Pentecost
Pentecost is the festival when Christians celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is one of the most ancient feasts of the Church, celebrated early enough to be mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles (20:16) and St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians (16:8). The avent commemorates the Descent of the Holy ghost upon the Apostles fifty days after the Resurrection of Christ, on the ancient Jewish festival called the "feast of weeks" or Pentecost It is the birth of the church.
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When the day of Pentecost came, the Apostles were all together in one place. After the crucifixion of Jesus his resurrection and ascension, the disciples were left afraid, disillusioned and not sure what to do. The church as we know it was a first born
in response to a promise made by Jesus to his disciples. He promised they would
be filled with the Holy Spirit to give them strength and wisdom to spread the gospel throughout the world and
continue his work (Acts 1:8).
The Apostles were staying in Jerusalem gathered together in a house God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. Suddenly a terrific wind came from heaven and filled the place. The Apostles saw tongues that looked like fire, that separated and came down on each of them. Immediatley the Apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit, causing then to speak in tongues. The languages spoken by the early Christians were intelligible and were heard by thousands of Jewish pilgrims who had come to Jerusalem to celebrate Shavuot. The content of the miraculous messages had to do with God’s mighty works . Many who heard these messages in their own languages were amazed, though others thought the Christians were just drunk . An Apostle named Peter stood and addressed them, saying they were not drunk. It was only nine o'clock in the morning. As he was empowered by the Holy Spirit, he preached boldly to them, explaining about Jesus Christ and Gods plan of Salvation. The crowd was so moved when Peter told them of their part in Jesus' crucifixion that they asked the apostles,"Brothers, what shall we do?" (Acts 2:37, NIV). The right response, Peter told them, was to repent and be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins. He promised that they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. |