The day of Pentecost

WHAT IS PENTECOST?

Pentecost is the great festival that marks the birth of the Christian church by the power of the Holy Spirit. Pentecost means "fiftieth day" and is celebrated fifty days after Easter.

WHAT HAPPENED ON PENTECOST?

Ten days after Jesus ascended into heaven, the twelve apostles, Jesus' mother and family, and many other of His disciples gathered together in Jerusalem for the Jewish harvest festival that was celebrated on the fiftieth day of Passover. While they were indoors praying, a sound like that of a rushing wind filled the house and tongues of fire descended and rested over each of their heads. This was the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on human flesh promised by God through the prophet Joel (Joel 2:28-29). The disciples were suddenly empowered to proclaim the gospel of the risen Christ. They went out into the streets of Jerusalem and began preaching to the crowds gathered for the festival. Not only did the disciples preach with boldness and vigor, but by a miracle of the Holy Spirit they spoke in the native languages of the people present, many who had come from all corners of the Roman Empire. This created a sensation. The apostle Peter seized the moment and addressed the crowd, preaching to them about Jesus' death and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins. The result was that about three thousand converts were baptized that day. (You can read the Biblical account of Pentecost in Acts 2:1-41). ~ http://www.stpaulskingsville.org/pentecost.htm

Yesterday I received an email from some of our most loyal friends with an attachment regarding Pentecost which you can read here ~ Wind and Fire: The Double Portion of Pentecost

I really appreciate them reminding me of such a moment in history, the day when the Holy Spirit came to Earth as promised by Jesus the Christ in the gospel of John 14:15-17; John 16:7-11. It has really never occurred to me that as a Christian we celebrate the coming of the Saviour, the death and Resurrection of the Saviour but have forgotten to celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit. We are already planning our celebration feast for this Sunday May 31st, be sure to drop back to hear what we did.