The sermon explores the significance of Pentecost as the birth of the church and emphasizes the church's mission to proclaim the gospel to the ends of the earth.
Birthdays are a big deal. And, some birthdays are a bigger deal than others. Like first birthdays for instance… That’s a milestone no one wants to miss. And yet for some reason, many of us just seem to blow right past the actual birth of the church. Sure, we all know about the birth of Jesus at Christmas, and we’re all pretty familiar with His resurrection at Easter... But how many of us know that the church itself was birthed at Pentecost?
The story begins in the first chapter of the Book of Acts. Here we see the disciples gathered together, minus Judas of course, and Jesus is with them giving some final instructions. He tells them to wait for power from on high to come to them and that they will be baptized by the Holy Spirit. Then, He also tells them that because of this, they will be His witnesses and testify about Him to the very ends of the earth. Then He ascends out of their sight.
After Jesus ascends, the disciples are caught staring up into the heavens by an angel who essentially tells them to get going. They all head back to Jerusalem and around 120 of them are gathered together. At this time, Peter leads the group to replace Judas, and Matthias is chosen as the twelfth apostle.
All of this is the backdrop for what is about to happen next…which is an absolute one of a kind event in human history that forever changed the world. This event is the birth of the church, which we recognize annually in the celebration of Pentecost.
But how many of us know that the church itself was birthed at Pentecost?
First and foremost, we see at the beginning of Acts chapter 2 that the church was created by God.
As I said before, the church being born is a big deal. The formation of the church was on God’s mind from the very beginning of time. In Matthew 16:18, Jesus first talks about the church and He says, “not even the gates of hell will prevail against it.” He says this before His death and resurrection, meaning He already knew what the ultimate plan was.
Starting a church wasn’t something the apostles were mapping out and planning ... View this full sermon with PRO Premium
Sermon Central