This blog is in celebration of Pentecost Sunday, June 5.
Charlene Smalls is a co-pastor at Ripple Church in Allentown, Pennsylvania. She has been married to her husband, Kevin, for 30 years. Charlene is an advocate in her community and lives out her faith. She has an associates degree in arts and religion, and she is a certified biblical counselor, through Christian research and development.
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On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit, as promised by Jesus, descended on the followers who gathered together — in one accord — in Jerusalem.
That day, they were transformed from a body of believers to the first church of Jesus Christ.
People visiting Jerusalem from all over the world could hear the invitation of the gospel in their own language. It was an invitation to come, as well as an invitation to go share the good news. A new narrative of the power of Jesus was written that day. Jesus keeps his promises! The promise of the Holy Spirit had been fulfilled. Language barriers had been broken, and now, all people could share in the gospel. The gift of truth had been loosed into the atmosphere to teach us, empower us, bind us in relationship, equip us for the work of reconciliation, convict us of injustice, guide us into all truth, and help us to live a life more like Jesus.
So if you were to ask me if the power of the Holy Spirit is still relevant and at work in our lives today, I would say “yes,” in spite of ourselves. God is still renewing our minds, convicting our hearts and leading us to repentance. Yes, the Holy Spirit still draws us to God for the work of the kingdom, even when the work seems too hard. God still guides us into all truth, so that our hearts hear and understand the need of all people to be one, as intended. The Holy Spirit enables us to consider the hopes, dreams and conditions of others, even when popular culture dictates that we don’t.
Each Sunday at our church, we light a Christ candle to remind us that Jesus is the light of the world and that God is still among us. That light stood in unison with the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, giving power to the powerless and hope to the hopeless. That power is still at work in us today, guiding us to a timeless God, to do a timeless work. Peace and blessings to all who labor for the glory of God.
The views and opinions expressed in this blog belong to the author and are not intended to represent the views of the MC USA Executive Board or staff.