Pentecost Comfort
Discipleship Questions for Sunday May
27, 2007
Scripture
Readings:
First Reading:
Acts 2:1-11
Psalm: 104
Second Reading: 1Cor.
12:4-13
Gospel: John 20:19-23
Acts 2:1
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all
together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the
blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where
they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be
tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to
speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. 5 Now there were staying in
Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in
bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Are not all these men who are
speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us
hears them in his own native language? 9 Parthians,
Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea
and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia,
Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to
Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our
own tongues!”
Psa. 104:1
Praise the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, you are
very great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty. 2 He wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches
out the heavens like a tent 3 and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters. He
makes the clouds his chariot and rides on the wings of the wind. 4 He makes winds his messengers, flames of fire his
servants. 5 He set the earth on its
foundations; it can never be moved. 6 You covered it with the deep as
with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains. 7 But at your rebuke the waters fled, at the sound of your
thunder they took to flight;
8
they flowed over the mountains, they went down into the valleys, to the place
you assigned for them. 9 You set a boundary they cannot
cross; never again will they cover the earth.
10
He makes springs pour water into the ravines; it flows between the
mountains. 11 They give water to all the
beasts of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst. 12 The birds of the air nest by the waters; they sing among
the branches. 13 He waters the mountains from his
upper chambers; the earth is satisfied by the fruit of his work. 14 He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for man to
cultivate— bringing forth food from the earth:
15
wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread that
sustains his heart. 16 The trees of the LORD are well
watered, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
17
There the birds make their nests; the stork has its home in the pine trees. 18 The high mountains belong to the wild goats; the crags are
a refuge for the coneys. 19 The moon marks off the seasons, and the sun knows when to
go down. 20 You bring darkness,
it becomes night, and all the beasts of the forest prowl. 21 The lions roar for their prey and seek their food from
God. 22 The sun rises, and they steal
away; they return and lie down in their dens.
23
Then man goes out to his work, to his labor until evening. 24 How many are your works, O LORD! In wisdom you made them
all; the earth is full of your creatures.
25
There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number—
living things both large and small. 26 There the ships go to and fro,
and the leviathan, which you formed to frolic there. 27 These all look to you to give them their food at the
proper time. 28 When you give it to them, they
gather it up; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good
things. 29 When you hide your face, they
are terrified; when you take away their breath, they die and return to the
dust. 30 When you send your Spirit, they
are created, and you renew the face of the earth. 31 May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD
rejoice in his works— 32 he who
looks at the earth, and it trembles, who touches the mountains, and they
smoke. 33 I will sing to the LORD all my
life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. 34 May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the LORD. 35 But may sinners vanish from the
earth and the wicked be no more. Praise the LORD, O my
soul. Praise the LORD.
1Cor. 12:4
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same
Spirit. 5 There are different kinds of
service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of
working, but the same God works all of them in all men. 7 Now to each one the
manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit the message of
wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the
same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to
another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds
of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he
gives them to each one, just as he determines. 12
The
body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts
are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one
body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit
to drink.
John 20:19
On the evening of that first day of the week, when
the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus
came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The
disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. 21
Again
Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending
you.” 22 And with that he breathed on
them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
23
If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive
them, they are not forgiven.”
1.
What is the Day of Pentecost all about? Please read the Scripture readings above and
discuss.
2.
Please read the following and discuss: “Pentecost is all about is this – Jesus, in the Person, and Power
and Presence of the Holy Spirit is now Present with us forever!
I think that for us today the key verse in verse 18:
18 I will not leave
you as orphans;
I don’t know about you but that is what the first Day of Pentecost
is all about for me. At the end of all
discussion this sublime reality that Jesus wants for us to always be near Him. For us to never feel as orphans.
He wants to always be close to us – to comfort and counsel
us.
He comes to us in the form of the Comforting and Counseling Holy
Spirit! He is with us to guide and teach
and encourage and correct us and ultimately to Comfort us!”
3.
Please read the following and discuss: You see Pentecost is all about never
being alone again! Now what
does that mean to you and me today?
It means that when any of our fears well up inside of us – we can turn
to our peace-bringing Comforting Holy Spirit and seek and be certain to receive
His Comfort.
It means that when things don’t work
our at our day job we can reach out for and receive our Lord’s comfort.
It means that when things go wrong in any of our
relationships we can know for
certain that the Comforter is right there with us – comforting us!
Think of any situation which is threatening your peace right
now – and invite the Holy Spirit to comfort you – to bring you into His peace!
Now what forms can this comforting take! A better question perhaps is what is in
the “took kit” as it were of the Comforter – that He can use to comfort us?
Stories in the Bible tell us some of the answers to this
question! King David was aided again and
again by the Holy Spirit – He was comforted, He was protected, He was fought
for, He was defended, He was rescued and so on!
St. Paul was guided on all of his missionary journeys! St. Peter was given words! He was released from jail and so on and so
on! The fact is that the Holy Spirit’s
comforting tool kit is unlimited in what He has at His disposal.
4. Please read Isaiah 40 and discuss.