Acts 2:1-21

I hope everyone enjoyed the Easter season sermon series on the “I am” statements of Jesus as found in the Gospel of John. This Sunday, May 28, we turn to the Book of Acts for our Pentecost celebration. The reading on Pentecost is the same every year: Acts 2:1-21.

Read all of Acts 1-2 (chapters 1 and 2) in order to follow the sequence from Christ’s appearances to the disciples and apostles post-resurrection, his Ascencion into heaven, the replacement for Judas among the twelve apostles, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the earliest church, and the beginnings of the Christian ministry.

Pentecost was originally a Jewish festival day (Leviticus 23:15-21) that marked both the spring barley harvest and the 50th day after the Passover celebration. For Jews after Passover and Christians after Easter, it was and is a day of celebrating abundant life and freedom from all that holds us captive.

As you read Acts 2:1-21, try to take in what you read with all your senses — the sounds, sights, and tactile features of the story. This story is aimed more at the heart than the mind.

It is very common for a group of Christians to try to replicate the “Acts 2 church”. Why might such an effort go awry? Why is Acts 2 so compelling? How might MBPPC be faithful to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit without trying simply to “make Pentecost happen again”?