Sunday 23 May was Pentecost. This is the time that we remember the first outpouring of the Holy Spirit in fulfilment of prophecy given by Joel and others many years before. It is the church’s birthday and so we celebrated with cake together afterwards and enjoyed the creativity of our brothers and sisters in art, gardening, ( see the flowers brought in especially below) music and hospitality. This outpouring was a validation of the authority and rule of Jesus fulfilling what He said as recorded in the gospels. The Holy Spirit is the life-giver in the most profound sense. The Holy Spirit precedes creation in Genesis 1, hovering over the waters. The Holy Spirit precedes the incarnation of Jesus. And the Holy Spirit worked in power to raise Jesus from death. The Holy Spirit is the one who brings the people of God to new life in fulfilment of Jesus teaching as recorded in John 3 and shared with Nicodemus. The Holy Spirit is the gift giver and it is the indwelling Spirit who bears fruit in the believer’s life. 1 Corinthians 12-14 and Galatians 6. Every believer is born again as the Spirit of God brings life to us. We are new creations 2 Cor 5:17
As we say each service We are the body of Christ
His Spirit is with us.
It was also the first of our ongoing joint services. We are now meeting together at 9 am for the next season and sharing life on a Sunday morning in one gathering. We had a most enjoyable celebration together and look forward to all the Lord will do in us and through us in the months ahead.