Winds of Change

SERMON TITLE:                   “The Winds of Change”   (Pentecost Series #2)
SERMON TEXT:    Acts 2:1-4, 14-18, 22-24, 37-38
PREACHER:           Rev. Kim James
OCCASION:           June 7, 2020, at First UMC
 
 
INTRODUCTION
 
                Did you notice how powerful the wind was yesterday?  Around 7 a.m., my husband Steve and I were sitting at our dining room table eating breakfast and reading the newspaper when all of a sudden, the wind just started blowing.  We had our dining room window open, and the loud sound and strong gusts blew into our house.  A half hour later, as I drove to the church, I could see branches and overturned trash cans in the streets.  A giant piece of plastic lifted off a construction site and was sailing through the air.  Empty lots gave up their dirt to the wind.
                Maybe that’s a little bit what it was like on the day of Pentecost some 2000 years ago.  Jews from all around the Mediterranean region had gathered in the city of Jerusalem for an annual Jewish festival.  But on this particular Pentecost day, something amazing happened.  The followers of Jesus saw fire resting upon each other.  And they heard and felt the sound of a rushing, violent wind that filled the house where they were sitting.  In and through these events, the Holy Spirit came with transformational power.
                Last Sunday was the actual day of Pentecost on our Christian calendar, but what happened in Acts 2 was so big, so impactful, that we aren’t going to limit our thoughts about Pentecost to just one day.  All this month of June, we’re going to continue talking about what happened back then and what the Holy Spirit can be doing through us today.  Last Sunday, we zeroed in on the fire of Pentecost.  Today, I want to focus on the winds of change.

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