(412) 749.0455

Info@AnglicansForLife.org

Need help?
Anglicans For Life logo with registered mark

Acts 2:1-11

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”

By: The Rev. Ron McKeon

God the Father sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to live among us as the Son of Man, for the sole purpose of once and for all defeating sin and death, the ultimate separation from the presence of God, to all who believe.

Today in our churches we celebrate and commemorate the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on all believers in Jesus Christ our Lord, Savior and Friend.

In the Gospel of John 14:15-16, Jesus promises his disciples that after His ascension into heaven, God the Father will send another advocate, The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God himself to remain with them.

The disciples were filled with the transforming power of the Holy Spirit just before Jesus’ ascension (John 20:22) and in our reading today in Acts 2 the Spirit was poured out on all believers at Pentecost shortly after Jesus’ ascension.

The significance for me today of this account in Acts 2 is that it reminds me that, every week when we all come together to worship in our churches, we have the opportunity to ask the Holy Spirit working through us to grab the attention of those God has brought, those who are on the margins of our faith community and who are in many ways lost to the redemptive power and unconditional love of God.
I need to ask the Holy Spirit, our advocate, comforter, encourager, and counselor to fill my congregation in such a way so that we may be a safe place, where listening people of every kind will indeed hear God’s voice and experience the redemptive and healing power of God’s unfailing love.

Romans 8:23 reminds us that we have all sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God. And Romans 8:22 says, “We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.” (NIV)