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Last updated 5.25pm Sunday 24 May 2026 (BAF).
Sunday 24 May 2026
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Sermon Notes
Pentecost 2026 – Sunday 24th May
After his resurrection over a period of 40 days Jesus:
· ‘Presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs’ (Acts 1:3) - see 1 Cor. 15:3-7
· Spoke with his disciples ‘about the kingdom of God’ (Acts 1:3) – the focus of Jesus’ earthly ministry: ‘From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”’ (Matthew 4:17)
After 40 days, just outside Bethany (Luke 24:50) Jesus:
· Instructed his disciples to remain in Jerusalem and wait ‘for the promise of the Father,’ for, ‘you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit not many days from now’ (Acts 1:4-5)
· Gave a final command and promise: ‘you will receive power (dunamis – dynamite) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses (Martus – martyr) in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth’ (Acts 1:8)
· ‘was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight’ (Acts 1:9) – that is he ascended to heaven to sit at the right hand of God, where he still sits until he comes again.
Ten days later, ‘When the day of Pentecost (Jewish harvest festival) arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues (earthly languages) as the Spirit gave them utterance’ (Acts 2:1-4):
· The disciples were doing as Jesus had told them, waiting in Jerusalem for 10 days!
· As Jesus had promised they were baptised in the Holy Spirit
· The first thing the disciples did was that they, ‘began to speak in other tongues,’ this fulfilled Jesus’ what Jesus said, ‘you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you’ (Acts 1:8) – this was power to fulfil the call to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. This is exactly what happens next.
In Jerusalem:
· The city is full for the Pentecost celebrations: ‘Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven … Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians’(5-11a) – people from all over the world!
· The people that witnessed the disciples, ‘were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language’ and they said to one another, ‘we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God’ (Acts 2:6b, 11b)
· Peter preaches a sermon, at the end of which, ‘when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’ (Acts 2:37-38)
From these events there are two important truths to acknowledge:
1. ‘The apostle’s mission of spreading the gospel was the major reason the Holy Spirit empowered them’ (John MacArthur)
2. Salvation is always God’s sovereign work.
Starting with the events of Pentecost we can observe an important pattern in the Book of Acts and beyond it:
Holy Spirit empowered preaching of the gospel:
· Luke records 14 sermons in Acts;
· in total there are 32 speeches making up one-quarter of the text
The Lord adding to the church, as the gospel is preached and shared,
· the Holy Spirit convicts of sin
· sinners are ‘cut to the heart’ and repent of their sin
· sin is forgiven and the believer is baptised in water and the Spirit
· Luke frequently provides updates on the growing numbers of believers – Acts 2:41; 2:47; 4:4; 5:14; 6:1; 6:7; 9:31; 12:24; 13:48; 16:5; & 19:20
The dynamic nature of the gospel and the church – Jesus’ command in Acts 1:8; ‘you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth’ (Acts 1:8) is fulfilled:
· At Pentecost – to people ‘from every nation under the sun’
· In what Luke records in the Book of Acts – Jerusalem (1:9-8:3); Judea and Samaria (8:4-12:25); the ends of the earth (12:1-28:3) – including plenty of costly witness, Stephen (Acts 7:54-60); James (the brother of John, Acts 12:2)
The pattern has continued throughout the history of the church and does so still today!
Celebrating Pentecost is important as it reminds us:
· Of the Christ-given command to his church
· That witnessing to Jesus (the gospel) is the primary work of the Holy Spirit in the life of every believer
· That witnessing to Jesus (the gospel) is done whatever the cost!
Tuesday 12 May 2026
Jim Harries - Mid-May News
In Jim's latest news he outlines his plans to return to Kima International School of Theology (KIST - now Treliss International Training College -titc.co.ke). Also, Jim plans to come to the UK next month and to South Africa in July.
Sunday 12 April 2026
The Marriage of Tom Ibbott and Poppy McCarthy
Yesterday, Saturday 11 April 2026 1pm
