Pastor’s Message – May

Dear Bethlehem Church Family,

 Grace to you and peace from God our heavenly Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Acts 2:1-4

“When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

It feels as though we have just celebrated Resurrection Day, and already the Easter season is drawing to a close. Soon we will celebrate the birthday of the Church, Pentecost. Pentecost marks the day the Church began its public mission. On this day, the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples, empowering them to preach boldly and to speak in foreign languages they had never learned. These were real languages, understood by people from many nations who heard the Gospel proclaimed in their own native tongues.

The gift of tongues was one of the miraculous gifts given to the apostolic Church, an outpouring of the Holy Spirit’s power for witnessing the Gospel to the whole world. God still gives us His Holy Spirit today through His Word and Sacraments. May we, too, be empowered by the Holy Spirit to bear witness to the Gospel in the world in which we live.

God’s blessings,

Pastor Joe Glombicki