Pneuma: Pentecost Sunday Big Idea of the Series: In the coming of the Holy Spirit, the disciples receive new tongues, which are set aflame by the work of Christ. This one-week sermon series, designed to be used on Pentecost Sunday, encourages listeners to trust the work of the Holy Spirit in their hearts, and speak the words that God has given them. Pentecost Sunday Text: Acts 2:1–21 Topic(s): Tongues, Words, Message Big Idea of the Message: In the coming of the Holy Spirit, the disciples receive new tongues, which are set aflame by the work of Christ. Application Point: Trust the work of the Holy Spirit in your heart, and speak the words that God has given you. Sermon Ideas and Talking Points: 1. Often, in artistic and iconic depictions of the coming of the Holy Spirit, the “tongues” of fire that descend on the disciples (Acts 2:3) appear as small flames above their heads, or flickering fire that comes into the house. Interestingly, though, the word used for the tongues of fire and the word for the tongues that the disciples were speaking with (v. 4) are the same word: glōssa, the basic word for a body part or a language tongue (Strong’s Greek Lexicon [KJV], s.v. “G1100, glōssa,” https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G1100&t=KJV). When the Holy Spirit came, the disciples were given, almost as literally as we can say, tongues of fire. The words they spoke came from these new tongues, and they found themselves confessing the wonderful works of God (vv. 10–11). 2. Despite the dramatic appearance of the tongues of fire, some people in attendance at the miracle would not believe. They even used a tried-and-true insult to show they did not believe: “They are filled with new wine” (v. 13). Peter declares to the gathered crowd that “since it is only the third hour of the day” (v. 15), they are not drunk in the way the hearers think they are drunk. The only other place that Luke (the author of Acts) uses a phrase resembling “new wine” is in Luke 5:36–39, where he discusses not putting new wine into old wineskins. These gathered disciples have been filled with the “new wine” of the Holy Spirit, which pours out of their spout—their mouths—to everyone around. 3. Our tongues want to spew out anything that will help us get ahead or bend this world to our will. However, the new tongues that we have been given will not allow us to speak anything other than the truth of Christ. It’s almost as if we can’t lie anymore. 4. On the animated series Futurama, the action usually begins with the elderly Professor Farnsworth exclaiming “Good news, everyone!” The other characters frequently see this as not good news, because it places them in difficult or dangerous situations. But in the episode “A Flight to Remember” (season 2, episode 1, directed by Peter Avanzino and Gregg Vanzo, aired September 26, 1999, on Fox), his proclamation of “Good news, everyone!” is followed by all of his employees quitting, even before he can get his news out. His response is: “In that case, I'll have to hire a new crew to go on our company vacation.” 5. In the coming of the Holy Spirit, God actually gives us a different tongue. It is a tongue that is under God’s control, not ours. It will probably feel weird to us and will definitely look weird to the outside world. The world will come up with all sorts of excuses for ignoring what we are saying with God’s tongue. But we know the reality: the tongue of God can speak nothing but the truth. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. At the time of publication, we check that URLs are working but are not able to guarantee that third-party sites we link to will remain active. .