Observation

Acts 1 is predictable. Jesus exits and the church has a business meeting. All in all it is a dull chapter compared with the next one.

Acts 2 is far more interesting because the Holy Spirit shows up. Instead of a group of leaders deciding what they are going to do, God works through them and then explains later what he is doing. They aren’t playing church. They are the church.  Jesus is taking over and the world pays attention.

Without the Holy Spirit’s power, the local church is a service club. I once belonged to a service organization. Their good deeds emulated many mission programs of local churches. I was disturbed to see how much good they could accomplish without asking for God’s help. It made me wonder how much of what happens in local churches that may have nothing to do with God. How many churches are Acts 1 churches? Jesus has exited and they settle down to business.

I want to be part of an Acts 2 church, where God has more in mind to do than we do. Where power sweeps us up in eternal purposes and we find ourselves in the middle of things we would never otherwise do. This is a church that is so obviously God that no one would think of taking the credit.

Pentecost celebrated the coming of the law. How appropriate that God would pick that day to send the Holy Spirit. Grace overwhelmed the law. That grace was the attractive thing. Pentecost was also a harvest day and it ended with a harvest of souls being baptized. It is easy to read just the first verses of Acts 2, but the chapter must be taken in as a whole. The coming of the Holy Spirit resulted in evangelism. In fact, every other Acts 2 moment in the book of Acts results in people being saved.

Application
I want to be in an Acts 2 church where Jesus throws a party with the Holy Spirit and guests keep on coming.

Prayer
Father, this story was written not as a memory but as a memorial to call us back again and again to that kind of church. Put a curiosity in us to step out of predictable Christianity and let us enter into this picture again. Let me be part of an Acts 2 church or bring one where I go. Amen.