Pentecost Week 2 - God's Glasses

Christ Church Elders
1 day ago
3 min read

Scripture Reading

*Explain the context: “On Pentecost, Peter and the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit and, by the Spirit’s power, began preaching in foreign languages ‘the mighty works of God’ to the many people gathered there so that all understood in their own languages.”

Read: Acts 2:12-21

Big Idea (For Parents)

All were astonished or even alarmed at what was happening, but there were two distinct responses. Some were humbly perplexed—they didn’t know how to interpret it, and they admitted as much by asking about it (v.12). Others pridefully believed they knew exactly how to interpret it in a way that was simple and easily fit their limited experiences and expectations—the disciples were simply drunk (v.13). Peter’s response shows that the Spirit’s previously-inspired Scriptures were the key to understanding the Spirit’s ongoing work, with God fulfilling his promises in ways that surprised many. Without Spirit-given understanding, many would badly misunderstand what God was doing in their time and, tragically, the salvation it offered (v.21)

Family Reflection

(Read aloud or summarize)

The events of Pentecost were surprising, astonishing, and even alarming. Some people humbly recognized they didn’t know how to think about or respond to them, so they asked others for help. Other people pridefully assumed they could understand the events based only on their own limited experiences and expectations. The second group were those who assumed they knew how God worked and that he wouldn’t be doing anything positive through these events. Filled by the Spirit, Peter pointed both groups to the Old Testament, and said that the key to understanding what God was doing presently was understanding what God had been saying and doing for many hundreds of years. The Scriptures answered the first group’s question—“what does this mean?” The Scriptures also rebuked the second group’s pride, since the disciples were not speaking foolish things but instead living out the realities long-before set down in Scripture.

Many events in our time are also surprising, astonishing, and even alarming. We do well to follow the example of those humble enough to recognize that we as individuals do not have everything we need in ourselves to understand and respond rightly. We do even better to recognize, like Peter, that the now-completed Scriptures are the key to understanding what God is doing. We must ask God to give us Spirit-empowered understanding to rightly apply Scripture to our times. Then, we must ask God to give us Spirit-power to trust and obey that which Scripture has revealed.

Discussion Questions

(Choose 1-2. Adjust for age)

1- What is something surprising, amazing or alarming that you have experienced?

2- Why do you think some of the crowd assumed they could rightly understand the Pentecost events based on their own experiences and expectations?

3- In what ways does the Spirit work today to help us rightly understand and apply Scripture?

Practice—Putting on "God's Glasses"

John Calvin famously compared fallen humanity to someone with bad vision who, when trying to understand God and his creation, could only make out dark and blurry images. In grace, Calvin said, God provided Scripture as “eyeglasses” that allow us to clearly see and understand God and his works. Calvin’s metaphor helpfully illustrates the different responses from Acts 2, and the need to humbly seek Scripture to understand our times.

Here are a few possible hands-on activities to embody these truths:

1- If someone in the family wears glasses, do a “vision check.” Have the person try to read some writing at various distances, first without glasses, and second with glasses, to see how much greater vision the glasses provide. Make sure they don’t already know the writing ahead of time so they can’t just recite it from memory! Explain that the glasses represent the clarity that Scripture gives.

2- If nobody in the family wears eyeglasses, dim the lights in the room, put on sun glasses, and then try to read a writing at various distances until you can’t make it out. Explain that the darkened room and dark glasses represent the very limited clarity we have without the light and clear-understanding provided by Scripture.

*After the activity, pray: “Father, thank you for giving us Scripture so that we can see you and your works clearly. Please empower us by your Spirit to understand, trust and obey your Word rightly. We ask this in Jesus’ name, amen.”