Daily Dose of the Word of God - Acts 2

Erin Pacheco, Director of Worship

Transcript

Erin Pacheco  0:07  

Welcome to Elmhurst CRC’s Daily Dose of the Word of God. Today is Friday, June 6, and Sunday is coming! I’m Erin Pacheco.  This Sunday we celebrate Pentecost — the day when the disciples of Jesus first received the gift of the Holy Spirit. Here’s the Pentecost story, from Acts 2. (Acts 2:1-6, 14-21, The Voice/NLT)

Erin Pacheco  0:29  

When the holy day of Pentecost came 50 days after Passover, they were gathered together in one place. Picture yourself among the disciples: A sound roars from the sky without warning, the roar of a violent wind, and the whole house where you are gathered reverberates with the sound. Then a flame appears, dividing into smaller flames and spreading from one person to the next. All the people present are filled with the Holy Spirit and begin speaking in languages they’ve never spoken, as the Spirit empowers them. Because of the holy festival, there are devout Jews staying as pilgrims in Jerusalem from every nation under the sun. They hear the sound, and a crowd gathers. They are amazed because each of them can hear the group speaking in their native languages.

Erin Pacheco 1:22  

What a powerful scene this must have been. It makes me wonder how I would have responded if I were there — if I saw for myself the mysterious flames of fire, and heard the roaring wind and the babble of languages — if I was there to witness the miraculous birth of the church. Acts 2 says everyone was amazed. Many people heard the gospel about Jesus for the first time, proclaimed in their own heart language. But some people only heard the noise, and chalked it up to the disciples being drunk. So then Peter gets up and says in a loud voice:“Listen carefully, all of you, fellow Jews and residents of Jerusalem!  I want you to understand: these people aren’t drunk as you may think. Look, it’s only nine o’clock in the morning! No, this is the fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel. Hear what God says! ‘In the last days,’ God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will proclaim God’s word. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. In those days I will pour out my Spirit     even on my servants—men and women alike—and they will proclaim the word of God. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Peter goes on to preach boldly the good news about Jesus — who was killed on a cross, but rose from the dead, and has returned to heaven to rule as King and Messiah. Jesus – who offers the gift of eternal life and forgiveness of sins, and now, the Holy Spirit of God himself, guiding us and living in us. And that day, 3,000 people joined the new family of God, launching a movement that would spread across the world. I love it all started with Jesus’ friends, gathered in one place, waiting in prayer for the Spirit to fill them and move them forward.

Erin Pacheco  3:38  

Let’s pray. Almighty God, we long to know the nearness of your presence. As we gather for worship this Pentecost Sunday, we ask for a fresh outpouring of your Holy Spirit, that we may know and worship and boldly bear witness to the work of Jesus, in our hearts and in your world. Come Lord Jesus. Come Holy Spirit. Amen.