Wind and Fire

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June 8, 2003 - Acts 2:1-13

Open It

  1. That everyday expressions can you say in another language? How did you learn them?

  2. If you could speak another language fluently, which one would you choose? Why?

Explore It

  1. What group of people was gathered together? (2:1)

  2. Where did a violent wind come from? (2:2)

  3. What did the followers of Christ hear and see? (2:2-3)

  4. What was the importance of the wind and fire? (2:2-4)

  5. When the Holy Spirit filled the believers, what did they do? (2:4)

  6. How did the God-fearing Jews visiting Jerusalem react when they heard Christians speaking their languages? (2:6-11)

  7. What was the topic of conversation among the crowds? (2:11)

  8. Besides being amazed, how did the crowd react to the unusual happening they witnessed? (2:12-13)

Get It

  1. If you saw the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, how do you think you would have responded? Why?

  2. What does it mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit?

  3. When has God enabled you to do something that you didn't think you could do?

  4. How could your church benefit from greater sensitivity to the Holy Spirit?

  5. How can we cultivate sensitivity to the Holy Spirit?

Apply It

  1. How can you be more open to seeing, hearing, and feeling the presence of the Holy Spirit in your prayer and Bible reading?

  2. What can you do each day to invite the Holy Spirit to share life with you?

NOTES

Jesus was crucified at Passover time, and he ascended 40 days after his resurrection. The Holy Spirit came 50 days after the resurrection, ten days after the ascension. Jews of many nations gathered in Jerusalem for this festival. Thus Peter's speech (Acts 2:14ff) was given to an international audience, and it resulted in a worldwide conversion of new believers-the first converts to Christianity.

Why tongues of fire? Tongues symbolize speech and the communication of the gospel. Fire symbolizes God's purifying presence, which burns away the undesirable elements of our lives and sets our hearts aflame to ignite the lives of others.

These people literally spoke in other languages-a miraculous attention-getter for the international crowd gathered in town for the feast. All the nationalities represented recognized their own languages being spoken. But more than miraculous speaking drew people's attention; they saw the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. The apostles continued to minister in the power of the Holy Spirit wherever they went.

Christianity is not limited to any race or group of people. Christ offers salvation to all people without regard to nationality. Visitors in Jerusalem were surprised to hear the apostles and other believers speaking in languages other than their own, the languages of other nationalities, but they need not have been. God works all kinds of miracles to spread the gospel, using many languages as he calls all kinds of people to become his followers.

Why are all these places mentioned? This is a list of many lands from which Jews came to the festivals in Jerusalem. These Jews were not living in Palestine because they had been dispersed throughout the world through captivities and persecutions. Very likely, some of the Jews who responded to Peter's message returned to their homelands with God's Good News of salvation. The church at Rome, for example, was probably begun by such Jewish believers.

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