEOUSNESS" visual.)

2.) The Holy Spirit shows people that Jesus was so righteous and holy that only he deserved to go to heaven.

1 Peter 3:18  For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

1 Peter 3:22a  Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God;

Now everybody wants to go to heaven, but the Holy Spirit says there's only one way. A person must know he is a sinner and believe on Jesus to be saved. Jesus is the only way to get to heaven.

There is one more way the Holy Spirit convicts.

3.) The Holy Spirit shows a lost person that he belongs to the devil and that lost people go to hell when they die.

(Put up "JUDGMENT" visual.)

John 8:44a  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do.

You all belong to somebody. If you don't belong to God then you belong to the devil. The devil is already judged and will be going to hell. Just as a saved person goes to heaven to be with his heavenly Father, a lost person will go to hell to be with his father, the devil. I'm glad that I'm saved and not going to hell!

John 3:18  He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

John 3:36  He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

All people are sinners. Sinners who trust Jesus to wash their sins away go to heaven. Sinners who won't believe in Jesus are condemned to go to hell and stay there forever. When a boy or girl believes what the Holy Spirit says about the wickedness in his heart, he is ready to ask Jesus to save him. Have you ever asked Jesus into your heart to be your Saviour and wash your sins away?

TRANSITION FROM LOST TO SAVED : THE HOLY SPIRIT BAPTIZES A SAVED PERSON INTO THE BODY OF CHRIST

Now for you boys and girls who are saved, the Holy Spirit has done something else for you. (Put up "ONE BODY" visual.)

1 Corinthians 12:13a  For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body....

The Holy Spirit puts all people who have trusted Jesus as their Saviour into the Body of Christ. Just as Jesus is inside you if you are saved, you are also inside him. Picture a bathtub full of water. Now in your mind, put an empty jar without a lid into the tub of water. The jar will fill with water and sink to the bottom. The water is in the jar and the jar is in the water. (Teacher, you can demonstrate this with a quart jar and a small bottle.) YOU are like the jar. If you are saved, Jesus is in you and you are in Jesus. Now put a lot of other different jars in the tub. This is like the body of Christ. It is a family. Every saved person is in the body of Christ and is part of the family. Each one is your brother or sister in the Lord. We don't know our whole family yet, but some day we will meet them all.

THE HOLY SPIRIT IS 'THE COMFORTER' TO ALL SAVED PEOPLE

Once a person is saved, the Holy Spirit still deals with him. (Put up "SAVED" word strip.) Jesus called the Holy Spirit the "Comforter." (Put up "COMFORTER" word strip.)

John 16:7  It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

What a wonderful thought! If you are saved there is always someone to comfort and to help you, even if you're all alone.

2 Corinthians 1:3  Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; 4  Who comforteth us in all our tribulation.....

No matter what kind of troubles you are going through, you should always pray and tell the Lord. One of the jobs of the Holy Spirit is to comfort you during these times.

THE HOLY SPIRIT GUIDES TO THE TRUTH, SPEAKS OF JESUS, TEACHES THE SCRIPTURE, AND HELPS US TO REMEMBER SPIRITUAL THINGS

Guiding Christians to find the truth and speaking of Jesus are two more jobs the Holy Spirit has. (Put up "TRUTH GUIDE" & "JESUS" visuals.)

John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

John 15:26  But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of truth because he cannot lie. People lie all the time, even Christians. The Bible says that the devil was a liar from the beginning. Not only will others lie to you but your own deceitful heart will lie to you, too. It is very important to know what God says about things so that you won't believe any lie from any source. There is only one place where you can find absolute truth and that is in your King James Bible. That is why it is so important to read it and study it. Even though you are young, it is the Holy Spirit's job to guide you, and teach you, and help you to understand what you read. (Put up "TEACH" visual.)

John 14:26  But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you

1 Corinthians 2:13  Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual

The Bible can never lead you wrong, but it can't lead you at all if you never open it up. No matter what a friend says, or a preacher says, or a little voice in your mind says - the question is "What does God say?" The only way you'll know is from your Bible!

Now the Holy Spirit will also help you to tell others what you have learned about Jesus. That is another one of his jobs. The Lord wants you to tell others, and you have a helper with you all the time. (Put up "REMEMBRANCE" visual.)

John 14:26  But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

Once you open your mouth to tell people, he'll be right there to guide you and bring to your mind some of the things you need to say. You have to be the one who starts, though. He will never make you testify against your will.

THE HOLY SPIRIT INSURES ETERNAL SALVATION

Once a person has trusted Jesus as his personal Saviour, he can never lose his salvation. Jesus never leaves the heart of a person who has asked him to wash away his sins. That is a wonderful thing to know! And it is another job of the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 1:13  In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

Ephesians 4:30  And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

When you "seal" a letter you lick the glue on the envelope and press it down to close it. (Put up "SEALED" visual.) The letter shouldn't be "unsealed" until it gets to the person to whom it is going. Well, the Holy Spirit "seals" Jesus inside a saved person until he gets to the Father in heaven; and no one can "unseal" you ever.

THE HOLY SPIRIT IS OUR INTERCESSOR - HE PRAYS FOR US

The last job of the Holy Spirit is that of intercessor. That means he prays for us. (Put up "INTERCESSOR" visual.)

Romans 8:26  Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

We are certainly not as wise or as smart as God. Sometimes we may pray for things that God knows would not be good for us. Perhaps that new bicycle would make you proud or bratty when what you need is to be thankful and obedient. When we pray for the wrong things, the Holy Spirit prays too, and tells the Father what would be best. And then sometimes, we don't pray for something that we really need, or maybe we don't even know we need it. If the Holy Spirit sees a trial or trouble coming in our lives, he will pray for us before we even know about it. Remember, the Holy Spirit is God. Isn't it wonderful to know that God prays for what is best for you!

CONCLUSION: Let's look at our visuals to review all the jobs of the Holy Spirit.

First, the Holy Spirit deals with lost people. He tells all people that they are sinners and that only Jesus can save them and take them to heaven. He also tells them that if they don't trust Jesus as their Saviour they will go to hell instead.

Then, when a lost person believes the Holy Spirit and trusts Jesus as his Saviour, he puts him into the family of God, which the Bible calls the Body of Christ. This includes every person who has ever asked Jesus into his heart.

The last jobs of the Holy Spirit deal with helping Christians. He guides a Christian in learning the truth from his King James Bible, teaches him, and helps him to understand what he read. He also helps a Christian to testify for Jesus, and brings things to mind from the Bible he has read and studied. It is also the job of the Holy Spirit to keep everyone who has trusted Jesus, saved forever. You can never ever lose your salvation. And last, the Holy Spirit prays for us when even we, ourselves, don't know what we should pray for. Our Lord is truly a wonderful friend. Have you told him so today?

If you are interested in the visuals for this lesson please write to me at AV1611Root@JUNO.com The cost is MINIMAL (covering photocopying and mailing only) and they may be freely reproduced for FREE distribution.

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