Kara Hackert 0:06
Welcome to Elmhurst CRC's Daily Dose of the word of God. It's Tuesday, May 19, and I'm Kara Hackert. Today's reading is from Acts 2, verses 1 through 13. It's the season of Easter, and we are living it forward. Let's read our story today from my favorite children's Bible, "The Children's Bible in 365 stories."
Kara Hackert 0:31
The disciples met to talk and pray together while they waited for the Holy Spirit to come. They knew that Jesus would no longer appear suddenly to talk to them, but once His Spirit came, He would be with them in a new way, in a closer way. Seven weeks after Passover, the Jewish people celebrate the Festival of Pentecost. It's the harvest Thanksgiving for the first ripe crops. Soon, Jerusalem was packed with pilgrims once again as Jews from all over the world returned for the happy celebration. Early that Sunday morning on the day of Pentecost, Jesus' disciples were all together when something extraordinary happened. They described it afterwards as a great rushing wind that swept down from heaven and filled the whole house with the noise it made. Then separate little tongues of flame settled for an instant on every person there. But what they could see and hear was nothing compared to how they felt inside themselves. The warmth and life that Jesus always brought with Him, surged into them again and they knew that His promised Holy Spirit had come to live inside them forever - close and real. They were bursting with joy and began to pour out aloud their thanks and praise to God. Meanwhile, a huge crowd had collected outside the house. They had seen and heard some of the strange happenings and were curious to know what was going on. But when the disciples came out of the house and onto the street, they were even more amazed. Everyone there - whatever country they came from - understood perfectly what the disciples were saying as they praised and thanked God for His wonderful gift to them. "Whatever could have happened to them?" the people asked one another. But some of the bystanders were not impressed. "They've just been drinking too much wine," they said. Peter made up his mind to explain. We will hear the rest of the the story tomorrow.
Kara Hackert 2:53
Let's pray together. Lord, we too want to pour out our thanks and praise to you. Thank you for sending the gift of your spirit. Let your spirit work in our church and in our lives. Fill us with boldness and joy to share your message and love for others. To you be all the glory, amen.
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