It doesn’t seem two minutes ago that I was writing my Easter letter and now its Pentecost! For me Pentecost is one the most important events in the Church calendar and yet it seems to pass by without too much fuss!
It certainly didn’t pass by those first disciples without too much fuss – indeed it was a truly life changing event, an event that changed the world as we know it and continues to do so today. (If you haven’t read Acts Chapter 2, now is the time to read it!) It was the birth of the church, the gift which Jesus himself promised, his Spirit which brought life to the disciples, which transformed them from a bunch of terrified men cowering in a hidden room, to a small group that would go out and fulfil Jesus’ great commission to ‘Go and make disciples!’
At Pentecost we remember the coming of the Holy Spirit, but it’s not just about ‘remembering’, it’s much more than that – it’s about receiving! You see, the same gift is still available for you and me today! In fact, it’s only when we receive the Holy Spirit in our lives that we become ‘Born Again’ Christians and the amazing thing is we only need to ask for God to come into our lives and then allow him to transform us from the inside out as we live for him. This isn’t a once in a lifetime thing, we need to be filled daily by the Holy Spirit and this is a simple prayer that I ask each morning. I wonder have you asked the Lord to fill you with his Spirit?
Over the next few weeks, we will be starting a new preaching series entitled ‘The Fruits of the Spirit’ during this nine week series we will be exploring the work of the Holy Spirit and his transforming presence in our lives. Can I encourage you to be open to what God might want to say to you through his Holy Spirit and then to be willing to act upon it. If we look back over the years, the Christian message has been proclaimed by men and women who were first spirit filled and then acted upon God’s calling in their lives. I wonder what might God be calling you to do for him?
As part of our Pentecost celebrations, we will be hosting a shared lunch after our 11am service on the 15th May. This will be to support the work of Christian Aid, a wonderful Christian Charity which since 1945 has been carrying out God’s call ‘to love thy neighbour’. Aided over 70 years by thousands of Christians filled by God’s spirit who are passionate that God can and does change lives and situations. Come and be a part of this event. All we ask is that you bring a plate of food to share, be it savoury or sweet, and then donate what you would normally spend on Sunday lunch to Christian Aid.
This is just one of many social events that we have lined up in the coming months. The list of socials can be found on this website, under the ‘Get involved’ tab. The purpose of these events is to bring us together as God’s family, to get to know one another through shared fellowship and to have plenty of fun along the way – God wants us to enjoy life!!!! Have a look at the list and put the dates in your diary.