Happy Birthday, Church!
"And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place" (Acts 2:1 KJV). Pentecost (the word means fifty) was the Harvest feast in the Jewish calendar, and was always celebrated on the [...]
The Purpose of Pentecost
It may come as surprise to some Christians that the main purpose of the Day of Pentecost was not to make speaking in tongues available to believers. The experience was certainly part of the package, as is clearly seen in [...]
Wait! There’s More
In the 40 days between the resurrection and ascension of Christ, there are records of many witnesses to the facts. In our last newsletter I wrote of the necessity of the resurrection and how the early church made it the [...]
The young church in action
To finish our birds-eye tour of the Bible, we need to look at one final book, The Acts of the Apostles, as it is titled in our English Bibles. Actually it is mostly about two apostles: Peter and Paul. Our [...]
The Impact of Pentecost summary
I have been following the impact of the Day of Pentecost on the early days of the new Pentecostal church under the title "Such as I have give I you." I have covered Acts chapters 1-6, the period before the [...]
Ignorant and unlearned men
No, the title is not a slogan from the feminist movement but an important statement in our journey of exploration through Acts chapters 3-5. In chapter 3 Peter and John had healed the lame man in the Name of Jesus, [...]
Two Fellows in One Ship
Acts 2:42 is a summary statement of the first few weeks of the aftermath of Pentecost. "And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers" (KJV). Not only did the new [...]
The Impact of Pentecost
I'm writing this just a week after we celebrated Pentecost Sunday. Acts 2:1-4 tells of the first day of Pentecost for the young church and chapters 2-7 record the immediate aftermath. All Christian churches have no option but to recognize [...]