Pentecost! “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Joel 2:28 Pentecost! What a shock it must have been for those first disciples. Imagine their surprise when they found themselves filled with power and proclaiming the wondrous and mighty acts of God in languages that people from all around the known world could understand. The name of Jesus boldly proclaimed! The promise that God had made long before...that he would pour out his spirit upon all flesh; on all people, was coming to pass. It's a promise that he continues to fulfill even today. God continues to pour out his spirit with generous abundance. During this season of “Thy Kingdom Come” we have been praying for friends, family and our community to experience new life in Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. Maybe you have already experienced God's spirit in powerful and profound ways in your own life. Maybe you are secretly wishing that Pentecost would happen in your own life...that YOU would be filled with the Holy Spirit. As we celebrate the feast of Pentecost on Sunday, I would invite you to come expecting that God would pour out his Spirit upon us, our friends, and our community. And then pray that we would be emboldened to proclaim his mighty acts in our community and in the world! Blessings, Matthew+
Almighty God, on this day you opened the way of eternal life to every race and nation by the promised gift of your Holy Spirit: Shed abroad this gift throughout the world by the preaching of the Gospel, that it may reach to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. | 
