Charles Town Presbyterian Church

This Sunday we will celebrate this special day in the life of the Church. Pentecost is typically thought of as the birthday of the Church. Acts 2 recounts how the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, came upon Jesus’ disciples while they were gathered in Jerusalem, waiting for such a move of the Spirit. Jesus told them to wait for the Spirit, and the Spirit came.

Pentecost is not new to the New Testament. Neither is the Holy Spirit. The feast of Pentecost is actually given to the Jewish people in Exodus 34, and was known as one of the migratory feasts – In the case of Pentecost, Jewish males were required to come to Jerusalem to celebrate the wheat harvest. It occurred fifty days after Passover.

The powerful presence of the Holy Spirit is not unique to the New Testament, either. One of my first seminary classes was a very difficult Old Testament course, the final project for which was a paper explaining the appearance of the word ruach (spirit, breath), as a manifestation of God. If memory serves, there are nearly 150 appearances of the Spirit in connection with God’s work. Through the Spirit, God’s servants in the Old Testament perform miracles, give testimony, provide prophecy and even change natural events, like weather! Sounds familiar, right?

When the Holy Spirit comes on Christ’s disciples and enables them to speak in other languages, people celebrating Passover from all over the known world hear the gospel in their language. Peter, the disciple most likely to say the wrong thing, gives a powerful sermon. And the net result is that thousands come to faith in Christ and are saved!

As we prepare to celebrate Passover, let us pray that God will unleash his Spirit and spark revival among us, and that God would so equip us to share his gospel!

Blessings,

Pastor John

REMINDER

Our summer schedule changes begin on Sunday, June 5

9:00 – Fellowship hour begins

9:15 – Sunday School begins

10:15 – Worship

Dear Friends,

A few weeks ago, I reviewed Nancy Jo Sales’ American Girls: Social Media and the Secret Lives of Teenagers. I was not yet finished the book when I wrote that review. I was so captivated by the content of her reporting, I felt I needed to make people aware of this book. In the wake of this powerful work, I am left wondering how to respond. One of the conclusions the book makes is that teenagers are not learning how to share intimately, learning about what people like and dislike, who they are. This lack of relational bonding is due to the fact that so often, kids are glued to a screen of some kind – a phone, a tablet, a gaming device, a computer.

These are wonderful tools. They help us stay in touch, to work, to play and they entertain us. But do they need to be on all the time? What would happen if we stopped letting these devices control us, and we started being in charge?

Some of us are threatened by those questions. Some of us are addicted to our devices, and the idea of ignoring them, even for a little while, is horrifying. I ‘d like to offer these suggestions for how to start changing social media habits:

• ONE meal each day that is “no cell phone zone.” Put the phones in a box or in a another room for one meal each day so you can talk to each other.
• ONE night each week with no phones, screens, or electronic devices for a couple hours. Go one a date with your spouse, have a family game night – do something that allows you to talk with your family.
• ONE day each month where you and your spouse/family go do something outside the house that does not involve electronics for at least half the day.

If you have adolescents in your house, they will fight you on this. Do it anyway. Don’t cave! Life is too short to spend it digitally. Engage, and really live!