Pentecost: Now & Today
Rev. Jake Medcalf opened the “Holy Spirit” series with “Pentecost: Now & Today,” recounting Acts 2 as the Spirit’s rushing wind and multilingual witness drew a crowd and Peter, an uneducated Galilean, explained that they were not drunk but witnessing the fulfillment of Joel’s promise through Jesus’ death, resurrection, and the gift of the Spirit. He focused on the phrase “cut to the heart,” describing conviction as the Spirit’s surgical work that wounds in order to heal, calling listeners not to deflect or run but to lean in and ask, “What should we do?” He highlighted Peter’s answer—repent and be baptized, defining repentance as a mind change that reshapes one’s whole lifestyle, and baptism as both a decisive public confession and an ongoing daily dying to the old life and rising to the new. He emphasized the Spirit as a gift for all generations and all who are far off, urged believers to “uncork” the Spirit by living repentantly, and invited the congregation to come forward for prayer for physical, emotional, and spiritual healing and renewed empowerment.