Today is Pentecost, the day the Christian church celebrates as its birthday. Pentecost was a holiday or feast day celebrated by the Jews, and it was celebrated fifty days after the Passover.  Because of what happened on that particular Pentecost, the church has adopted Pentecost as its own and marks the beginning of the Christian church at Pentecost.

          The book of Acts tells the events of the Early Church, from its beginning.  In chapter one, Jesus ascended into heaven as the disciples watched.  Chapter two is the story of what happened on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was given to the church.  The birth of the church is a wonderful, exciting story, and here is how it happened.

 ¹When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. ²Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

 ⁵Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. ⁶When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. ⁷Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? ⁸Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? ⁹Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome ¹¹(both Jews and converts to Judaism) Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!" ¹²Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?"

 ¹³Some, however, made fun of them and said, "They have had too much wine."

          Now, let’s stop for a minute and think about Peter.  Peter was the disciple who always was the first one to say whatever popped into his head.  Sometimes it was good, like the time Jesus asked the disciples who people were saying he was, and then asked, more pointedly, “Who do you say I am?”  It was Peter who answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”(Mt. 16:13-16)  Peter was the one who walked on water.  Peter was also the one who denied Jesus three times.  And Peter, when he was restored to Jesus, was the one to whom Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.”(John 21).  Peter, whose name means “rock,” was also the one to whom Jesus said, “I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”(Matthew 16:18)

          Now, after Jesus had returned to heaven, we see Peter, newly filled with the Holy Spirit, stand up and preach.  I think years of solemnly reading the Bible have kept us from seeing what might have been a rather funny opening line.  I imagine that Peter, who was a fisherman, was kind of a big guy and kind of a character.  The accusation has been made that the disciples, who are experiencing the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, are just drunk.

 ¹⁴Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. ¹⁵These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! ¹⁶No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
 ¹⁷" 'In the last days, God says,
      I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
   Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
      your young men will see visions,
      your old men will dream dreams.
 ¹⁸Even on my servants, both men and women,
      I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
      and they will prophesy.
 ¹⁹I will show wonders in the heaven above
      and signs on the earth below,
      blood and fire and billows of smoke.
 ²⁰The sun will be turned to darkness
      and the moon to blood
      before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
 ²¹And everyone who calls
      on the name of the Lord will be saved.'

 ²²"Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. ²³This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. ²⁴But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. ²⁵David said about him:
   " 'I saw the Lord always before me.
      Because he is at my right hand,
      I will not be shaken.
 ²⁶Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
      my body also will live in hope,
 ²⁷because you will not abandon me to the grave,
      nor will you let your Holy One see decay.
 ²⁸You have made known to me the paths of life;
      you will fill me with joy in your presence.'

 ²⁹"Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. ³⁰But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. ³¹Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay. ³²God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. ³³Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. ³⁴For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,
   " 'The Lord said to my Lord:
      "Sit at my right hand
 ³⁵until I make your enemies
      a footstool for your feet." '

 ³⁶"Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."

 ³⁷When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"

 ³⁸Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call."

 ⁴⁰With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation." ⁴¹Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

 ⁴²They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ⁴³Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. ⁴⁴All the believers were together and had everything in common. ⁴⁵Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. ⁴⁶Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ⁴⁷praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

          It was an exciting time for Jesus’ followers.  They had been so sad to see Jesus leave them.  But now, they were experiencing the presence of the risen Lord through the gift of the Holy Spirit.  There was a time of great excitement and growth.  Can you imagine having three thousand people declare their faith in Jesus and be baptized in one day?

          That’s what happened when the Christian church was born. The people listened to the apostles teaching about Jesus.  They prayed together.  They ate together.  They even sold their possessions so they could give to those who were needy.  They praised God for what was happening in them and through them.

          When we read about the day of Pentecost and the way the church took off with such joy and excitement, we often have mixed feelings.  On the one hand, we find it wonderful to read about this great thing that happened.  But on the other hand, we look at the church today and wonder why we are so different.

          We do see aspects of their experience in our churches, but our experience of the church seems so much less dramatic than what we read about in Acts.

          How do we deal with our present reality in light of the biblical account?

          First, we celebrate what happened at Pentecost.  It was a wonderful event.  The outpouring of the Holy Spirit was real and it was exciting.  Among the believers, there was devotion, unity, and explosive growth.  We can celebrate that event with joy at what God did in that time and in that place.  It was an exciting time.

          Second, we can look at what happened there and see it as a model of the kinds of things God continues to do in the church today.  When we see the kinds of things that were there at the beginning in our church, we also can celebrate.  So we continue to celebrate when we see the signs of God’s presence in the church:  devotion to teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread together, and prayer.  These are good signs.

          The thing that can get us into trouble is trying to create the signs of God’s presence rather than seeking God’s presence.  Like the believers at the birth of the church, we also have with us the risen Lord Jesus in the church today.  Jesus said, “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in their midst.”  As on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit is here with us.  The Holy Spirit speaks to our hearts, assuring us of the reality of Jesus’ presence.  He is truly here among us.  He is the triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  And he is here in our midst today.

          So when we look at the events of Pentecost, we can take it as inspiration.  Not as something we should try to repeat.  Rather as a witness of what can happen when people truly invite and experience the presence of God into every aspect of their lives.

          The risen Jesus is here with us today.  When we invite Jesus into our lives, the Holy Spirit fills us with his presence.  God wants to do great things in our lives and in our church.  We only need to open ourselves to the reality of his presence here with us and invite him to truly be God in this time and this place.

          We begin exactly the same way Peter told his listeners to begin.  Peter said, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call."

          To repent is to simply make a conscious decision to turn from running your own life to giving you life to Jesus.  If you’ve never turned your life over to Jesus, that’s the place to start.  When you make that decision, you need to be baptized as a visible sign and witness of what has happened in your heart.  Then, as Peter told his audience, you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, living within you.  If you have never received Jesus, I invite you to consider inviting him into your life today.

          We who have received Jesus and been baptized have the Holy Spirit within us just as surely as the first Christians did.  Often, we forget, and we go our own way.  It’s like putting a precious gift that we have received away in a closet and forgetting all about it.  Take that precious gift of your salvation out of the closet and dust it off and invite the Holy Spirit to fill your life to overflowing.

          As we come forward to receive the Lord’s Supper, I invite you to remember that Jesus is here with us.  He wants to do marvelous things in your life—and in this church—just as he did in the lives of those early Christians and in the early church.  Open yourself to the leading of the Holy Spirit.