The Season of Pentecost
Pentecostide 2023
Dates: Pentecostide (or Ordinary Time) lasts from the Day of Pentecost (May 28th) until the First Sunday of Advent (December 3rd). At Grace Mosaic, we spend the first 14 weeks (our Summer months) of that period celebrating the theme of Pentecost before moving on to the themes of Ordinary Time in the Fall.
Color: Red
Icon: Our Pentecost seasonal icon envelops the two most common and historic images of Pentecost: flame and dove. Masterfully designed by Atlas Minor Design Studio.
A Portrait of the Season
“The coming of the Holy Spirit was a public declaration that the kingdom of God had come. God would fill his people with his Spirit for the purpose of kingdom mission—to reverse the tragic effects of Babel. The expression of unity in humanity would be for the praise and glory of God, not for the establishment of people’s own kingdom in rebellion against his rule.
We are truly stamped from the beginning for unity and union, for wholeness and shalom, for beauty. God himself is committed to knitting the human race back together in Jesus Christ. This is why, in spite of the inherent instability of the pursuit, in spite of the frustrating feeling of running hard and getting nowhere, we still press on toward the vision.”
Irwyn Ince, The Beautiful Community
But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Titus 3:4-7
Lesslie Newbigin, the creative and courageous missionary theologian of the twentieth century, once wrote that “there are three great festivals in the Christian year, three occasions when we are invited to celebrate the great events of our salvation. They are Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost. . . . But we all know very well that it is only the first two of these festivals which are celebrated with real joy and enthusiasm in our churches. Christmas and Easter are great occasions when even the most careless Christian feels an obligation to come to church, and when there is joy and happiness in every Christian home. But the feast of Pentecost passes almost unnoticed. The outside observer of our churches would surely conclude that while it means a great deal to us that Jesus was born for us and died and rose again, the coming of the Spirit means very little or nothing.”
Although Newbigin’s observations are limited to his particular context and do not hold true across all streams of the Christian faith, they provide the opportunity for reflection for us who receive his words today. What do our lives, both communally and personally, say about the coming of the Holy Spirit?
The truth of Pentecost that ought to invoke our adoration, reverence, and profound celebration is that there is no church without the Holy Spirit. In fact, what would we be left without the Spirit? The Spirit hovered over the waters at creation, bringing the heavens and earth to form. The Spirit flowed through the tongues and pens of prophets and scribes, breathing out the divine word. Mary conceived the Messiah through the power of the Spirit. The Spirit descended upon Jesus at his baptism and empowered him for ministry, leading him to the desert, the garden, and the cross. Jesus was “declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead” (Rom. 1:4). It was that same Spirit who descended upon that nascent community of women and men living in the wake of the cross, empty tomb, and ascension, breathing life into a new creation, the Body of Christ.
And like Adam of old, this church, the body of Christ, was given its life-breath from God the Spirit. It was this Spirit that filled the church with fruit, gifts, power, prayer, and love. It is into this one Spirit that all have been baptized into one body, and all were made to drink of this one Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13). This Spirit is the one who again turns formless into form, binding together that which had been torn long ago, unifying the scattered and broken into a beautiful mosaic of faith.
It is this mosaic that we seek to piece together and display in our community of faith.
Veni, Creator Spiritus!
Come, Creator Spirit!
-Written by Rev. Joel Littlepage co-director of the Daily Prayer Project. Adapting and updated from the introduction from the 2022 Pentecost Living Prayer Periodical of the Daily Prayer Project, a publication of Grace Mosaic.
““The coming of the Holy Spirit was a public declaration that the kingdom of God had come. ”
Resources for the Season
PENTECOST LIVING PRAYER PERIODICAL
The Daily Prayer Project is a publication ministry of Grace Mosaic that supplies a holistic resource for spiritual formation to thousands across North America and the globe. You can access the Advent Living Prayer Periodical at the members-only section of the website, outside the sanctuary on Sunday mornings, or purchase at The Daily Prayer Project.
GRACE MOSAIC FORMATION RESOURCES
Practices for the Season
PRAYER
Use the season of Pentecost as a time to renew and reimagine rhythms of prayer in your life and in the life of your household. Consider joining the weekly Midweek Prayer Call with the community of Grace Mosaic. Email us at prayer@gracemosaic.org for the link or more information!
FELLOWSHIP
The story of Pentecost is one of culmination where those who were previously fractured by ethnicity, language, and a host of other divisions were united again through the power of the Holy Spirit. Pentecost gives us hope and endurance to seek that unity continuously till Jesus returns. Consider the following practices to help aid in the pursuit of beautiful community:
Join a community group or start a group and read a book together on unity and racial reconciliation. It can be difficult to generate conversations around reconciliation, so having a text in common helps spark and facilitate such discussions. The Beautiful Community is an excellent place to begin.
Simplify your calendar and schedules to make margin for community. When our days, weeks, and months are filled to the brim, we can go years without making significant progress toward fostering healthy community. Where can you make space to invite others into your home? Could you start a weekly or monthly gathering at a local spot or park? Hospitality and community always come together, but hospitality can happen anywhere.
Pray together when gathering in community. Unity demands difficult requirements for each of us, regardless of our own ethnic background. Renewal and reconciliation presuppose confession, repentance, and forgiveness, and without prayer, each of those evade us. Make your requests known to God together and pray for unity in diversity to be true of your community as it is of our Triune God.
CULTURAL AWARENESS
Leaning into the reality of Pentecost-al community means moving further into a deep recognition of human culture, both our own and others. Consider the following practices:
Take the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI), offered by staff members of Grace Mosaic. The IDI is a helpful, valid, and objective tool that allows us to see what strategies we are using to navigate cultural commonalities and differences. After years of laboring in Cross-Cultural ministry, our church staff believes strongly that this is one of the most helpful tools that we’ve ever found to build cross-cultural life and love.
Read Christians and Cultural Difference by David I Smith and Pennylyn Dykstra-Pruim.
GET A SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR
A spiritual director is an individual who is specially trained and equipped to help you discern the question “What is the Spirit doing in my life?” Pastors are an important part of answering that question, of course, but the tradition of spiritual direction offers a specific type of companionship that aims to provide space for listening together, noticing God's voice and direction. Spiritual Direction seeks to tune one's attention to God rather than focusing on a particular problem that needs to be fixed or behavior that needs to be modified. Ultimately, Spiritual Direction can help you enjoy communion with God and to discern the consequences of that communion in your ordinary, everyday life. Read more about spiritual direction here. Interested in finding a spiritual director? We recommend starting with the roster of directors at Coracle.
ESTABLISH AND NURTURE RITUALS
Keeping time through formative rituals and practices has always been at the life of the people of God. Consider establishing meaningful rituals and traditions in the life of your home. Start times of household worship using passages or prayers from the Daily Prayer Project, establish a day where you serve other people, plan annual outings, etc. Use your imagination.
“The Holy Spirit is our vital connection to Jesus and the Father. The Helper has been sent to cultivate our life in the soil of sacred love that has always existed between the Father and the Son. As the Spirit roots our life within that love, we reciprocate that love and bear the beautiful fruit that feeds our hungry souls and blesses our hungry world.”
Music For The Season
Other Sermons, Articles, and Videos
Watch: "Holy Spirit" from the Bible Project
In this video, the Bible Project explores the original meaning of the biblical concept of “spirit” and what it means that God’s Spirit is personally present in all of creation. Ultimately, the Holy Spirit was revealed through Jesus and sent out into the lives of his followers to bring about the new creation.
Watch: “Glorifying God in a Diverse World: Next Steps in the Journey” from Sandra Maria Van Opstal
Watch this amazing plenary address and be inspired towards the vision and practice of cross-cultural worship.
Books
The Beautiful Community by Rev. Dr. Irwyn Ince
“In The Beautiful Community, pastor and theologian Irwyn Ince boldly unpacks the reasons for our divisions while gently guiding us toward our true hope for wholeness and reconciliation. God reveals himself to us in his trinitarian life as the perfection of beauty, and essential to this beauty is his work as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The gospel imperative to pursue the beautiful community―unity in diversity across lines of difference―is rooted in reflecting the beautiful community of our triune God. This book calls us into and provides tools for that pursuit.”
Creator Spirit by Steve Guthrie
“Skilled theologian, musician, and educator Steven Guthrie examines areas of overlap between spirituality, human creativity, and the arts with the goal of sharpening and refining how we speak and think about the Holy Spirit. By exploring various connections between art and spirituality, he helps Christians better understand the doctrine of the Holy Spirit and offers a clear, engaging theology of the arts.”
The Next Worship: Glorifying God in a Diverse World by Sandra Maria Van Opstal
“We live in a time of unprecedented intercultural exchange, where our communities welcome people from around the world. Music and media from every culture are easily accessible, and our worship is infused with a rich variety of musical and liturgical influences. But leading worship in multicultural contexts can be a crosscultural experience for everybody. How do we help our congregations navigate the journey?
Innovative worship leader Sandra Maria Van Opstal is known for crafting worship that embodies the global, multiethnic body of Christ. Likening diverse worship to a sumptuous banquet, she shows how worship leaders can set the table and welcome worshipers from every tribe and tongue. Van Opstal provides biblical foundations for multiethnic worship, with practical tools and resources for planning services that reflect God's invitation for all peoples to praise him.”
Pentecost: A Day of Power for All People by Emilio Alvarez
"The power of Pentecost is inseparable from the good news of the Christ who is proclaimed in the Gospels, in accordance with the Scriptures."
Pentecost may well be the most misconstrued day on the church calendar. A long legacy of cessationism has drained Pentecost of much of its significance, and it's largely misunderstood in many Western churches today, if not outright ignored.
That's not the case in Emilio Alvarez's tradition, though. In this Fullness of Time volume, the Pentecostal bishop and theologian offers us a rich biblical and theological introduction to the day of Pentecost and sets it in its liturgical context—not only in the Protestant tradition but also in Catholic, Orthodox, and Pentecostal expressions. The result is a rich theological feast and an invitation to find afresh the power of the gospel for all peoples.”
Christians and Cultural Difference by David I Smith and Pennylyn Dykstra-Pruim
“Encountering cultural differences in the classroom, in the workplace, in the church, and in the public square is an everyday part of contemporary life. The chances that we will live our lives interacting only with those who share our cultural identity and ways of thinking are shrinking. Understanding culture and how cultural difference affects how we understand one another and live well together is no longer just for travelers. It has become a basic life skill.
Past Christian ways of thinking about cultural difference as most important for missions to far away places do not harmonize with today's realities. This book offers a brief, critical overview of how Christians have been rethinking their relationship to cultural difference. Creation and fall, the image of God, the body/temple that is the church, neighbor ethics, the trinity, the incarnation and cross of Christ, and the call to welcome strangers - each of these offers distinct challenges to think in Christian ways about how we deal with differences.”
Resources for Families with Young Children
God Made Me AND You: Celebrating God's Design for Ethnic Diversity by Shai Linne
This beautifully illustrated children's book invites kids to explore God's design for ethnic diversity and challenges readers both parents and children to learn and live out counter-cultural, biblical views, fostering a lifelong celebration of diversity for the glory of God. Designed for four to eleven-year-olds, God Made Me and You by Shai Linne is the second book in the God Made Me series, starting with God Made All of Me by Justin and Lindsey Holcomb.
God's Very Good Idea Storybook: A True Story of God's Delightfully Different Family by Trillia J. Newbell
God’s very good idea is to have lots of different people enjoying loving him and loving each other. This stunningly illustrated journey from the garden of Eden to God’s heavenly throne room shows how despite our sinfulness, everyone can be a part of God’s very good idea through the saving work of Christ.
This book celebrates diversity and will help children see how people from all ethnic and social backgrounds are valuable to God and how Jesus came to rescue all kinds of people. It will also excite them about being part of church - God's delightfully different family.
The Apostles Creed: For All God’s Children by Ben Myers, Ill. Natasha Kennedy
This is a great children’s book adaptation of the creed!
Illustrated Ministries Pentecost Material
Illustrated Ministries creates coloring and craft materials for children and families for use during each season of the Christian Year. The material is lovely and cross-culturally accessible.