“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” – Acts 1:8
This week, Christians throughout the world are celebrating Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was released with fire and wind. It was the fulfillment of the prophet’s promise of a new covenant where God would write the law on hearts and resulted in the reuniting of nations.
In light of this, we are featuring a blog written this week by Father Peter Gyves from A Faith That Does Justice. A Faith That Does Justice is an “interfaith organization based in Boston that raises consciousness about social issues affecting the most vulnerable among us and offers opportunities for people to walk in solidarity with those who our society marginalizes.” You can sign up to directly receive updates from them by completing the simple form at the bottom of the home page of their website.
“Peace be with you … Receive the Holy Spirit.” (John 20:22)
The Church celebrates Pentecost fifty days after Easter to commemorate the empowerment of Jesus’ disciples with the Spirit. It led to their spiritual transformation from a fragile faith in the risen Jesus to peace, joy and the wisdom to proclaim God’s message of forgiveness and salvation to the ends of the earth. Their witness resulted in the birth of the Church.
In the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 2:1-11), Luke describes the descent of the Spirit as a strong driving wind and tongues of fire, an adaptation of Israel’s own Pentecost, the Feast of Weeks, that commemorates both the wheat harvest and Yahweh’s giving of the Torah to Moses on Mt. Sinai. It also bears witness to Israel’s own birth as a covenant people. In John’s gospel (Jn 20:19-23), the disciples encounter the crucified and risen Jesus in fear and behind closed doors. He offers them his peace and shows them his wounds so they might believe he is truly risen. He then empowers them with the Spirit and sends them in mission to be to the world what he has been to them. While they needed time to assimilate what they had experienced and the demand it placed upon them, eventually they offered their lives in Jesus’ name.
Today, the Spirit of Pentecost’s gifts of wisdom and courage remain available to all people of good will so they might witness to God’s offer of forgiveness and salvation to our fractured world. For Christians, that same Spirit calls us to live as Jesus did, incarnating God’s love, compassion and justice on behalf of all God’s people. Let us pray that the Spirit will transform our own fragile faith into one that, like the disciples, engages society by actively witnessing to God’s enduring love for all of creation and deep desire for a reign of peace that is based in justice and extends from the depths of the oceans to the outer reaches of space.
A Pentecost Prayer for Christians in Greater Boston
God, as Christians in Greater Boston, we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Renew our hearts which have grown cold with flames of fire that we might be the church that you desire.
Being Part of Something Greater – Sage’s Story of Finding Faith in Jesus
“It all changed when I felt God. It wasn’t anymore just to be at church to be at church. It was be at church because you wanted to be there, to be around people who talk about and love God… I want to be baptized because it’s being part of a greater thing than just life. It’s filling yourself with love and hope and faith. It’s just wonderful.”
-Sage Kerstetter
Rebekah Kerstetter is one of our UniteBoston Neighborhood Dinner Coordinators in the Medford area. At our neighborhood dinner this past week, she shared about her daughter Sage choosing to be baptized at Highrock Covenant Church this past Easter. Watch the video below to hear about the transformation that happened in Sage’s life as she committed to follow God. Let’s continue to pray for the next generation of youth in our churches and communities to have life-changing encounters with Jesus!
See more stories from HighRock Arlington here.
Pentecostal Tabernacle’s Honduras Benefit Concert
Join us for an evening of music as we celebrate God’s love for the world at our Honduras Benefit Concert! For the past six years, Pentecostal Tabernacle has partnered with World Resources Group (WRG), to send a missions team to Honduras to work with mentors who have devoted their lives to serving the youth in their communities. These trips have given us the opportunity to build relationships with the children, their families, and the dedicated Honduran mentors who serve them. This year, our missions team will depart for Honduras on July 28th, and proceeds from the concert will benefit their trip. Tickets are $10, and you must purchase one to attend this event.
Date: Saturday, May 4th 2019
Location: Pentecostal Tabernacle North Campus – 77 Columbia Street, Cambridge MA 02139
Time: 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Featured Artists: Nicole Schmidt, 7th Degree, Kamva, Caleb McCoy
Tickets: Purchased online at www.ptspice.org
Start off 2019 with Spiritual Reflection and Growth
Leadership Transformations, whose regional office is in Lexington, seeks to help people become more aware of God’s presence and direction as people are formed into the likeness of Jesus.
In their latest newsletter, Sage Paik offers a reflection on the practice of a spiritual examen, which is a great practice to begin your year. The examen has roots in Ignatian Spirituality, and involves taking time to “deliberately notice God and discern his leading in the internal thoughts and external events of our everyday life. This practice instructs us to become aware of God’s presence, review the day with gratitude, pay attention to our emotions, choose one feature of the day and pray from it while we look toward tomorrow.”
Learn more about Leadership Transformations here.
Awakening the Dawn
Simply being in the presence of God and in a place of worship is one of the greatest ways that God brings transformation. This Thursday through Saturday, Christians in Boston are invited to come to the “Tent America” event through Awaken the Dawn.
The event founder described that the goal is “to throw a public, audacious, bold, visible celebration of Jesus’ worth” through 72 hours of prayer, worship, and gospel proclamation in every state capital around the nation.
Click here to learn more about Awaken the Dawn.
The Massachusetts ATD Tent will be on the Boston Common from Thursday, September 27th at 4:00pm to Saturday, September 29th at 6:00pm. The tent will be located near the Park Street T station, adjacent to the Brewster fountain.
UniteBoston’s worship team is leading the worship on Thursday September 27th from 8:00 to 9:00pm. Come and join us to continue the momentum from the UB summer worship night and sing praises over our city!
RSVP to the Facebook event and invite friends!
Check out the recap from the 2017 event below, where they describe people encountering Jesus for the first time, how the atmosphere of Washington DC shifted over the four days of prayer and worship, and a story of God’s power to heal a young woman.
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