Sat Oct 11

Listen up, little ones

Especially for the littles in your household.

Listen for the words Spirit and LORD.

Reading

Joel 2:28-32—The Spirit Poured Out

Optional Reading

Acts 2:17-21

Keys for kids

Also for the littles. Young households might choose, after Keys for Kids, to go directly to praise and prayer.

Questions

(some read these before notes, then ask them after)
  1. What did Joel promise God would do?
  2. How did these things take place in Acts 2?
  3. What happens to those who call on the name of the Lord?

Notes

(See below for all authors)

Joel tells his readers of God’s promise to pour out his Spirit (God, the Holy Spirit). Acts 2:17-21 quotes this promise as being fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost in Jerusalem.

As the Holy Spirit filled the believers on that day, they suddenly had the ability to speak in the various languages of the international Jews gathered there. Many of these Jews had begun to gather where the disciples were. Some of the scorners supposed the sounds they were hearing from these Spirit-filled believers were drunken gibberish. Don’t unknown languages sometimes sound like that to you? Instead, this was God keeping his promise.

We are reminded here in Joel and in Acts that God always keeps his promises. As Prior comments, if the promises of God in Joel’s generation can be summarized in the words ‘I will pay back …’, his promises for some later time can be expressed in the words ‘I will pour out.’

This great and remarkable Day of the Lord, Calvin says, begins this day at the first preaching of the gospel, and… extends the same unto the last resurrection. From this day until the end of time, everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Swedish Method questions

See the Sunday notes for meaning of the symbols.

Praise

Psalm 50b, 134a

Prayer

  1. Thank God that he always keeps his promises.
  2. Pray for the reading and preaching of God’s word tomorrow.
  3. Pray for a member of our church, for your family, and for a non-Christian friend/family member.
Notes this week are drawn in part from commentaries by John Calvin, William Hendriksen, Kent Hughes, Raymond C. Ortlund Jr, James A. Johnston, O. Palmer Robertson, David Prior, the Theological Dictionary of the Old and New Testaments (TDOT, TDNT) and notes from the CSB Study Bible, and the Reformation Study Bible (RSB).
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