God brought the people out of Egypt and provided for them.
He called them all to the mountain, but they were afraid, so God allowed them to send Moses as a representative, even though his plan was that all would enter his presence.
While on that mountain, God gave Moses the Law as the next phase of their deliverance from slavery. They needed guidelines on how to fully live in their covenant with God and carry out the mission of God’s blessing in the world.
The law was intended to be the means of the blessing. If the people would just live in obedience, then the whole world could share in the blessing.
Over time though, the law became a curse and the people became enslaved to the very thing that God created to bless them through.
Pentecost is still celebrated seven weeks after Passover to commemorate the giving of the Law to Moses. Two thousand years ago, the disciples gathered for prayer on Pentecost and God swept through them and gave the Holy Spirit.
As the giving of the Law created the nation of Israel in the wilderness, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem is seen as the birth of the era of the Church.
The gift of the Holy Spirit freed us from slavery to the Law and the Temple, and empowered us to be the blessing that God intended.
The hope and the future that God is calling us to is one where the Church is a gift and a blessing to the world.
What would it look like if we, the Church, focused our energy on being the vessel of God’s love and healing grace in the world?
Journey Through Scripture 