Preaching in Pentecost

"Pentecost is what gives the Church a voice!"

There were three annual feasts in ancient Israel to which every Jewish male was required to travel to the Temple in Jerusalem to celebrate: the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Passover), the Feast of Tabernacles (Booths), and the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost).

The Feast of Weeks (Pentecost) took its name from the fact that it occurred seven weeks, or 50 days, after Passover. Each family gathered to offer thanks to God for the just completed grain harvest by giving the firstfruits of its produce to the Temple priests.
Pentecost was a day of celebration--no work was carried out. And everyone was expected to participate--husbands and wives, parents and children, servants, priests, widows, orphans, even visitors and foreigners.

But as customary as Pentecost was, the Pentecost recorded in Acts 2 was far from ordinary. It was to be a celebration like none before or after, because God chose this Pentecost to be the birthday of the Church of Jesus Christ. It was the fulfillment of Jesus' promise to His followers: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8).

The outpouring of the Holy Spirit became the spark that dynamited the Early Church out of the Upper Room and propelled them back into their world. The indwelling Spirit of Christ was the force that launched them over the edge of their fear and thrust them into the streets with the earth-shattering message: "Jesus Christ is Lord!"

God's timing for the launch of the Church could not have been better. Not only were there literally thousands of visitors in Jerusalem, but also this Pentecost followed by 50 days the death of Jesus on the Cross and returned a spiritual harvest: 3,000 people responded to Peter's first sermon, becoming the firstfruits of the Spirit, birthing an international, multilingual Church!

Preaching during the weeks that follow Pentecost offers a rich array of options. While Advent and Lent focus primarily on the life of Jesus, the weeks between Pentecost and Advent focus on the teachings of Jesus. The theme for the season is "the Church," including evangelism, discipleship, holiness, worship, spiritual gifts, and life in the Spirit.
Pentecost is what gives the Church a voice. That's the message that Peter picks up from Joel in his sermon: "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" (Acts 2:17-18)

When the Holy Spirit comes, everybody gets to talk about it!