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Preteen girl draping slime across her hands.
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Preteen Bible Study: The Holy Spirit

Use this preteen Bible study about the Holy Spirit with kids in grades 4, 5, and 6.

If you say the words “Holy Spirit” to kids, you may conjure images of something straight out of a Harry Potter movie. Kids, especially younger ones, don’t necessarily grasp the difference between the Spirit of the Lord and a ghost they see on television. But the Holy Spirit is one of the greatest blessings.

The Holy Spirit is present, both inside us and on earth with us. The very idea of who the Holy Spirit is and how the Holy Spirit can be in more than one place at a time is confusing. Yet understanding the presence of the Holy Spirit is essential to children’s spiritual growth. When kids learn that something doesn’t have to be visible to be real and they grasp why God gave us the Holy Spirit, they see how he fits into their lives.

Silly Dough Trio

Kids will make a putty dough using three ingredients, which will each become unrecognizable though still present.

What You’ll Need:

  • Bibles
  • 1 cup of Elmer’s white glue per group of 4 kids
  • ¾ cup of warm water per group
  • ½ tsp of Borax per group
  • food coloring (optional)
  • 1 bowl per group
  • 1 large spoon per group

Making the Silly Dough Trio

Say: One of the coolest things about God is that God knew we’d need help but forget to ask sometimes. The Holy Spirit is everywhere, both in us and on earth. But you can’t look in the mirror and see the Holy Spirit. It may be easy to forget the Holy Spirit is even there because we don’t see him.

Ask for willing children to read aloud Romans 8:11 and John 14:16-17.

Say: These words from the Bible promise that the Holy Spirit will live in us. But how is it possible to have something inside you that you can’t see? You can see every other part of your body, right? Let’s try an experiment that might help us understand a little better. We’re going to make silly dough right now.

Have kids form groups of four or fewer. Give each group a set of ingredients and a bowl.

Say: Let’s start by mixing all our ingredients together. First, pour in the glue. Have one person in each group pour the glue into the bowl. Then add the other ingredients, one at a time.

Instruct kids to mix the ingredients, and then show them how to knead the mixture well. Once the mixture is pliable, let kids each have a piece to play with for a few minutes. Tell them to try to create something that looks like their version of the Holy Spirit.

Ask:

  • Where is the glue now? the water? the Borax powder?
  • Why do you think you can’t see the individual ingredients?
  • How are the ingredients in the dough like or unlike how the Holy Spirit lives in each of us?

Say: Even though the separate ingredients aren’t visible, we know they’re still in your silly dough. It’s the same for us. Once we get with Jesus, choosing to believe in and follow him, the Holy Spirit is within us. We’ll never be the same, just as the individual ingredients won’t be the same. But we’ll be much, much more.

***

This activity was taken from the book 13 Most Important Bible Lessons for Kids About God. The number-one cry of children’s ministry leaders everywhere is the desire to teach kids the basics—the foundational truths of the Christian faith. The lessons in this book contain solid, Bible-packed experiences that draw children closer to Jesus and prepare them for a lifetime of spiritual maturity. Give your kids a firm hold of God’s truth!

How do you help your kids understand the Holy Spirit? Let us know using the comment section below!

Looking for more preteen ideas? Check out these posts!

4 thoughts on “Preteen Bible Study: The Holy Spirit

  1. Nwaosa Helen

    This is a nice guide for Sunday school teachers. Good job. Thanks and God bless you

  2. Mary Smith

    Thanks for this wonderful message to go along with making slime.
    I had a young man visit our Sunday School last week that requested we make slime.
    I said we will next week make sure you have your parents bring you back. I wanted a message with some meat to it.
    Pray he comes! Thanks again.

    • Sierra Archuleta

      Hi Mary,
      We are so happy you were able to find a great message to add with your slime activity. Praying that he comes back next week!

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Preteen Bible Study: The Holy Spirit

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