Pentecost & the Holy Spirit (Acts 2)
· 30.05.2023 · 17:09:42 ··· ··· Tuesday ·· 2 (2)
Knox Church Waterdown Pastor Grant has AI write a sermon on pentecost and the Holy Spirit. The resulting sermon is missing something. It is missing the Holy Spirit, the exact thing about which it is writing! It is not theologically wrong, but God's presence and power are absent. So, who is the Holy Spirit? What does the Holy Spirit do? The Holy Spirit first appears in Genesis 1 at creation, as God's creating breath. At Jesus' baptism the Holy Spirit descends upon Him in the form of a dove, claiming Him and anointing Him for His ministry ahead. Following Jesus' resurrection, He gives the Holy Spirit to His disciples by breathing on them. They receive the Holy Spirit. It is a gift, an invitation into relationship. In Acts 2 Jesus has ascended to heaven. His followers are waiting in an upper room. The Holy Spirit rushes in like a wind and fills each one present, settling on each one as a tongue of fire. They begin to speak in tongues. The crowds gathered in Jerusalem hear the gospel in their own language. Peter explains that this is the fulfillment of an Old Testament prophecy. In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit empowered a few, the Holy Spirit empowered Jesus for His ministry, and now the Holy Spirit empowers us all. The gospel is for everyone! No one person or nation is more privileged than another. The Holy Spirit is the power of God which brings life, claims and calls us together, anoints, sends us out, commissions us, and unites the church in the mission of the gospel.
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