This message is about the story before the story of what happened on that first Pentecost, when the Spirit of God was poured out on upon the followers of Jesus. From that day onward the gospel of God’s kingdom has been spreading outward to the ends of the earth through witnesses for Jesus that have been empowered by the Holy Spirit. The promise Jesus applies to us as well as those who first heard it directly from his lips. “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem (or Lansing), and in all Judea and Samaria (or Michigan), and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) This promise was and still is being fulfilled in the lives of those called to be witnesses of what Jesus has done.
