As Genesis is the beginning of creation, the Pentecost is the beginning of the church.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1
A few paragraphs into his classic story A Christmas Carol, author Charles Dickens tells us, “Once upon a time…old Scrooge sat busy in his counting-house.” When Dickens published his now-classic story in 1843, that opening phrase, “Once upon a time,” had been well-used in English literature since 1600—even going back to its earliest use in 1380. It’s the perfect way to begin a timeless story.
The author of Genesis (Moses) must have had a similar thought in mind when he penned what became the most famous opening words of any book in the world: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Most Bible scholars see that opening line not as describing creation itself, but as a literary introduction to the Creation story that follows. It seems that the author’s purpose was to remove any doubt or ambiguity about the reason for the existence of our planet and its inhabitants: God created everything. It was a statement of clarity that set the biblical Creation story apart from the multitude of creation stories from other ancient Near Eastern cultures.
God is the beginning of our life. Creation then, and creation now, is infused with the loving purposes of our mighty God.
God has left his fingerprints all over creation. Unknown
Pentecost is the Birthday of the Church
As Genesis is the beginning of creation, the Pentecost is the beginning of the church.
Christianity didn’t start with Jesus’ birth, his death or even his storied ascension to heaven. It started with Pentecost — the day the “Holy Spirit” entered a room holding Jesus’ apostles and entered each of them, an event which — “makes the church the church.”
Although Pentecost is chock full of religious significance, it is a holiday not widely celebrated. Sort of the opposite of Hanukkah, which is widely celebrated but not religiously important
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