Pentecost/ St. Philip and the Eunuch
PENTECOST/PHILIP AND THE EUNUCH
Objectives:
- Understand that Pentecost is the birthday of the Church.
- Know that the Holy Spirit descended at Pentecost.
- Understand the importance of baptism and chrismation.
Possible Lesson Plan:
- Open with prayer.
2. Read the stories in Acts 2:1-8, 14-15, 36-47 and Acts 8:26-40. Review with the students the story of Theophany, the baptism of Jesus. Where was he baptized? By whom? Who spoke and what appeared? Look at the icon and review.
3. Review the service of baptism: What happens and why? How many were baptized at Pentecost? What was the first thing Philip did with the eunuch from Ethiopia? Why was this step important? With Pentecost and the baptism of the minister from Ethiopia, God’s word about Jesus was already spreading. Many of the people baptized at Pentecost settled in Jerusalem, but many returned to their own countries. The minister returned to Ethiopia in Africa and there began the Ethiopian Church, still in existence today.
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Action |
Meaning |
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1. We face the East. |
Light comes from the East; God gives light to our souls. |
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2. Priest breathes on the face of the child. |
God breathed life into Adam; Baptism will breathe New Life into the soul. |
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3. Priest’s hand on child’s head. |
Child enters the shelter of the Church. |
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4. Exorcism: Face West.
Spit on Satan. |
Drives Satan away: West means Darkness; Satan is the Prince of Darkness. Shows our hatred of the devil. |
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5. Profession of Faith (Creed), facing altar. |
Testify to our Faith in God, turning to Him and from Satan. |
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6. With his hand, Priest makes a cross in the water; he then blows on the water and prays. |
All evil is driven from the water, which is made holy. |
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7. Oil is poured on the water. |
Purifying of Baptism (water) is only possible through God’s Holy Spirit (oil). |
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8. Anointed of parts of body with oil. |
Oil of gladness for healing, in preparation for His new life. |
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9. Dipping 3 times in the name of the Trinity. |
All sins are washed away: buried with Christ (under water) and risen with Christ: Child dies to sin and is born again to God. |
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10. White robe of holiness. |
Clean and pure new life in Jesus. |
- Now think about the service of chrismation, the descent of the Holy Spirit, which occurred the first time at Pentecost. How did the Spirit descend then? Do we see tongues of fire now?
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Action |
Meaning |
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1. Anointing with holy chrism of the child’s forehead, eyes, nose, lips, ears, chest, hands, and feet |
“The Seal of the Gift of the Holy Spirit” – our entire body becomes the temple of the Holy Spirit |
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2.Sponging off of the holy chrism. |
God’s work is now invisible, in the way we think and live and act. |
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3. Tonsure – cutting a lock of hair in the shape of a cross |
Dedication of our who life to God forever. |
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4. Procession – around to baptismal font and then to the Eucharist |
The door is now open to full and complete communion with God. |
- Play a learning game: Bible Match – Write a question from today’s lesson on one slip of paper and the answer on another. Give each student one piece of paper. Each student must find his partner; the one with the answer to the question. Then they sit down together. If class is small, you may need to play twice.
How did the Holy Spirit appear at Pentecost? Tongues of Fire
Who preached at Pentecost? Peter
How many were baptized at Pentecost? 3000
Who baptized the eunuch? Philip
Where was the eunuch from? Ethiopia
6. Make a Diorama: Take a shoebox. Glue light blue paper in the back and decorate with
Clouds of cotton, etc. Instead of grass on the bottom, since this is the desert, try sandpaper. Make chariot with a cup and wheels of cardboard with a pipe-cleaner axle and shafts. People can either be made from pictures cut from icons and taped to a pipe-cleaner stand or shaped completely from a pipe-cleaner (2 for a horse). Stick legs in clay to stand up. Arrange nicely in box. Can you tell the story from your diorama?
- Close with prayer: Lord, help me to share your love with someone each day, as Philip did with the eunuch.