Stories From The Wilderness-Week 5

Daily Scripture Readings

Monday          Exodus 23:14-19 

Tuesday         Numbers 28:26-30

Wednesday   Acts 2:1-13

Thursday       Acts 2:14-28

Friday             Acts 2:29-41

Saturday        Joshua 3:9-13

Opening Prayer

Gracious God, help us to always follow the Holy Spirit, who will lead us out of the wilderness.

In Jesus’ name,

AMEN

Reading:

In the time of the New Testament, Jesus promised the disciples that God would give them an awesome gift. He told them to wait in Jerusalem, for “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses” to the whole world (Acts 1:8). To be a witness is to tell the truth of what you have seen, heard, and experienced. To be a witness for Jesus is to share the good news about who he is and what he has done as our Savior.

On the morning of Pentecost, a large group of Jesus’ friends and disciples were praying together in a house in Jerusalem. Suddenly, they heard the sound of a powerful wind that filled the house. They saw what looked like tongues of fire above one another’s heads. They felt themselves filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking of the wonderful acts of God who raised Jesus from the dead!

Many Jewish people from other nations had traveled to Jerusalem for the Pentecost festival. Right away, they heard this good news in their own languages and accents. They were amazed that God gave the group of Jesus’ followers from Galilee this special ability. Peter stood up and told the crowd that God was fulfilling the promise of the Old Testament prophet Joel. In response to Peter’s sermon, thousands of people were baptized, and the church grew daily (Acts 2:1-40). This is why we call Pentecost “the birthday of the church.”

Rosanna Anderson