There was a praise song we used to sing years ago “Holy Spirit Rain Down.” This Sunday is Pentecost. It is the day we celebrate the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the disciples and the birth of the Christian church. During the early years the church fulfilled its mission to reach people for Christ in powerful ways, leading people to faith by the thousands. Christianity spread rapidly, even during times of persecution and soon thousands of believers became millions.
How did that happen? How was the early church able to reach so many people in such a powerful way? Certainly there was a passion among the early believers like that “first love” we talked about a few weeks ago. And certainly they had powerful preachers like Peter and Paul, who were continuously sharing the gospel. But in truth, the difference maker was the Holy Spirit.
Thank you to all who helped with the Blessing of the Bikes. We had our best year yet and got to pray with dozens of bikers.
It struck me the other day that Peter was a fisherman and Paul was a tentmaker. I'm not sure that prior to their decision to follow Christ either of these men were world-class orators. But they had both received an anointing of the Holy Spirit. The early church was not made up of people of fame or influence. They were common folk like you and I. But they were empowered for the work of the Great Commission by the Spirit of God.
As we emerge from this pandemic and re-establish the work of our church, this is what we need. More than ever we need the power of the Holy Spirit to be poured out on us. This is not a work that we can do effectively in our own power and strength. We need the power of the Holy Spirit to open doors and touch hearts. And so, this week as we prepare to celebrate Pentecost, my prayer is that God would rain down his Holy Spirit over us. That we would experience that same fire of the Spirit that the early church knew. And that under the power of the Holy Spirit we could fulfill our calling to share the gospel in this generation.
I hope that this Sunday, in particular, you will be with us in person or online as we celebrate Pentecost. Together we will pray for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, in our lives and in our church. Holy Spirit rain down!
Love you all,
Pastor Steve
COVID PRECAUTIONS UPDATE: Taking into account recent changes in both CDC recommendations and state guidelines, Rock Church is making the following updates to our Covid policies.
For our Sandown and Plaistow campuses, masks will now be optional in all areas effective immediately.
For our North Shore campus, masks will be optional effective Sunday May 30th.