Matt Nelson - May 28, 2023
Pentecost
BECOMING FAMILY Pentecost 5.28.23 Acts 2:1-21 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. 5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” 13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.” 14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17 “‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.19 I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke.20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ We cannot underestimate the potential of believers gathering in unity to wait upon the Lord. Overslept, So tired. If late, Get fired. Why bother? Why the pain? Just go home. Do it again. The personal presence of Jesus with the disciples will now become the personal power of Jesus in the disciples. Acts is not describing a golden age when everything was perfect; rather, it was describing how those early Christians, drenched as they were with the Holy Spirit and feeling the glow of their new lives at work, learned to live with one another in fellowship. All they wanted was for the We to be bigger than the Me. – Scot McKnight 1. POWER 2. PRACTICE The power of Pentecost moved the church into shared practices. There is no formation without repetition.
From Series: "Becoming Family"
In an individualistic, preference-based, and consumer-driven world, God calls his people to be a family; a radically different covenant community united to one another through the work of gospel. Becoming the family of God requires a commitment to Christ and a commitment to one another. It requires sacrifice and a laying down of our lives in order to love our brothers and sisters like Christ. In this series, we will identify the major killers of community and the sacrifices necessary to become the family of God.