If a brand new mall opened up in town with all the latest and greatest features, wouldn’t it be quite the event? It would be a big ordeal. There would be a grand opening, a fun celebration, ribbon cutting and all! Pastor Tom teaches us in today’s message about the grand opening, if you will, of the Church. During the Feast of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon His Church and gifted them with the gift of tongues, declaring the wonderful works of God. Would that have gotten your attention?

If you’ve ever been to a busy city with crowds of people everywhere, you’ll know it can be very chaotic, especially if there’s some sort of big commotion. It can be very confusing and disturbing in a setting like this. However, as Pastor Tom teaches us today, when the Holy Spirit stirred up the church to speak in tongues, it had the opposite effect. When they spoke in tongues praising God, it drew the peoples’ attention to Him. It must’ve been a wonderful event to have witnessed.

Remember that one time when God destroyed humanity with a flood, except for Noah, his family, and a boatful of animals? Do you remember the rainbow God sent as a reminder of His promise that it would never happen again? In today’s message, Pastor Tom teaches us about the sign of the Holy Spirit and the promise it assures us of. The Holy Spirit living inside of you is the sign of the promise that you’ll spend eternity with God. If you’ve put your faith in Christ, then your eternity is sealed with the Holy Spirit.

In the Old Testament, we hear about the Holy Spirit coming alongside a person for a time in order to help them accomplish a certain work for God. But in those days, He didn’t stay with them after the job was complete. In today’s message, Pastor Tom teaches us that after Christ came, He sent the Holy Spirit to live inside of those who put their faith in Him. When the Holy Spirit comes to make His home inside of you, He lives there forever, not just for one task, but for the rest of eternity.

Have you ever watched people go by and wondered about their life? Some things are obvious about a person, just by observing them, like a wedding ring on a finger, mud on someone’s boots, or a business suit and a briefcase. Just by seeing those things, you can at least tell something about a person’s life. Pastor Tom teaches us in today’s message, that when someone’s full of the Holy Spirit, you can tell! Have you been filled with the Holy Spirit? Can others look at you and see the evidence of His presence in your life?

Water cleans dirt from our skin, but what does it do for our spirit? Is it possible for us to go through a physical act or ritual to cleanse us from sin and give us new spiritual life? Pastor Tom teaches us in today’s message that only Jesus’ death on the cross can cleanse us from sin spiritually. Water baptism is an outward expression of what Christ has done with our inward man. Have you been cleansed by Christ’s blood? Have you been baptized in the Holy Spirit? That’s what really matters.

Do you know what it means to be all in? In today’s message, Pastor Tom teaches about what it means to be baptized by the Holy Spirit, and what it means to be fully immersed in the power of the Holy Spirit in your life. Are you all in?

Have you ever felt inadequate? In an age where we are constantly being told to trust the experts or to leave it to a professional, it’s easy to feel unqualified or ill-equipped for a lot things. However, Pastor Tom teaches us in today’s message that if you’re a Christian, then you are equipped with the Holy Spirit. In the Body of Christ, there’s not a special group of people that possess access to God. Every disciple of Christ has been given the Holy Spirit to empower them for the work of ministry.

Anyone that’s ever put in the hard work of growing a garden knows what it’s like when you get your first fruit. It’s a very exciting thing when all your hard work begins to pay off, and that first tomato, cucumber, or strawberry becomes ripe. It’s so rewarding, but still that first fruit is just the beginning of what’s to come. In today’s message, Pastor Tom teaches us about the birth of the church, when the Holy Spirit had finally come. As exciting as it was, that was just the first fruit of what God has in store.

We forever have access to the same powerful Holy Spirit that Jesus himself had. What an incredible truth. In today’s message from Pastor Tom, you will hear that this was not always the case for people. You’ll learn about the Holy Spirit’s existence prior to the day of Pentecost, and about how he was not available to all people and could be removed from those who had received it. Thankfully, that’s not true today. Jesus made it possible for all believers to access the Spirit forever. How amazing is that?