June 8 Sermon – “How We Got Our Start”
Acts 2:1-21
Our reading from Acts chapter two tells us how the church
got its start. Fifty days after the first Easter Sunday when Jesus had been
raised from the dead, the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples and the church
was born.
Peter makes two very important points in his sermon: 1) The
importance of having a relationship with Jesus Christ in order to be in
ministry to the world. 2) The giving of the Holy Spirit is associated with “The
Last Days” which is a phrase used to describe the beginning of a new era of
God’s inbreaking kingdom in our time and space.
Pentecost helps us to remember that God’s new kingdom is
already taking shape in our time and space. This is made possible because of
Jesus’ resurrection and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
Where do you see signs of God’s kingdom at work in your
life? What does it mean to be “open to the Holy Spirit” in our daily lives?
John 7:37-39
In our Gospel reading from John chapter 7, Jesus compares
the Holy Spirit to a river of flowing water. We are invited to drink this water
and be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Our Gospel reading takes place during the last day of the
Jewish autumn festival known as “The Feast of Tabernacles.” On the last day of
the festival, it was a tradition to carry water from the Pool of Siloam to the
Temple. This festival was to remind the people of how God had provided their
ancestors with water from a rock when they were in the wilderness.
What does it mean to think of the Holy Spirit like a river
of flowing water?
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