Preacher to Preacher

In a church that calls herself Wesleyan-Holiness, Pentecost Sunday and the season after should occupy an important place in our preaching. Christmas and Easter are naturally high days in the life of the church, but for us Pentecost should occupy a similar place. Let’s rehearse the story we are responsible to teach our people:

There were three annual feasts in ancient Israel for 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 first fruits of their 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!”

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 Peter picks up in his sermon from 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’” (Acts 2:17-18).

When the Holy Spirit comes, everybody gets to talk about it! And we preachers are especially blessed to give voice to this wondrous good news. May the anointing of the Spirit be upon you as you proclaim it.