The Day of Pentecost

I shared this post again last year, when we couldn't be together for church because of the "pandemic". Today I am excited to be able to worship in person again in our beautiful sanctuary. Here is a link to our pastor's sermon for today, as well as the choir's anthem: "He Is Here/ Holy Spirit, Thou Art Welcome in This Place".  I was not present at choir practice when they recorded this song, but I will be there today singing it with the choir in person. Wish you could come join us. But hopefully you are also now able to attend church in person at your place of worship.   

Have a blessed Pentecost Sunday! Don't forget to wear red in commemoration of this special day!

This is the original post written last year, which was an update from a previous year:

May 31, 2020

Since we will not be meeting in the traditional way at our church today, I wanted to share the "sermon notes" and post from last year's Pentecost Sunday.  Seeing this again, with the pictures of our dear friends in our church, at first made me a little sad because it has been so long since we have all been together like this, but then it also made me happy to see us in that place, in one accord, and to know that we will be together again, hopefully soon...but also because of the gift of the Holy Spirit to us at Pentecost, the church is still alive and vibrant today...wherever we are.  We carry God's Holy Spirit with us wherever we go, and we are sent out as His ambassadors to spread His love and peace and salvation to everyone.  May we continue to carry out our mission regardless of whether or not we are able to meet within the physical walls of our church buildings.  We are the church! Let us each do our part in this sadly hurting and divided world today.


Original Post 6/9/2019:

Today is Pentecost Sunday...the Sunday set aside in the traditional church calendar to remember and celebrate the day that the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles, who were gathered "with one accord in one place..." (Acts 2:1).  Acts 2:2-3 tells us that

"Suddenly there came a sound from heaven, 

as of a rushing mighty wind,

and it filled the whole house where they were sitting...

Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, 
and one sat upon each of them."

We celebrated Pentecost Sunday in our church in several ways...

Our choir members all wore red in commemoration of Pentecost Sunday:

Here's a few pictures of our choir during the prelude:

Our wonderful choir director, Carol, pictured above

There's always that one who is ready for mischief no matter where we are...  😇  She knows who she is...

Some of my fellow altos

This "banner" below was created especially for today out of various hues of bright orange crepe paper, and it "flickered" like a flame to represent the flame of the Holy Spirit:

We sang many hymns specifically about the Holy Spirit, and as we sang and prayed and listened to the message from God's Word, the thunder pounded, the wind blew and the rain poured down upon our little church in torrents, much like the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. We felt the power and presence of God in our midst today in many ways.

The message came from Acts 2:1-21 in particular, but also included many thoughts from the whole 2nd chapter of Acts.

What was interesting in the beginning of the message was the fact that the Day of Pentecost was only seven weeks after the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. And if you go back to that time, you will remember that Peter had denied knowing Christ three times on the night Jesus was betrayed...and the other disciples also ran and hid for fear of the soldiers and what they would do to them.  And then Christ arose from the dead, and was seen by the disciples and many others during the forty days after His resurrection...and then they beheld him ascending back up into the clouds to heaven just about ten days prior to this day of Pentecost.  He promised them He would send the Holy Spirit to them...and so they were waiting.

So here it is, just seven weeks after the trauma of Christ's death, and they waited and wondered what would happen next. But look at the 2nd Chapter of Acts...As they waited together in one accord, they were all filled with the  Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (verse 4)   And people from everywhere heard them speaking in their own languages, and they understood them...and they were amazed.

And this this same Peter, who had denied Christ seven weeks earlier, now stood up and began to preach...and He read to them from the Prophet Joel, and then explained to them about Jesus, and who He was, and all the prophecies concerning Him...and as Peter preached, the Bible says in Acts 2:41

"Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; 

and that day about three thousand souls were added to them."

The time of "Pentecost" was already a Jewish festival, or a feast of the firstfruits, a time to celebrate the harvest.  And now, at this time, God was adding a new meaning to this festival or time...it was a harvest of souls...Remember when Jesus said to His disciples, in Matthew 9:37-38,

"The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.  Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest"...

Well, here we see the beginning of that great harvest, and it is still continuing today...there were 3,000 souls added that day, and then there were 5,000...and the numbers continued to rise day after day, year after year, until today some 2000 plus years later, and Christianity is the largest "religion" in the world today.  (However, true believers recognize that Christianity is more than just a religion...it is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ)...

The days of signs and wonders are not over. We've just gotten lazy and blind to what God is doing and what He wants to do in our world today.  We, as individuals, need to allow God's Holy Spirit to empower us for service in His kingdom.

Again...just seven weeks after Peter could not even admit he knew Jesus, he was speaking and preaching the Gospel to thousands through the power of the Holy Spirit...

Jesus still offers salvation for all today.  Because of the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Church exists to offer that gift of salvation to all of mankind.

Where are you headed?  Are you feeling life is at a dead end, or do you dream dreams and see visions (Acts 2:17)...

Jesus wants to transform you into the person He desires you to become for His glory, through the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is still alive and active and powerful 2000 + years later. It is our job to proclaim this Good News to all generations.

One of the hymns we sang today was "Breathe on Me, Breath of God".  I love this one, and can remember singing this song as a young person at youth camp:

"Breathe on me, Breath of God,

fill me with life anew,

That I may love what Thou dost love,

and do what Thou wouldst do.

Breathe on me, Breath of God,

Until my heart is pure,

Until with Thee I will one will

To do and to endure.

Breathe on me, Breath of God,

Till I am wholly Thine,

Until this earthly part of me

Glows with Thy fire divine.

Breathe on me, Breath of God.

So shall I never die,

But live with Thee the perfect life

Of Thine eternity."

It was hymns like this, along with the teaching of God's Word, and the power of the Holy Spirit enlightening my eyes and mind to understand, that has brought me this far in my walk with Christ. I pray that He will continue to teach me and help me grow in my faith in Him, and that others will see Christ living in me and seek to know Him for themselves.

Our closing song today was another great benediction of God's grace and love:

Spirit Song, written by John Wimber:

"O let the Son of God enfold you 

with His Spirit and His love;

Let Him fill your heart and satisfy your soul.

O let Him have the things that hold you,

and His Spirit, like a dove,

Will descend upon your life and make you whole.

Chorus:

Jesus, O Jesus,

come and fill Your lambs.

Jesus, O Jesus, 

Come and fill Your lambs.

"O come and sing this song with gladness

as your hearts are filled with joy;

Lift your hands in sweet surrender to His name.

O give Him all your tears and sadness;

give Him all your years of pain,

and you'll enter into life in Jesus' name.

Chorus:

Jesus, O Jesus,

come and fill Your lambs.

Jesus, O Jesus, 

Come and fill Your lambs.

Sermon Notes: FUMC, Interlachen, FL, Pastor A.C. Myers, 6/9/2019

Please Note : I want to repeat this disclaimer here...the notes, outline, and content included here are based upon my own personal understanding of the message that was being given. I am not attempting to completely quote or reproduce this message or any other message I've shared previously. Just as each person reading these notes may glean insights and thoughts that seem to directly apply to one's own situation and interpretation, my own delivery of these messages is skewed by my hearing and translation of what is being said. Some may read my notes here and wonder if they were hearing the same message as I...and I say, God speaks to each of us as He wills...there are things He is trying to get across to each individual that may be entirely different than what the person sitting next to you in the pew is needing to hear... That is how the Holy Spirit works! He knows what we need to hear and how to apply it to our hearts. So it is with that understanding that I present these sermon notes to you.