Spirit Sailing

For Rally Day or Teacher Commissioning

From “Barefoot in the Snow”

Artwork by Elsa Ingulsrud

Scripture Reference: Acts 1:8

Preparation: Bring a toy sailboat or picture to illustrate.

How many of you have gone sailing? (Let children respond.) Can you tell me what moves a sailboat when it’s out on the water? (Children may answer.) Yes! The wind fills the sails and pushes the boat across the water. What happens to a sailboat when you take the sails down? Does it go anywhere? No! A sailboat doesn’t move much when its sails aren’t up. And if the wind stops, the sailboat stops. In order to move, a sailboat needs wind and its sails must be up.

We’re starting a new year of Christian education here at our church, and during our year of teaching about the Bible on Sundays, the Holy Spirit will be blowing through this church. The Holy Spirit is often described as a wind, and this wind will be blowing through these teachers and helpers, as the truth of God’s love is being taught. I’m not saying they are long-winded, but they will be allowing the Holy Spirit to work through them. So we have the wind, but now we need the sails

Did you know that all of you are a little bit like sailboats? You may not look much like a sailboat, but God’s Spirit, like the wind, can move people in the right direction. They can be moved, that is, as long as their sails are up. Guess where your sails are? (Let children guess.) Your sails are on either side of your head; your sails are your ears. I’m not saying that you have ears as big as sails, but if your ears aren’t open to the word of God, you won’t move very far. If you open your ears and listen to your teachers, it’s like putting up your sails to catch the Holy Spirit wind. When you do that, you’ll learn a lot and you’ll really go places, too! That mighty wind will blow you closer to God and will strengthen your love for your Heavenly Father.

Prayer:  Dear Lord, thank you for this opportunity to teach and for a chance to learn. Help our Sunday School teachers to be willing bringers of the Holy Spirit wind. Help our children to be good listeners and sailors. Bless our time together every week.

Key Words: Recognition, Gifts, Talents, Holy Spirit