Annual Celebrations
I’m not sure if you watched the Super Bowl. Maybe you tuned in for the commercials. Maybe you tuned in to hear Lauren Daigle perform ‘America the Beautiful.’ Maybe you tuned in to watch the game, because that’s just what we always do. I heard today that it was the most watched Super Bowl of all time with 126M viewers.
While I was watching the game, I was shocked. I was surprised, astonished, and amazed. I’m guessing that not too many people expected the game to go the way it did. Personally, I was stunned by the outcome of the game.
Just think, fans from both teams were filled with great anticipation and excitement, as they celebrated the Super Bowl festivities leading up to the game. They were filled with hope, believing that their team would be successful and be crowned Super Bowl Champions.
But when the game concluded, it left people with mixed emotions and responses. If you were a Chiefs fan, certainly you would be disappointed and devasted that your team had the opportunity to 3-peat, but underperformed on the biggest stage. And if you were an Eagles fan, or a Cooper DeJean fan, you were thrilled. Excited and ecstatic that they knocked off the defending champs.
This reminds me, in some way, of what I addressed in my sermon on Sunday: the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-21). An annual celebration, that Jews participated in as they gathered together from all different locations, to take part in the festivities in Jerusalem.
On this occasion, something unique took place. The Holy Spirit filled the believers, and they began to speak in other languages that they had never learned. This led to mixed responses from the crowd. It led to shock and amazement, curiosity and confusion.
What can we take away from this annual celebration in Acts 2:1-21?
#1 – Be encouraged that the Holy Spirit is given to you by faith in Christ.
If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, God’s Spirit now dwells within you and fills you, so that you might be empowered to bear witness to Jesus.
#2 – Be amazed by the mighty work of God.
There is no middle ground in how we respond to Jesus. We are either for him or against him. Some from the crowd mocked the message of the disciples, while others were amazed and wanted to know more. Don’t be surprised by the different responses that you encounter.
We are to be amazed by God’s love for us in Jesus. That God sent His Son to die on the cross for sinners and rise again on the 3rd day, so that all who trust in Him will be forgiven of their sins and receive eternal life.
#3 – Call upon the name of the Lord and you will be saved.
We are living in the last days. We should feel the urgency of the call to turn to Jesus. This good news is for everyone. It is for anyone who would call upon Jesus to save them. It doesn’t matter your race, class, gender, age, or background. It doesn’t matter what you have done or how many times you have done it. If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
For this week: Read Acts 2:22-40
While I was watching the game, I was shocked. I was surprised, astonished, and amazed. I’m guessing that not too many people expected the game to go the way it did. Personally, I was stunned by the outcome of the game.
Just think, fans from both teams were filled with great anticipation and excitement, as they celebrated the Super Bowl festivities leading up to the game. They were filled with hope, believing that their team would be successful and be crowned Super Bowl Champions.
But when the game concluded, it left people with mixed emotions and responses. If you were a Chiefs fan, certainly you would be disappointed and devasted that your team had the opportunity to 3-peat, but underperformed on the biggest stage. And if you were an Eagles fan, or a Cooper DeJean fan, you were thrilled. Excited and ecstatic that they knocked off the defending champs.
This reminds me, in some way, of what I addressed in my sermon on Sunday: the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-21). An annual celebration, that Jews participated in as they gathered together from all different locations, to take part in the festivities in Jerusalem.
On this occasion, something unique took place. The Holy Spirit filled the believers, and they began to speak in other languages that they had never learned. This led to mixed responses from the crowd. It led to shock and amazement, curiosity and confusion.
What can we take away from this annual celebration in Acts 2:1-21?
#1 – Be encouraged that the Holy Spirit is given to you by faith in Christ.
If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, God’s Spirit now dwells within you and fills you, so that you might be empowered to bear witness to Jesus.
#2 – Be amazed by the mighty work of God.
There is no middle ground in how we respond to Jesus. We are either for him or against him. Some from the crowd mocked the message of the disciples, while others were amazed and wanted to know more. Don’t be surprised by the different responses that you encounter.
We are to be amazed by God’s love for us in Jesus. That God sent His Son to die on the cross for sinners and rise again on the 3rd day, so that all who trust in Him will be forgiven of their sins and receive eternal life.
#3 – Call upon the name of the Lord and you will be saved.
We are living in the last days. We should feel the urgency of the call to turn to Jesus. This good news is for everyone. It is for anyone who would call upon Jesus to save them. It doesn’t matter your race, class, gender, age, or background. It doesn’t matter what you have done or how many times you have done it. If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
For this week: Read Acts 2:22-40
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