Many people
who accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, whether they refer
to themselves as "Christian" or "Messianic," observe the
biblical Feasts and Holy Days, including the Feast of Pentecost, as times of worship, fellowship, and celebration. They believe
that these Feasts and Holy Days are shadows pointing to the
reality of Jesus. And they believe that there are valuable
spiritual lessons to be learned week by week and year by year through actually
physically setting aside these times as "appointments with God."
See
The 3 Rs
introductory article for an
overview of the three biblical principles of Refreshment,
Rejoicing, and Remembering as they apply to the observance of
the biblical Feasts and Holy Days.
The
rest of the articles in this series on The 3 Rs
provide specific, practical suggestions for
building those 3 Rs into these observances.
For
a general introduction to the biblical Feasts and Holy Days, see the article
Theme Times. This material on
The 3 Rs builds on concepts
explained in that article. If you are not familiar with the
cycle of these Feasts and Holy Days, you may wish to read
that article first.
See the
article On Fire! for
an overview of the biblical foundation of the
observance of the Feast of Pentecost, and its
significance for Christians. The material below
assumes a familiarity by the reader with the
information in that article.
Refreshment
The Refreshment section
of each article in this series emphasizes the individual, the
family, and the home. Tips are offered on how to structure the
environment of time and space leading up to and during these
celebrations for maximum contrast to the stressful--but often
humdrum--world of daily life. Special foods and decorations,
developing family customs and traditions, special activities
including guests, and special family-centered fellowship
projects that focus on comforting, encouraging, and edifying one
another may be part of the suggestions.
Preparations
The original command for
keeping this Feast calls for the people to specifically
"count" the fifty days leading up to this day, rather
than look for it on a particular calendar date. So one
way to prepare for the day is to actually do that
counting daily as a family in the home. Some people just
make a formal announcement, perhaps before a daily
prayer time in the morning each day. It could be as
simple as "Today is day 16 of the count toward
Pentecost. There are 34 more days to go until
Pentecost."
Other families make a
more extended ritual of the count, such as creating
special "Counting Calendars." This could be as simple as
making a chart with the days numbered on them, and
having a child "X" out a new date every day. Or it could
be as elaborate as creating a large picture of a castle
with fifty numbered windows that could be opened one by
one, day by day, with a little flap. Behind each window
would be a clever scene depicting some symbolic aspect
of the theme of the season. Or each child could be
given--or help make--a three-dimensional building with
50 doors that would each open to reveal a little shelf
... which would hold a tiny treat for the day... a piece
of candy, a trinket, a shiny penny, and the like.
The idea of all of these
procedures is to heighten anticipation of the coming of
Pentecost. So be sure to find ways to make the wait
worth it, by making the day itself a true celebration!
Environment
Many families find that
changing their home environment on the Feasts and Holy
Days adds to
the feeling of celebration and refreshment. This can
include:
- Special tableware
and centerpieces for one or more of the meals for
the day.
- Special lighting
such as candles or a fireplace.
- Special background
mood music that is themed to the observance.
- Special decorations
around one or more rooms.
See some of the
suggestions below for decorations and music for the
Feast of Pentecost for group settings, and adapt them to
home use. It is particularly important to involve the
children in planning and creating these elements, as
that gives them an "investment" of their own in the
celebration
Children's
Activities
Most of the suggestions
in the
Crafts, Games, and Other Special Activities for Children
section below on
group projects for children for this Feast day can
be adapted to home use with just a little creative
adaptation.
Devotionals
A fifty-day Devotional
themed to the period of the time between the Feast of
Unleavened Bread and the Feast of Pentecost is currently being produced for this Times
of Refreshing website. When completed, you will be
able to download an appropriate devotional worksheet for
each day of the period, to aid and
inspire you in your own family and individual Bible
study and worship time.
If you would like to be notified
by email when this feature is added to the site, write
to the email address at the bottom of this webpage and
ask to be added to the email mailing list.
Rejoicing
The
Rejoicing section of each article in this series
emphasizes the importance of including larger group
worship and fellowship experiences whenever possible in
your observances. It is important for individuals and
families to spend part of their celebration times with
others—as many others as possible—to maximize the impact
of feeling part of something greater than yourself. This
may mean one or two other families, a small
congregation, or a big crowd.
Among
those Christians or Messianics who observe the Feast of
Pentecost, there
are several distinct styles of observance. Below are
three typical ways that Christian or Messianic
congregations choose to celebrate. See the
Introductory article to this 3 Rs
series for an overview of each of these three types.
Varieties of Contemporary Observances
Traditional Jewish Celebrations
Some
groups, particularly among those which label themselves as
Messianic or Hebrew Roots congregations, model their
Pentecost (Hebrew: Shavuot) celebrations closely
on the traditional modern Orthodox or Conservative
Jewish customs for this Feast. They will, however, often
interpret these customs in ways that emphasize Jesus
(whom they may refer to by a Hebrew version of His name
such as Yashua or Y'shua) and the Gospel
of salvation.
The
Jewish observance of Pentecost has less specific and
elaborate customs than is typical for the other annual
Holy Days, and this may be reflected in Messianic and
Hebrew Roots congregations. Typical Jewish customs
incorporated into their celebrations may include:
All-night Bible study and
discussion sessions on the evening that begins
Pentecost. These may be concluded with a festive
breakfast early the morning of Pentecost. Like the rest
of Pentecost, the breakfast will feature foods based on
dairy products, such as cheese blintzes.
Commemoration of the giving of the Law as described in
Exodus 20. This might include a formal reading of the
ten commandments during the worship service of the day.
Reading
of the Book of Ruth. The main events of this book occur
during the grain harvest season in Israel, and thus
Pentecost is considered an appropriate time to focus on
the lessons of the book.
Homes
and places of worship will typically be decorated with
live plants, fresh flowers (particularly roses), other
greenery, and artwork incorporating the "seven species,"
Children's activities may
include making "firstfruit
baskets" to carry in processions, and flower garlands
for the girls to wear.
(For a
description and details about the "seven species" and
the Jewish customs above, see
Jewish Feast and Holy Day Customs:
Shavuot.)
Non-Jewish Celebrations
Some
Christian groups which observe the Feast of
Pentecost pay little attention to Jewish customs and
instead create their own style of celebration.
Although Jewish tradition connects Pentecost to the
giving of the Law, there is actually no scripture that
clarifies this. And there is no scripture that
prescribes making such a connection as part of the
celebration of the day. So many Christian groups that
celebrate Pentecost in some way do not include this
factor as part of their observance.
It is
more typical for such groups to focus on the pouring out
of the Holy Spirit on the disciples of Jesus on this day
in the first century, as described in Acts 2.
This
event is considered by many to be the "Beginning of the
Church," because it was the empowering of the Holy
Spirit that equipped the disciples to take the Gospel to
the world and gather new believers into the Body of
Christ--3,000 were added to their number just on this
first day of the new dispensation, as a result of
Peter's first powerful sermon.
So
Pentecost celebrations would typically include a worship
service featuring hymns, songs, and special musical
presentations which speak of the role of the Holy Spirit
in the life of the individual and in the Church, and
sermons, Bible lessons, and discussion sessions on
Acts 2, I Corinthians 12 (which speaks of the gifts of
the Spirit), and Galatians 5 (which speaks of the fruit
of the Spirit.)
Most
such groups would also include a time of fellowship and
feasting after the worship service, with a potluck or
catered banquet.
Hybrid Celebrations
Some
groups, while borrowing some of the customs, rituals,
and symbolism of Judaism, are more experimental in their
inclusion of these. Rather than try to imitate the whole
package of the standard Jewish Feast of Pentecost
celebration, they will pick and choose those aspects
which appeal to them, perhaps sometimes for spiritual
reasons because they seem to be deeply meaningful, and
at other times just because they are aesthetically
attractive or seem fun.
On
Pentecost, such groups might feel more inclined to have
a dual emphasis for the day, with strong
references both to the the giving of the Law and to the
giving of the Holy Spirit.
Groups that regularly borrow
at least some customs and trappings of Jewish
celebrations tend to particularly appreciate the Jewish
enthusiasm for decorations and symbolism. Thus they
might choose to create posters or banners or the like
with appropriate Jewish and Christian Pentecost symbols,
such as a torah scroll to symbolize the giving of the
law, and flames of fire or, as in the picture above, a
dove, to symbolize the giving of the spirit.
Such groups
might also find it more "fun" to have special foods for
the celebration, and since Jewish custom already has
these, it is perhaps easier to borrow those than to try
to invent food customs for the occasion. Thus the hybrid
group might have a luncheon after their Pentecost
worship service particularly featuring dairy dishes such
as cheesecake. See the Festive Food
section below for suggestions.
Toward
a New Celebration Paradigm
One of the goals of
this Times of Refreshing website is to
encourage individuals and groups to fashion a
celebration style that is uniquely their own.
The Bible truly gives us no "worship formula"
for the weekly Sabbath and annual Feasts and
Holy Days, beyond a very few basic guidelines.
Thus God has granted us the freedom to adapt
these few guidelines to the age and culture in
which we live, and to the 'group personality" of
those with whom we meet. Some will feel most
comfortable and joyful with a certain amount of
formality, old-fashioned majestic music, and
orderly activities. Others can best rejoice with
considerable informality, contemporary lively
music, and boisterously extemporaneous
activities. And quite a few may feel most
refreshed by a combination of elements of all of
the above. The following ideas and tips are not
offered as a blue-print that must be slavishly
followed. They are instead a potpourri of
possibilities to pick and choose from to use as
parts for you, and those with whom you worship,
to craft your own very special Times of
Refreshing.
"Setting
the Stage" for Celebration
The following
general comments about creating a celebration
environment are equally applicable to the weekly
Sabbath and any of the annual Holy Days and Feasts.
They are therefore repeated in each installment of the
3Rs section of the Times of Refreshing website. If
you have already read this material in another
installment, use this link to
jump directly to specific
suggestions for the Feast of Pentecost.
A
Sabbath, Feast, or Holy Day church service that resembles a college
class--with a few perfunctory songs thrown in--hardly
qualifies as a time of celebration and rejoicing! Many
groups have found that it is possible to maintain a
format for their gatherings that has sound teaching, but
add elements that make the gathering more than a passive
audience listening to a lecture.
One of
the most important elements in this transformation is
music. If the same group has been singing the same fifty
or so songs for the past two decades, and most still
find it necessary to bury their heads in the hymnbook
while singing, something is wrong. If most of these same
people sing along enthusiastically to their car radio
playing contemporary secular music, it is obvious that
the problem isn't that they can't immerse themselves in
music. It is more likely that they have separated
"religious music" into a class all by itself, as
something that is sung out of duty, rather than from the
heart. And the words have long since stopped
communicating thoughts and have become merely syllables
to be mouthed.
For
some people, the reason for this is that traditional
church hymns--most written a century or two or more
ago--seem like they are almost in a foreign
language. The historic culture that they came from can
seem unconnected to the thoughts, feelings, and emotions
of modern Christians. There are many ways that this
situation can be remedied. And in most cases the best
answer is to find creative ways to incorporate many
aspects of possible solutions.
One
thing that can help is for song leaders and/or other
speakers to actually spend some time talking about the
content of the hymns once in a while. There are books
and websites that provide a fascinating glimpse of the
history of many hymns, describing the authors, the
situations that prompted them to write a certain set of
lyrics, and some background of the cultural context in
which they were written. This can make the words come
alive in a way that they haven't before. Two samples:
Website
with hymn stories
Two Hundred Amazing Hymn Stories
Link to
Amazon.com info on two books of hymn stories
Osbeck's 101 Hymn Stories, volumes one and two
A
congregation that is made up of people of all age groups
will also find that it is usually beneficial to consider
incorporating newer hymns and other religious music in
some way into your group gatherings, so that everyone
can express themselves musically in ways that are most
meaningful to them. This can mean varying the music for
the usual worship service every week with a variety of
styles, featuring the newer music on certain weeks
during the month, or perhaps establishing a regular or
occasional alternative worship service, perhaps in the
evening, featuring newer music. This issue of
introducing variety into music has been a source of
conflict in many churches in recent decades, but with a
calm approach of creatively searching for satisfactory
compromises between people who hate change and people
who crave change, conflict can be minimized and all
needs met.
See the
section below on Meaningful Music
for more suggestions on music for congregational
worship.
Other
"celebratory" aspects to the activities for the the Holy
Days can include feasting together (see
Festive Food below), and special presentations
by children and youth, including choirs, plays,
pageantry, artwork displays, and even parades on
appropriate occasions (See Children's
Activities below).
The
most important consideration when "setting the stage"
for celebration on the Holy Days is to involve everyone,
of every age, in contributing to the planning and actual
celebration time together. In other words ... the stage
that is set isn't one that most people sit in the
audience and passively "view" ... it's a stage where
everyone joins the "performance"!
Meaningful Music
General Information
Hymns and group songs
Some hymns and other
types of religious songs may have a line or two
with which some people will take exception as not
reflecting totally sound biblical doctrine. Inclusion of
links to hymns or collections of hymns here is not an endorsement of every minor point
within the hymns at that link. If there is something that bothers
you in any given piece of music, you can either not use
it, or make a minor
adjustment to the wording to reflect your own doctrinal
perspective.
If your fellowship
group does not have music to sing from, local
and online Christian bookstores stock a wide
collection of basic hymnals in hardbound and
paperback formats, with everything from
classical church music of the 1700s and earlier
to the latest Praise and Worship choruses.
There are many
online sources of public domain congregational
music. Some may include sound files of
accompaniment music, lyrics, sheet music, and
perhaps even chord sheets for piano and/or
guitar. If you are looking for a specific hymn
or song, just type the name or a line of the
lyrics into a Google search box. Below are links
to some broad collections from which to choose.
http://www.cyberhymnal.org
Over 6,100
Christian hymns and Gospel songs. Includes
lyrics, scores, MIDI files, pictures,
history, choices to match specific
scriptural references, and more.
It is increasingly
popular in many religious settings to use lyrics
projected on a screen for congregational
singing, with still photos or video clips of
inspirational scenes of nature and so on in the
background. There are commercial packages of
such set-ups, sometimes including even audio
files of the music for those groups that don't
have musicians to provide accompaniment. Below
are links to just a sample of such products.
PLEASE NOTE: If
you are considering going this route, be sure to
check into the issues of copyright, by looking
over the material on the CCLI (Christian
Copyright Licensing International) website.
CCLI information
And while you're
there, be sure to look into the issue of a
copyright license to use commercial video clips
in sermons and studies, and even for playing
whole movies for your congregation, through the
related CLVI (Christian Video Licensing
International.)
CVLI information
The annual fees for
both of these services are very reasonable.
Special Music
There are many
inspirational video collections that don't have
the lyrics on the screen, but rather provide
choral and/or instrumental performances of
standard hymns and other music backed by
beautiful photography. These would be suitable
for "special music" presentations for worship
services and other gatherings. Below are links
to a sample of such products.
33 "Best loved hymns" with
backgrounds of Thomas Kinkaide paintings
"The Joslin
Grove Choral Society presents musical
accompaniment to one hundred beautiful
images of Thomas Kinkade. Among the 70
minutes of hymns sung are: Amazing Grace,
A Mighty Fortress Is Our God and
The Old Rugged Cross. "
Hymns across the Holy Land
"... featuring the
sites of the Holy Land set to hymns performed by
David and the High Spirit. Songs include Amazing
Grace, Love Lifted Me, Just As I Am,
and more."
Music specifically for
Pentecost:
Particularly appropriate would be congregational, solo, group, and
choral music on the themes of the beauty of God's Law,
and the giving ... and the gifts ... of the Holy Spirit.
Samples:
Suggestions for appropriate hymns, group songs, and
special music for the Sabbath, as well as the annual
Biblical feasts and Holy Days, are gratefully
accepted for inclusion in this and related Times
of Refreshing web pages! Send your
recommendations to the email address at the end of
this page.
Decorations
The following
general comments about using decorations to enhance
your celebration environment are equally applicable to the weekly
Sabbath and any of the annual Holy Days and Feasts.
They are therefore repeated in each installment of the
3Rs section of the Times of Refreshing website. If
you have already read this material in another
installment, use this link to
jump directly to specific
suggestions for the Feast of Pentecost.
Many
modern Christians reject the idea of some of the
traditional worship environments of the past ... cold
formal buildings with pews and stained glass, hushed
rooms with people talking to one another in hoarse
whispers if at all. A backlash against this type of
setting has sometimes led on the other extreme to drab
rooms full of metal chairs, bare walls, and constant
chaos. Or, on the other hand, some mega-churches have
huge meeting halls and stages more resembling a Las
Vegas show club than a place for families to meet
together and rejoice--as a spiritual family.
Most
people would not want to live in a house in which every
room looks like little more than a drab motel conference
room. We intuitively realize that "decor" can help us
enjoy our environment and our experiences in it, whether
it is wanting a peaceful "study," a lively "family
room," or a refreshing screened in porch with plants
that gets us more in touch with nature. We want our
homes to reflect our personalities and our interests.
The
same principle applies to church fellowship groups. It
would be good for all involved to sit down and discuss
just what it is in an environment that would enhance
what they expect to experience in that environment, and
what elements hinder it or distract from it. Most groups
seem to intuitively know that adding flowers at the
front of the meeting room improves the "feel" of a drab
room. But many seldom go beyond that.
So why
not discuss what could make the room--or whole
building--a home? And think about what would make it
particularly "spruced up" for the weekly Sabbath and
annual Holy Days.
The
basics to discuss can include choice of wall, floor, and
window treatment colors; decorative items on the walls;
furniture that is both functional and attractive; plants
and maybe even an aquarium or terrarium to bring some of
God's creation indoors; fountains or small waterfalls to
add to that effect; table settings and centerpieces for
festive occasions; attractive themed bulletin boards,
where youth projects can be displayed for special
occasions; perhaps even inspirational seasonal "banners"
to hang from the ceilings or as wall hangings.
Options may be limited if a group must rent a meeting
room, but even then there are "movable" items that can
be temporarily added to make the environment "homier."
Most buildings renting regularly to a group will provide
at least a small amount of storage space for their
regular equipment and supplies. A bulletin board on a
tripod can be used for those youth projects. Plant pots
with attractive artificial plants on coasters can be
rolled out to place around the room. Try brainstorming
and seeing what other options you can think of.
When
considering themed additions to your worship
environment, why not also brainstorm on what symbols
and scenes might be useful for banners, posters, centerpieces
and so on for the weekly Sabbath and each of the annual
feasts and Holy Days.
Some suggestion-starters
for the Feast of Pentecost:
Movies suitable for group watching:
The
Ten Commandments
Festive Activities 
Remembering
Adults
Teens
Children
Crafts
Games
Other
Activities
