Kids, especially younger ones, don’t necessarily grasp the difference between the Holy Spirit and a ghost they see on television. But the Holy Spirit is one of the greatest blessings God has given us—a loving advocate and intercessor who pleads on our behalf. This lesson will help kids understand what it means to have an advocate (someone who’ll go to bat for them) and an intercessor (someone who’ll take our needs to God).

Scripture Foundation

Romans 8:26 – The Holy Spirit helps us by praying when we don’t know what to pray.

1 John 2:1 – The Holy Spirit talks to God on our behalf.

Hot Air Helper

This activity takes about 10 minutes.

You’ll need:

• 30 balloons
• timer
• air or balloon pump (available at party supply stores or amazon.com)

Tell kids you’ve got a big challenge for them: You’re going to give three of them one minute to each inflate and tie off 10 balloons. Ask for three volunteers. Tell them you know it’s going to be a challenge, but challenges can be fun! Start the timer and give them one minute to inflate the balloons. It’s highly unlikely any of the kids will be successful. (If they are, they must have superpowers!)

When the timer’s gone off and they’ve all caught their breath, continue.

Ask:

• How did this challenge seem impossible?
• Tell about a time you had to do something that seemed impossible.
• What’s something that would’ve made your impossible situation easier?

The Holy Spirit Is Our Helper

Say: The great news is that God doesn’t expect us to handle every challenge that comes our way all alone. God gave us the Holy Spirit to help us rise to the challenge of difficult situations. In other words, God’s given us a “balloon pump”—the Holy Spirit. Pull out your balloon pump. And help in tying the balloons. Have two assistants stand beside you. The right tools change the challenge of inflating these balloons from impossible to possible. Let’s try again!

Set the timer and use the balloon pump and your assistants to inflate and tie the balloons, 10 in one minute.

Say: And now what seemed impossible was possible. The Holy Spirit isn’t some magical creature that’ll make your problems disappear. The Holy Spirit is God—your helper and friend who can teach you and make the difficult challenges in your life a whole lot easier. Let’s explore this another way.

Backpack Burden

This activity takes about 25 minutes.

You’ll need:

• Bibles
• backpack
• numerous heavy objects (large bean bags, thick books, rocks, water bottles, and so on)
• masking tape
• marker

Prep: Label each heavy object with masking tape and marker. Write the words fear, worry, sadness, anger, and loneliness, along with other words with similar meanings. Prepare the backpack by filling it with heavy objects.

Have one child come to the front of the group, and ask him or her to pick up the backpack and put it on. It should be heavy enough to make this really difficult.

Say: I need you to carry this for me; can you do that? Allow the child to answer. I was hoping you could carry it for the rest of our time together. Then turn your attention to the rest of the group while the child with the backpack stands beside you.

Ask:

• Let’s talk about things that weigh us down. What are things that make life harder for kids your age? After kids name a few things, turn to the child with the backpack.
• Is that backpack feeling heavy? Allow the child to answer. Let’s see what’s inside. Pull out the item marked fear.

Say: Hmmm. This heavy item says “fear” on it. What are things kids are often afraid of? Allow kids to respond. Pull out the item marked worry.

Ask:

• What do you worry about? Allow kids to respond.

Repeat this process as you pull out the rest of the items, marked sadness, loneliness, and anger.

The Holy Spirit Carries Our Burden

Say: We all feel sad or lonely or mad. Sometimes we’re so afraid or worried about something, we don’t even know how to pray about it. That’s why God gave us the Holy Spirit. The Bible says the Holy Spirit prays for us. He’s an intercessor, or someone who prays our prayers for us. Let’s look at a Bible verse to better understand what intercessor means.

Let’s read Romans 8:26. Help the kids find the verse in their Bibles, and invite a willing child to read it aloud.

Say: The Holy Spirit help us. The Holy Spirit has all the right words when we don’t have any. Start putting the items back in the backpack. We try to carry everything on our own, but God gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit so we wouldn’t have to. When the backpack is full, give each child a chance to try to lift it. Then have an adult come forward, put on the backpack, and then stay near the group.

Say: This is what the Holy Spirit does for you. The Holy Spirit takes the troubles you have and lets God know about them. Then he says, “Here, let me help you with that” and walks right by our side, carrying the weight.

Have the kids form groups of three or four and discuss the following questions.

Ask:

• Talk about a time you really needed help—but you didn’t get any.
• Talk about a time you really needed help—and someone helped you.
• Why might God want us to rely on the Holy Spirit and let him carry our troubles?

Miscommuni-can

This activity takes about 10 minutes.

You’ll need:

• 2 empty, clean cans
• 2 empty, clean cans with a hole in the center bottom
• a 15-foot length of string

Prep: Drill or punch a hole in the center bottom of two of the cans, and run the length of string between them. Tie a thick knot on both ends so the string won’t pull free from the cans. Be sure to sand away any rough, sharp edges.

Say: Let’s dig a bit more into what an intercessor, like the Holy Spirit, does. 

Have kids form a line against one wall with the child in front holding an empty can (not connected by string). You’ll stand on the opposite end of the room with the other empty can. Instruct the child in the front of the line to take three steps away from the line and then put the can to his or her ear to listen to what you’re about to say. When the child is ready, quietly say, “The Holy Spirit intercedes for us.” Then have the child pass the can, and repeat the experience until each child has had a turn to “listen.”

Ask:

• Okay, what did I say? Kids probably won’t be able to answer. Tell the group what you said.
• Why couldn’t you hear my message?
• How do you think God is able to hear you when you talk to him?

The Holy Spirit Speaks for Us

Say: Sometimes it feels like our prayers are only tiny whispers to God, and we wonder how he could possibly hear us. Sometimes we pray and pray but it doesn’t feel like anyone’s listening. The good news is that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us. Now, what in the world does intercede mean? Well, inter means “between” and cede means “to go.” The Holy Spirit goes between God the Father and us. The Holy Spirit speaks for us and talks to God for us when we don’t have all the right things to say.

Let’s try this again. Exchange the cans for the ones with the string, and have the kids again form a line on one side of the room. Give the first child in line one can. You stand across the room so the string is tight between you. Then say, “The Holy Spirit goes between God and us.” Repeat the action until each child has had a chance to listen. This time, the kids will hear you. When you’re done, have everyone say the sentence with you.

Say: The string works a little like the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit carries prayer messages from us to God. We’re blessed to have the Holy Spirit connecting us directly to God!

Ask:

• Tell about a time you wanted to pray but didn’t know what to say.
• What’s comforting about how the Holy Spirit gets our messages to God, even when we don’t know what to say?

Pray

Let’s pray now as we close our time together, knowing that the Holy Spirit will help our messages along.

Dear God, we are so thankful for the Holy Spirit. We know how important it is to have someone on our side to help us talk with you and make our load a little bit lighter. Thank you for watching over us. Please help us remember to rely on your Spirit every single day. In Jesus’ name, amen.

This lesson comes from 13 Most Important Bible Lessons for Kids About God. In this resource, you’ll find Bible-packed experiences that provide foundational truths and draw children closer to Jesus. For more Sunday school lessons, check out these ideas!