Pentecost, God Within and Among Us – Acts 2:1-12

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Pentecost, God Within and Among Us – Acts 2:1-12

Pentecost is about seeing God’s presence in our lives. As you start each day, ask God to help you notice the Holy Spirit in and around you. If it helps, ask God to help you see the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). And when you think you’ve seen, heard, or felt God, tell someone so we can celebrate with you!

By recognizing Pentecost-type moments in our lives, we open ourselves to experiencing a deeper personal relationship with God. And the fruit of that will be more love, more joy, and more peace in ourselves, in our homes, and in our community.

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Don’t Just Stand There, Do Something! – Acts 1:1-14

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Don’t Just Stand There, Do Something! – Acts 1:1-14

Each of us has our own experience of God’s presence in our lives. Each of us has our own story to tell. Our faith journeys are as unique as we are.

Like the gospel writers, when we share our faith stories, we give other people the opportunity to say, “Hey, I had the same experience!” OR people might say, “Wow, I never noticed God in that way; you’ve given me a new way to look for or understand God in my life.” OR even, “I’ve never thought about my faith like that; I’ll have to ponder that.”

Any of those are great. This is how we, as a community of believers, grow our faith and continue on our faith journeys rather than getting complacent or stuck and staring up at the clouds saying halfheartedly, “OK God, what next?”

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Virtue #1: Flourishing Churches Believe in Miracles and Act Accordingly – Exodus 14:21-31, Acts 2:42-43

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Virtue #1: Flourishing Churches Believe in Miracles and Act Accordingly – Exodus 14:21-31, Acts 2:42-43

Virtue # 1 is a belief in miracles. Flourishing churches believe that God has worked in the life of their church in miraculous ways, they celebrate how God is currently working in miraculous ways, and they act in a way that expects God will continue blessing and guiding them in ways they cannot anticipate or explain.

“Acting as if we believe that the Holy Spirit is up to something in our midst is the single greatest game-changing decision a church leadership team [or a Christian] can make.” (Eight Virtues, Kindle 214).

Let’s name our wants, our concerns, our joys and burdens. Let’s discuss these. Let’s pray about these so that God can lead us and give us wisdom that may cause us to adjust our wants and our prayers. And when God answers our prayers, let us act in faith, receive the miraculous blessings God sends us, and celebrate God moving among and through us.

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