Permission is granted to the purchaser of this book to photocopy
this appendix for use in a family or group celebration activity.
This material ©2010 Josh McDowell Ministry and Sean McDowell.
The Revelation Celebration is designed as a Judeo-Christian family event that includes a meal. You will engage your children and teenagers in a fun and rewarding time illustrating that Scripture and the Holy Spirit are God’s provisions to keep our relationships with him alive and fresh. The focus is on the ongoing process of coming to know God through his Word and the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.
This celebration is based on the Jewish holiday called the Festival of Harvest. In the Hebrew language of the Old Testament, it is called Shavuot. In the Greek language of the New Testament it is called Pentecost.
For centuries the Jewish people have gathered together in their homes to observe Shavuot by celebrating the revelation of God’s written Word given to Moses on Mount Sinai. Scripture is God’s revelation to us so we might know him and his ways. This is something to celebrate.
But there is something more to celebrate. After Jesus died, rose again, and ascended into heaven, 120 of his disciples and followers were gathered in an upper room. They were observing Shavuot—Pentecost—when Jesus’ promised Holy Spirit filled each one of them. Jesus said it is his “Holy Spirit who leads into all truth” (John 14:17). Paul the apostle said that “God has actually given us his Spirit (not the world’s spirit) so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us” (1 Corinthians 2:12). The Holy Spirit is God’s revelation of himself. He infills us so that we might know God intimately and be like him.
The Revelation Celebration is a time to celebrate God’s revealed Word and the Holy Spirit, whom God sent as a means to know him on a deep relational level, because he is the “God who is passionate about his relationship with you” (Exodus 34:14).
If you would like to learn more about the Festival of Harvest as well as the other biblical feasts of the Lord and understand how they directly relate to your Christian faith, we encourage you to visit www.ariseinglory.org, the Web site of Harvey Diamond, a Jewish believer in Christ as the Messiah. He has done a great job of unpacking the biblical festivals and relating them in the form of an interactive devotional, called “Pathways to Glory Relational Devotional.” It provides various ways of relating with God in a manner that makes them especially relevant to the Christian life.
The Revelation Celebration is best done together with two or more families. Children from three years of age and up will enjoy and get something out of this mealtime event. Meet ahead of time with the adults you are planning this with to go over the details and assign responsibilities.
This celebration consists of six elements. Walk through each of these elements to practice and plan for your meal and the different readings. If your group is too large to fit into one home, plan to split up and conduct more than one celebration.
The six elements of the meal celebration do not include music, so your group may want to insert the singing of hymns or worship music at various times throughout the event.
1. “Celebrating Two Revelations of God.” Identify someone in your group who is willing to read this presentation, which explains what the Revelation Celebration is all about. The reading is found on page 460, and you have permission to photocopy those pages and all the pages related to this celebration. You might ask the person to read the material aloud to the group for practice, using the photocopied pages. We encourage you to read these readings at the celebration meal rather than casually relating the content. The exception is “The Verbal Relay Process” illustration.
2. “Why We Celebrate.” Identify someone within your group who is willing to be in charge of this presentation, found on pages 461–463. Ask him or her to read it aloud now to familiarize everyone with the material.
3. The meal. Identify someone in your group who is willing to take the lead to coordinate the location of the Revelation Celebration (preferably someone’s home), identify the time, obtain the prescribed menu items, determine what else is served, and so on.
This person is not to do all the work. He or she is to work with group members to coordinate the logistical details of the celebration, listed on page 464. Photocopy that page and provide it to the meal coordinator.
4. “The Verbal Relay Process.” Identify someone in your group who is willing to conduct this illustration, found on pages 465–466. Make a photocopy of those pages and ask him or her to read them aloud to familiarize everyone with the illustration.
5. “God’s Accurate Letters of Love.” Identify someone who is willing to read this information, found on pages 467–469. Ask him or her to read these pages aloud now to familiarize the group with this material.
6. “From God’s Heart to Yours.” Identify someone within your group who is willing to read this presentation, found on pages 470–471. Ask him or her to read it aloud now to familiarize everyone with its content.