Day of Pentecost, by Sidney King

July 3–9

Acts 1–5

“Ye Shall Be Witnesses unto Me”

Begin your preparation by reading Acts 1–5. Prayerfully seek to understand the needs of the children you teach. Come, Follow Me—For Individuals and Families and this outline can also help you.

Invite Sharing

Write Who am I? on the board. Provide several statements about Peter and ask the children who the statements are about. What else do they know about Peter?

Teach the Doctrine: Younger Children

Acts 1:1–11

Jesus Christ leads His Church through prophets and apostles.

Learning about how the Savior led His ancient Church through apostles can help the children gain testimonies of prophets and apostles in our day.

Possible Activities

• Show the full-page picture from this week’s outline in Come, Follow Me—For Individuals and Families. Ask the children why they think the people are looking at the sky. Summarize the account from Acts 1:1–11. (See also “Chapter 55: The Apostles Lead the Church,” in New Testament Stories, 145–47, or the corresponding video on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.) Invite a child to hold up a picture of the current Apostles. Who helps Jesus Christ lead the Church when He is not on the earth?

• Play a matching game with two sets of pictures of the living First Presidency and Twelve Apostles. When a match is made, share the Apostle or President’s name and something about him.

• On the back of a picture of the President of the Church, tape small pictures of things he teaches about, like the Savior, baptism, or a temple. Let each child take a turn looking at one of the pictures and telling the rest of the class, “The prophet teaches us about [the topic of the picture].” Testify that prophets and apostles teach us what Jesus wants us to know and do.

Acts 3:1–10

Heavenly Father can bless others through me.

What can you do to help children recognize ways they can bless those around them? Help them learn from the example of Peter and John healing the lame man.

Possible Activities

• Invite the children to do actions that go along with the story in Acts 3:1–10, such as putting out their hands for money and leaping for joy. How did Heavenly Father bless the man who couldn’t walk?

• Bring a bag containing pictures that represent ways that we can bless and serve others. Let the children take turns choosing pictures from the bag and sharing how they can bless others in that way.

• Ask the children to share a time when they helped someone.

Acts 5:1–11

I can be honest.

The early Christians shared what they had to help care for each other. Those who owned land sold it and gave the money to the Apostles, who then gave it to the Saints according to their needs. Ananias and Sapphira were dishonest about their contribution, thinking they could deceive the Lord’s servants.

Possible Activities

• Help the children act out the story of Ananias and Sapphira. Explain that although we won’t die when we tell a lie, this story shows how important being honest is to Heavenly Father.

• Sing together a song about honesty, such as “I Believe in Being Honest” (Children’s Songbook, 149). Help the children understand that being honest means always telling the truth and not taking things that belong to someone else.

• Use paper-bag puppets to act out simple situations in which someone is being honest or dishonest. Ask the children to stand up if the person was being honest or sit on the floor if the person was being dishonest. Help the children understand why it is important to be honest.

Teach the Doctrine: Older Children

Acts 1:8, 22–26

Jesus Christ leads His Church through prophets and apostles.

How will you help the children understand that the Savior’s Church today is led by prophets and apostles, just as it was in ancient times?

Possible Activities

• Write on the board How does Jesus Christ lead the Church when He is not on the earth? Invite the children to listen for answers to the question as you read the Savior’s words to the Apostles in Acts 1:8. Help the children understand that Jesus has chosen prophets and apostles to lead the Church today, just as He did anciently.

• Read together Acts 1:22–26. As a class, identify how the Apostles called a new Apostle.

• Ahead of time, ask a child and his or her parent to learn about a recently called Apostle (they can find information about the Apostles at “Quorum of the Twelve Apostles,” ChurchofJesusChrist.org). Invite the child to share what he or she learned with the class and, if possible, what the Apostle said about his call in his first general conference message.

The Apostles led the Church after Jesus ascended to heaven.

Acts 2:36–47

The Holy Ghost bears witness to my heart of gospel truths.

When children learn to recognize how the Holy Ghost speaks to them, they will be inspired to listen and act on the inspiration they receive.

Possible Activities

• Read together Acts 2:36–37. What does it feel like when the Holy Ghost tells us something in our hearts?

• As a class, make a poster with the words What shall we do? at the top. Display the poster each week, and add ways the children can act on what they learn in each week’s lesson.

• Invite the children to read Acts 2:41–47 and find the good things the people did after they were baptized. What good things can we do to show we are thankful for the gift of the Holy Ghost we received when we were baptized?

Acts 3:1–10

Heavenly Father can bless others through me.

How can you teach the children that they can bless others, even if they do not have “silver and gold”? (Acts 3:6). How can you help them see opportunities to serve God by serving others? (see Mosiah 2:17).

Possible Activities

• Ask a child to read Acts 3:1–10 while the other children act out the story. (For help, see “Chapter 56: Peter Heals a Man,” in New Testament Stories, 148–49, or the corresponding video on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.) You could also show the video “Peter and John Heal a Man Crippled Since Birth” (ChurchofJesusChrist.org). How was the blessing this man received greater than the money he asked for?

• Pass around a bag of coins. As the children hold the bag, ask them what they can buy with money. Ask the children what we have to give others that does not cost money. Invite them to share how they can help others come closer to the Savior—a gift that does not require money (Acts 3:6).

Encourage Learning at Home

Encourage the children to plan one way they can serve Heavenly Father by helping a member of their families this week.

Improving Our Teaching

Memorize a scripture. Select a scripture passage that you think could help the children in your class, such as Acts 2:38 or Acts 3:19, and help them memorize a phrase from the scripture. Visual aids or actions can also help children commit scriptures to memory.