Intro:
We know a lot about Peter from the things we watch him do in the gospels. Sometimes he does great things. He lets Jesus use his fishing boat. He announces that Jesus is the Messiah. He walks on water with Jesus. Well, for awhile anyway, until he stops trusting Jesus, which leads to the not so great things we know about him. He denies that he knows Jesus. He parts the high priests servant from his ear. And Jesus even calls him the Devil’s tool.
And then Jesus ascends to heaven. And Peter is left to fulfil the promise Jesus saw in him when he called him a rock. When he gave him the keys to the kingdom.
And that’s where we find him in this story. The Holy Spirit arrives. The people of Jerusalem are amazed and confused. Someone needs to stand up and tell them what’s going on.
It’s time, Peter. It’s your time…
Story One - Waiting
They’re waiting. Just waiting. The followers of Jesus. And they’re not really sure what they’re waiting for.
It’s been a crazy couple of months or so. A rollercoaster ride.
Jesus died. Horribly.
Then he came back to life. Miraculously.
He hung out with them. Compassionately.
Then he rose up into the clouds. Jaw-droppingly.
But before he did, he told them to tell his story to the world. And promised he would send someone to help them do that: The Holy Spirit.
So they’re waiting. Waiting for that someone. But they have no idea how that someone will come or what that will look like.
And then they hear a sound. A sound like a gale force wind, filling the house. But, curiously, there is no wind.
What there is, instead, is fire. It appears out of nowhere. It splits into pieces. And each flaming piece lands, licking and spitting, on a head.
This must be what they have been waiting for.
And when God’s Holy Spirit pours into them, like the sound and the fire have filled the house, they are sure.
Then they open their mouths to respond to what has just happened. And what pours out are words they have never heard before, making sentences in languages they have never learned.
The sound spills out of the house and a crowd gathers.
It’s the Feast of Pentecost - a kind of harvest festival - and Jews from all over the world have come to Jerusalem to celebrate. When they hear the words Jesus’ followers are speaking - words about the amazing things that God has done - they are bewildered and then amazed.
“These are people from up north, in Galilee,” They say. “But we come from every part of the world. How are they able to speak every one of our languages? And what is this all about?”
There are others, though, who have a different explanation.
“Too much wine!” They shout. “They’re drunk!”
So Peter stands up and sets them right.
“God told us this would happen,” he explains. “His prophet Joel said that, one day, every kind of person would be filled with God’s Holy Spirit. That’s what this is. And it is the gift of Jesus - God’s promised Special Someone, his Messiah - who we saw raised from the dead. But who you put to death on a cross!”
The crowd is shocked by this news. Shocked and saddened.
“What can we do about this?” They shout.
“Admit to God that what you have done is wrong,” Peter replies. “Then be baptised. And God will forgive the wrong things you have done and fill you with His Holy Spirit, too!”
And what happens?
Three thousand people are baptised and become followers of Jesus. And a small number of believers in a room in Jerusalem suddenly becomes a huge crowd! And that is just the start.
Outro:
If you had the chance to sit down with Peter at the end of that remarkable day, what questions would you ask him? Personally, I might ask him how he felt just before he stood up in front of that crowd to explain what was going on. But what about you? What would you ask?
And what might you ask the people in that upper room, waiting for Jesus’ promise to arrive? And what might you have asked someone in the crowd?
Finally, what is the most amazing thing you have ever seem God do? Describe it. Talk about what it meant to you.
