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Teaching Text: Acts 2: 1-41
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!” Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”
Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”
Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
“‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
“Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead,freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. David said about him:
“‘I saw the Lord always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest in hope,
because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
you will not let your holy one see decay.
You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence.’
“Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,
“‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet.”’
“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
Themes
Consider these themes and ask your group what else they see in the passage:
Pentecost
Formation
Thoughts and notes you can use for discussion:
How would you describe your experience of the Holy Spirit?
What about the Holy Spirit is confusing for you?
What about the Holy Spirit is intriguing to you?
During the Pentecost season we will look at:
What does the Holy Spirit do?
When God is ministering to us by the Holy Spirit what should we expect?
Exactly what is most needed (This is not always what is most expected)
The Holy Spirit does exactly what is needed to bring the reality of God's life to bear on a person, place, or situation.
Sometimes its gifts, words, power, encouragement, truth, conviction comfort.
The Holy Spirit lifts up and points to Jesus. The Holy Spirit makes the ministry of Jesus visible in a place.
In Acts 2 the Holy Spirit comes as fire and wind
Because they needed to be reminded that that’s just like the temple dedication in Exodus (confirming this is the new temple)
They needed unified language - to reverse the division and scattered nature of human beings
That’s what Jesus does and that’s what the Spirit was doing for these people in this moment
Pentecost
“For a first-century Jew, Pentecost was the fiftieth day after Passover. It was an agricultural festival. It was the day when farmers brought the first sheaf of wheat from the crop, and offered it to God, partly as a sign of gratitude and partly as a prayer that all the rest of the crop, too, would be safely gathered in.” – NT WRIGHT
“Passover was the time when the lambs were sacrificed, and the Israelites were saved from the avenging angel who slew the firstborn of the Egyptians. Off went the Israelites that very night, and passed through the Red Sea into the Sinai desert. Then, 50 days after Passover, they came to Mount Sinai, where Moses received the law. Pentecost, the fiftieth day, isn’t (in other words) just about the ‘first fruits’, the sheaf which says the harvest has begun. It’s about God giving to his redeemed people the way of life by which they must now carry out His purposes.” – NT WRIGHT
Jesus said: “you will receive power”
What do you think the power is that Jesus wants to give us?
We often are led through experience and history to think of the dangers of power or the corruption it can bring…
But what would it mean for us to receive power from God?
“Power is the ability to make something of the world ... Power is simply (and not so simply) the ability to participate in the stuff making, sense making process that is the most distinctive thing that humans do.
Power in the broadest sense of making something of the world, is a universal quality of life from coral reefs to cellists. But only human beings, as far as we can tell, exercise power in the second sense [of not just] make stuff but making sense. It is the unique power of human beings to invest our creations with meaning, to interpret the world rather than just blunder through it. As singular as our human power has become to physically reshape the world into gardens and cities, dammed rivers and mushroom clouds, even more singular is our ability to pass on meaning to the next generation, to shape their horizons of possibility with interpretations of not just what the world is, but what it is for.” – Andy Crouch
We are made in the image of our powerful God to participate in making and making meaning.
“The whole point is that, through the Spirit, some of the creative power of God Himself comes from heaven to earth and does its work there. The aim is not to give people a ‘spirituality’ which will make the things of earth irrelevant. The point is to transform earth with the power of Heaven, starting with those parts of ‘earth’ which consist of the bodies, minds, hearts and lives of the followers of Jesus—as a community” – NT WRIGHT
The Holy Spirit brings exactly what is most needed for expressing the life and kingdom of God.
The Holy Spirit brings the power to have God’s kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven.
Power on Pentecost manifests largely as a power to speak
What is needed in order to make sense of the moment
AND make sense of life and the invitation of union with God.
It also shows up as the power to revel in that union and respond to that message
What does the Holy Spirit say through Peter?
God has always intended to fill our lives
You can have a full share in Jesus’ resurrection
Here is how to have both - How you can get in on both
Repent
Be baptized in the name of Jesus
Receive the gift
The Ministry of the Holy Spirit
Engage our senses in the reality of God’s presence - Acts 2
‘Advocate to help and be with you forever - the Spirit of Truth’ -John 14
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My Name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. - John 14
“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—He will testify about Me. And you also must testify, for you have been with Me from the beginning. - John 15
But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. When He comes, He will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in Me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see Me no longer; and about judgment, because the Prince of this world now stands condemned. - John 16
He will glorify Me because it is from Me that He will receive what He will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is Mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from Me what He will make known to you.” - John 16
Soften and renew our hearts - Ezekiel 36
Bring the prophetic Word of God to His people from all categories of people -Joel 2
Love us as God loves us:
Advocate
Apply God’s love and Gospel
Exalt Jesus
Empower love
Convict when we’ve gone wrong
Gift
Unify
“When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
They repent
They believe
They receive
This is our pattern as well…
Commit to reorder your life around Jesus
Trust His life for forgiveness and freedom
Receive the life the Holy Spirit gives
