Pentecost - The Birthday of the Church!
Although not often celebrated in families, the Day of Pentecost is often referred to as the church's birthday - and so it's worth thinking about ways that we might celebrate it! In Acts 2, a gathering of disciples is visited by the Holy Spirit - it is a chaotic and exciting scene (it's worth reading the whole passage!) but one of the most important moments for me comes at the end of the chapter in verse 42 to 47:
"Those gathered devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."
This image of the early church, one in which everyone supported the needs of one another, stands in marked contrast to the way that our world is today. The disparity between rich and poor is extreme, so for those of us who are fortunate enough to have resources to share are called on Pentecost (and all days) to share some of what we have.
Encourage your kids to think about birthday gifts that they would typically give to someone, then ask what types of gifts they think the church would like. How would the church use those gifts? Because the Day of Pentecost teaches us that we are the church, brainstorm ways to give one of the gifts that you were talking about to someone else in honor of the church's birthday. You could pay for another family's dinner... buy and donate a variety of food options... volunteer... the possibilities are endless, but whatever you do reminds us of our calling to be the church in the world.
"Those gathered devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."
This image of the early church, one in which everyone supported the needs of one another, stands in marked contrast to the way that our world is today. The disparity between rich and poor is extreme, so for those of us who are fortunate enough to have resources to share are called on Pentecost (and all days) to share some of what we have.
Encourage your kids to think about birthday gifts that they would typically give to someone, then ask what types of gifts they think the church would like. How would the church use those gifts? Because the Day of Pentecost teaches us that we are the church, brainstorm ways to give one of the gifts that you were talking about to someone else in honor of the church's birthday. You could pay for another family's dinner... buy and donate a variety of food options... volunteer... the possibilities are endless, but whatever you do reminds us of our calling to be the church in the world.