This Sunday is our LAST Sunday of this season in the Narrative Lectionary, which means that this Sunday is Pentecost! Pentecost is a huge day in the life of The Church, so we’ll be marking it by moving backwards in the narrative to Acts 2. There is a LOT about Pentecost that many (if not most) Christians don’t realize, one thing being what the word even means. Do you know? It means “fiftieth”. Yes this holiday with this big strange name is really just “Fiftieth”. But why? Well, you’ll have to tune in. -Pastor Paul
SCRIPTURE: Acts 1:12-14, 2:1-8
12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. 13 When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying: Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14 All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.
2 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
5 Now there were devout Jews from every people under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6 And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. 7 Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language?