The Two Questions of the Day of Pentecost

Summary

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The Wake-Up Call: "The Two Questions of the Day of Pentecost"

Host: J.D. Walt (Seedbed)
Date: May 24, 2026
Episode Theme:
Exploring the Day of Pentecost through two essential, transformative questions drawn from Acts 2. The host invites listeners to ponder the meaning and implications of Pentecost, encouraging humble curiosity and practical response, as well as personal and communal renewal.

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Episode Overview

This episode, released on Pentecost Sunday, is centered on the profound significance of the Holy Spirit’s arrival as described in Acts 2. J.D. Walt guides listeners to focus on two pivotal questions that arose during the first Pentecost: “What does this mean?” and “What must we do?” He encourages the community to adopt a posture of wonder, humility, and responsiveness, both in engaging with Scripture and in navigating their own spiritual journeys.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Purpose of Pentecost (00:32–03:05)

• The Holy Spirit was poured out upon the Church and has been moving “in us, through us, about us, among us, all over the world ever since.”
• Pentecost marks the beginning of a new relationship with the Holy Spirit—just as Jesus had.
• The Spirit's work is to direct believers’ eyes to Jesus, not to himself.
  • Quote: “The Holy Spirit’s always pointing to Jesus, always glorifying, magnifying Jesus, reminding us of everything Jesus said and is saying today.” (03:05)

2. The Scriptural Text – Acts 2:1–4, 12–13 (04:35–05:35)

• J.D. reads the central Pentecost text, describing the coming of the Spirit as wind and fire, and the response of those present—amazement, perplexity, and skepticism.
• Quote (Scripture): “Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, ‘What does this mean?’ Some, however, made fun of them and said, ‘They have had too much wine.’” (05:20)

3. The Two Questions of Pentecost (06:20–08:30)

• Question 1: “What does this mean?”—the question of humble curiosity.
• Question 2: At the conclusion of Peter’s sermon, “Brothers, what shall we do?”—the question of practical response.
• J.D. emphasizes humility and a willingness to ask, even in confusion.
  • Quote: “I submit to you, these are the questions of the day, on the day of Pentecost and every other day with respect to every other word in the Word of God: Number one, ask, ‘What does this mean?’ And number two, ask, ‘What must we do?’” (08:15)

4. Personal Reflection and Community Announcement (08:40–10:14)

• Discussion about listener feedback regarding possible changes to the podcast's Sunday schedule, with plans for a seasonal break in late summer.
• J.D. shares his own sense of being “a little bit tired” from the ongoing demands of ministry, and requests prayer for rest and renewal during his upcoming six-week break.
  • Quote: “A lot of people ask me all the time, how do you do this? And I'm like, you know, I don't. I'm empowered. It's the power of God. It's the Holy Spirit.” (10:34)

5. Journal Prompts and Application (09:50–10:40)

• Encouragement to focus not on the supernatural phenomena of Pentecost but on the two key questions.
• Prompts for personal reflection:
  • "What does this mean?"
  • "What must we do?"
  • "What must I do?"

6. Ministry Updates & Future Plans (11:22–15:40)

• Upcoming schedule includes guest leaders (e.g., Luann Riley, Lo Alleman, Dan Wilt), a six-week seasonal break, and a fresh series commencing in September on the Book of Romans.
• Special guest Shelby Shuttle slated for Advent with a series titled “Behold.”
  • Quote: “This everyday wake up call meeting with Jesus leading that, I'll be joining it, but I won't be leading it the next six weeks. And I really do treasure your prayers through this time.” (13:05)

7. Methodist Heritage – Aldersgate Day (15:41–16:45)

• J.D. connects Pentecost with Aldersgate Day, recalling John Wesley’s “heart strangely warmed” experience—a spiritual awakening for Wesley and the beginning of the Methodist revival.
  • Quote: “He was quite a religious man, but he was asleep. He didn’t really know Jesus… But on that day he woke up to Jesus and there began the great British awakening.” (16:33)

8. Musical Prayer and Invitation (16:46–18:31)

• Congregational singing of “Spirit of the Living God,” with an encouragement to pray openly and receive anew the Spirit’s work.
• Quote: (song lyrics)
  “Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me… Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me.” (16:46–18:28)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the role of the Holy Spirit:
  “The Holy Spirit’s always pointing to Jesus, always glorifying, magnifying Jesus…” (03:05)

• On the posture of curiosity:
  “Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, ‘What does this mean?’” (05:20)

• On Pentecost’s two essential questions:
  “Ask, ‘What does this mean?’ and ‘What must we do?’ That’s pretty good right there.” (08:25)

• On fatigue and empowerment:
  “A lot of people ask me all the time, how do you do this? And I'm like, you know, I don't. I'm empowered… It’s the power of God.” (10:34)

• On Methodist history and awakening:
  “On that day he [Wesley] woke up to Jesus and there began the great British awakening that many of us have been a part of and are praying for massive resurgence and reignition of that in our day.” (16:33)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:32–03:05: Introduction to Pentecost and the work of the Holy Spirit
• 04:35–05:35: Reading of Acts 2:1–4, 12–13
• 06:20–08:30: Highlighting the two questions
• 08:40–10:14: Announcements, reflections on feedback and personal fatigue
• 09:50–10:40: Journal prompts for listeners
• 11:22–15:40: Ministry updates and future plans
• 15:41–16:45: Reflection on Aldersgate Day and Methodist awakening
• 16:46–18:28: Song: “Spirit of the Living God” (prayer and response)
• 18:31–end: Closing invitation to connect with the community

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Conclusion

J.D. Walt’s Pentecost episode invites listeners to return to the basics of spiritual curiosity and responsiveness, echoing the questions from Acts 2: “What does this mean?” and “What must we do?” Through reflection, prayer, music, and storytelling, he challenges the audience to let Pentecost transform not just their minds but their actions, fostering a deeper sensitivity to the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit.

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For those seeking practical reflection:

• Meditate on the two questions: “What does this mean?” and “What must I do?”
• Pray, sing, and open yourself—literally and spiritually—to the renewing, empowering work of God’s Spirit today.

Transcript

[A]

Foreign.

[B]

Rise and shine and give God the glory Glory Rise and shine and give God the glory Glory Rise and shine and give God the glory Glory Children of the Lord. It is Sunday,

[A]

the day of Pentecost. A red letter. If you're watching on YouTube, you see I got my red hat on Red Hat Day in the calendar of our Lord Jesus Christ. The day the Holy Spirit fell on the church. And it's been moving in us, through us, about us, among us, all over the world ever since. So I thought we'd come on this Sunday and read part of that day, that text, and see what happens. So how about we begin with consecration? Wake up, sleeper. Rise from the dead and Christ will shine on you. Jesus, I belong to you. I lift up my heart to you. I set my mind on you. I fix my eyes on you. I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice. Yes, Lord Jesus, we belong to you. And we're praying in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. You know, it's interesting. On this day, we don't say, fix my eyes on the Holy Spirit. No, you know what the Holy Spirit's doing? The Holy Spirit's the one who's fixing our eyes on Jesus and helping us lift up our heart. The Holy Spirit's always pointing to Jesus, always glorifying, magnifying Jesus, always reminding us of everything Jesus said and all the things he would say and is saying today, showing us what the Father's doing. We have the same relationship with the Holy Spirit that Jesus did and does. It's remarkable. And today is the day when that began. Right? You remember Jesus went from here to there on Ascension Day so that he could go from there to everywhere on the day of Pentecost, in every day since. Well, we're going to read our text today. I call today's entry the two questions of the day of Pentecost. Our text is Acts, chapter 2, verses 1 through 4, and verses 12 and 13. Hear now the Word of the Lord. Hang on. It did. My battery is running down. Thanks for bearing with me on that. It's ironic, isn't it? On the day of Pentecost, my. I discovered the battery of my computer is going down. It wasn't plugged in. That's kind of what was going on with those apostles. I bet they were worn out after 10 days of praying, and I bet you that they felt like the battery was running down. And then all of a sudden, they didn't know when the Spirit was going to come. They didn't know it was going to be ten days later, Jesus just told them to go and wait, pray, wait. That's what they did. It was on this day all those years ago that that he came. And he's here. He's been here ever since. Okay, back to our text. Acts, chapter 2, verses 1 through 4 and verses 12 and 13. Hear now the Word of the Lord. When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly, a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. And now verse 12. Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, what does this mean? Somehow ever made fun of them and said they have had too much wine. The Word of the Lord. Now consider this. It's Sunday and we're still pondering and praying through all the feedback from our survey to you all on what we do on Sundays on the wake up call. And just FYI, the feedback was overwhelmingly weighted toward what I called the chick fil a option, giving the whole thing a weekly break. Taking Sunday off from the wake up call. All of us, we'll probably implement this change in late summer. We're still talking about it and praying about it, but just stay tuned for updates. Now for today, the Day of Pentecost, I wanted to note the divergent responses of the people. Response number one. Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, what does this mean? Second response. Some, however, made fun of them and said, they have had too much wine. Now I want to wholeheartedly encourage the humble and curious. Response number one. What? To be amazed, even perplexed, and to ask, what does this mean? Lastly, I want to lift up and commend to you the second major humble and curious response on the day of Pentecost. It comes at the end of Peter's message at verse 37. When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, brothers, what shall we do? I submit to you. These are the questions of the day, on the day of Pentecost and every other day with respect to every other word in the Word of God. Number one, ask, what does this mean? And number two, ask, what must we do? That's pretty good right there. Let's pray. God our Father, how we thank you for your son Jesus, and how we thank you for pouring out your spirit on us. And now we ask you to interpret for us and with us and through us the answers to these two questions. What does this mean? What must we do? What must I do now? In Jesus name, amen. Oh, the journal prompts today because it is easy to get lost and even distracted by all the phenomenology of the day of Pentecost. Let's stick to the questions raised on this red letter day. What does this mean? What must we do? What must I do? And I'm going to give you another get out of class early card today right here at the end. I'm like, you know, I'm glad to walk across this finish line that is itself another starting line. And I'm thankful that I'm going to get about a 5, 6 week break. Not really from work, but from just the daily lift of the wake up call. It's a lot of people ask me all the time, how do you do this? And I'm like, you know, I don't. I'm empowered. It's. It's the power of God. It's the power of God. It's the Holy Spirit. It's. I. This is, it's kind of, it's hard because I also have a full court day job with seedbed as the, as really the CEO of the company, the Sower in chief I call myself and I also am the pastor of the Gillette Methodist Church. So I'll be honest, I am right now today a little bit tired and I'm going to ask you to pray for me over these next six weeks as you're led by Dan Wilt. Just pray that I will experience rest as much as possible and renewal and the joy of the Lord and deep connection with others. I do feel tired. I'll tell you the truth, I feel a little bit tired. And so this is coming right on time and I want to ask you to pray for me. I've got church this morning, but I've got a, I have a funeral this afternoon in my hometown. Getting to preside over the funeral, the celebration of life for an old family friend, Jan Farmer, just a woman, a Renaissance woman. And that funeral's gonna be at 2 o' clock today in Dumas. And I'm thankful that I get to help celebrate and remember her life with her family. What a great family.

[B]

So,

[A]

yeah, I'm going down to the annual conference of my Trinity Conference of the Global Methodist Church and I'll be one of the preachers. I'm opening that conference that Thursday night. I get to be the preacher there. So believe me, there's still, there's a lot more on the plate. But this everyday wake up call meeting with Jesus leading that, I'll be joining it, but I won't be leading it the next six weeks. And I really do treasure your prayers through this time. We're coming back with a, with a series probably mid late July after Dan and we'll be working through. We're just going to kind of go to some greatest hits from the past and, and I'm, I'm working to get Luann Riley a week in there. I'm working to see if we can't get low. Alleman close, dear friend. I call him the poet laureate of, of Seedbed to bring us a week series in there. I'll be back bringing some of the greatest hits from the past. And that sounds kind of boastful to call them greatest hits. Who knows? They're going to be things I've written before, but we'll put fresh, fresh sauce on them. And then this fall, beginning September 1st, guys, we're going to Romans 16 chapters. We're going to walk from Romans 1 all the way to the end. And it's going to take us September 1st all the way up to the first Sunday of Advent. And we have a super special guest for Advent. Shelby Shuttle from New York City is going to lead us through the days of Advent. You're going to love her. You'll be hearing about her soon. But just know that's going to be a beautiful time. Her series is called Behold. It's perfect for Advent. Behold. So, yeah, one final thing I'll say today, I just want to make one final invitation to consider the offer on this sewing campaign as it closes. I just want many of you to consider the $10 sponsor a new reader invitation. If that gift that helps us send a book at no charge, one of our workbooks to a new reader to help us grow, to help us encourage that person. We want to turn readers into sowers. And this is how it happens. And so there's a link in today's email and in the show notes on the podcast platforms too. And I just want you on the seed team, that's a whole world of goodness to join the seed team. Those are the people who sow financially into this work. And you know us, we're not always talking about money. Rarely are we talking about money. We're talking about the kingdom. And so yeah, we're going to sing today, you know, today, today. The other thing about today. It's the day of. It's, it's what's known as Aldersgate Day in the world of Methodist history, which is an incredible history. It's the day John Wesley went. He says, I went quite unwillingly to a meeting of a society Christian meeting. It was on Aldersgate street, he said, I went in, they were reading Luther's preface to the Book of Romans. And he's like, they weren't even reading Romans yet. They were just reading Martin Luther's prefatory comments that he'd written hundreds of years then at the time earlier. And he says, I felt my heart strangely warmed. You know what happened that day? John Wesley, he was quite religious man, but he was asleep. He didn't really know Jesus. He knew a lot about him. But on that day he woke up to Jesus and there began the great British awakening that you've watched the, maybe you've seen the chart, the George Whitfield movie. This was all connected. And that's the movement that many of us have been a part of and we're praying for massive resurgence and reignition of that in our day, in our time. All right, we're going to sing again. Day of Pentecost. We're going to sing our song we sang yesterday 299. Spirit of the living God, we're going to sing it as a prayer. Just invite you to humble yourself. Sing with me, pray.

[B]

Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me. Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me. Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me. Spirit of the living God, call afresh on me again.

[A]

Just I encourage you to open your hands in front of you as a sign of prayer that you're open handed, ready to let go of what's been holding you back and ready to receive who can take you forward.

[B]

Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me. Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me. Spirit of the living, go fall afresh on me.

[A]

Amen.

[B]

Amen.

[A]

We finished and we're starting again today. We won't see you on the field. I'll see you at the house.

[B]

You're going to church.

[A]

And if you don't have a church, I'd love you to come to Gillette. If you can't come to Gillette, I'd love you to join us online. Just Google gillette, Methodist Church, YouTube or Facebook, you'll find us. And for The Awakening, I'm J.D. walt.