Happy Birthday Church
They are unavoidable. We all have them without fail every year. Some love them, others hate them. What are they? Birthdays! That day when we advance another year.
Children love birthdays! They get presents, maybe a party or even a treat as well? When our children were growing up, we did all of the above in various formats.
My favourite birthday memory was in 1982 when I became a teenager. I did not have a party, instead I went to London with my parents to visit Hamleys toy shop on Regent’s Street.
Handheld computer games were fairly new back then, and Nintendo’s ‘Donkey Kong’ was very popular. And that is what I got from Hamleys. It was a fabulous day in London and a great birthday treat!
Last Sunday was the birthday of the church. It’s known as Pentecost Sunday. Pentecost was the day when God the Holy Spirit descended upon the followers of Jesus while they were in Jerusalem. This was after Jesus had been raised back to life and returned to heaven.
Before he left them, he said…
“… you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
I’m not sure what they were expecting when Jesus said this, but on that day, they were transformed. Straight afterwards, Peter, one of the Disciples, spoke to a large crowd in the city explaining what God was doing, and the Bible says that about 3000 people joined them – the church began!
From that day, the life transforming power of Jesus spread through the Disciples. And it continues today! That power is still changing lives, and it seems to be intensifying at the moment!
I am meeting people who know nothing about God wanting to discover Him. I have been praying with people to receive the same Holy Spirit who came on the Disciples at Pentecost. At our church, we are seeing many new people coming to our Sunday gatherings hungry for God and His presence.
There is no greater joy for me than to see people come to know Jesus, to experience God’s love and to be filled with the Holy Spirit. God’s Church is thriving! What are you waiting for, check it out for yourself. Happy Birthday Church!
God bless you :)
Gary Bastin - Hope Community Church leader