Sermon Opener – Are You Pentecostal?
The well known author and preacher Fred Craddock tells a rather funny story about a lecture he was giving: A few years ago, when he was on the west coast speaking at a seminary, just before the first lecture, one of the students stood up and said, "Before you speak, I need to know if you are Pentecostal." The room grew silent. Craddock said he looked around for the Dean of the seminary! He was no where to be found. The student continued with his quiz right in front of everybody. Craddock was taken aback, and so he said, "Do you mean do I belong to the
What are we talking about this morning? Is the church supposed to use the word Pentecost only as a noun or can it be used as an adjective? And so I ask you: Are you Pentecostal?
In spite of the fact that the church doesn't know what the adjective means, the church insist that the word remain in our vocabulary as an adjective. The church is unwilling for the word simply to be a noun, to represent a date, a place, an event in the history of the church, refuses for it to be simply a memory, an item, something back there somewhere. The church insists that the word is adjective; it describes the church. The word, then, is "Pentecostal."
If the church is alive in the world it is Pentecostal. And you thought we were Methodist! [Insert your own tradition here.]
How do we keep this aliveness, this fire burning, this spirit moving? What must exist in us, around us, and through us, if we are to be Pentecostal? Simply these three things:
1. We Are To Be Of One Accord
2. We Are To Join Together Constantly in Prayer
3. We Are To Repent
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The First Fruits of the Spirit
Do we have the first fruits of the Spirit? Can someone coming into our door to visit for the first time recognize these traits in us?
Love do we love each other, and do we love those who are different from us? Do we love and welcome visitors, no matter who they are? Do we try to make their acquaintance, so that we can love them? Do we put their comfort above our own?
Goodness Peter tells us (2 Peter 1:5) to support our faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge. Our salvation is the result of God's goodness. Likewise, other persons should benefit as a result of our goodness. Our mission work should clearly show our faith in God's goodness.
Peace Is there peace between us, and peace within us? Can someone tell by being with us, that we have a peaceful soul, based upon God as the source of all that we have.?
Faithfulness Is our steadfastness to Christ's church based upon an enduring loyalty that is true to God, no matter how we feel about the pastor, the district, the conference, the women's group, the organist, or any other facet of our organization?
Gentleness Do we exhibit care and protection for all of God's creation? Are we gentle with the environment, with each other, and with ourselves?
Joy Do we look joyous to the outsider? Do we feel joy inside? True joy in being a child of God should be able to override all unhappiness and bitterness we feel, and should be reflected in our total involvement in our worship.
Kindness This action word can be directed outwardly or inwardly. Do we show compassion and generosity to others and ourselves?
Patience How many of us are willing to let others (and ourselves) come along at each's own pace? How many of us can forgive seven times seventy?
Self-Control This is one of the hardest, and may include all of the others. This requires an inner discipline only manageable with the grace of God's Spirit to sustain us in our trials. Do we constantly pray for help in this area, and constantly call on God to help us? If not, we should.
Jane Shepherd, Is The Spirit Here?
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What if Jesus Were Really Boss?
Some years ago Charles Sheldon wrote a book titled, In His Steps. In that book he told about the revolution which occurred in the lives of a church and a congregation when the people decide to put every moral issue to the test of one question—“What would Jesus do?”. Perhaps his book was a bit naive. We are not always sure of what Jesus would do in every situation. Many of the moral issues which we must face as we come to the end of the Twentieth century were never part of His First-century world. Perhaps a better form of the question is: “Given what I know of the mind and spirit of Jesus Christ, what would Christ have me do?” I am confident that a revolution would follow if we were to ever really take that question seriously. But that is what we mean when we confess our faith that “Jesus Christ is Lord.” “Lord,” in the vernacular, means “Boss.” What if Jesus Christ really were Boss around here?
Donald B. Strobe, Collected Works, www.eSermons.com
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Shaken from Our Sanctuaries
A few years ago, AT&T had a major snafu in
Usually, technicians would fix that kind of blackout quickly. However, they didn't respond quickly on that particular occasion. While alarm bells rang unheard, the technicians were--believe it or not--attending a training session on how to handle an emergency.
I worry that something like that often happens in the church. Christ has called us to serve the world for which he died. Worship is that time when we strengthen our spirits for service to the world. When worship becomes an end in itself, we are not being what Christ has called us to be. We need to be shaken from our sanctuaries and into the streets.
King Duncan, Collected Works, www.eSermons.com, 2006
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What Is Your Other Plan?
Erasmus, the famous Renaissance scholar, once told a classis story which was designed to emphasize how important it is that we take up the torch of Christ’s ministry with great commitment. In the story, Jesus returns to heaven after His time on earth. The angels gather around Him to learn what all happened during His days on earth. Jesus tells them of the miracles, His teachings, His death on the cross, and His resurrection.
When He finishes his story, Michael the
Jesus is counting on you and you and you and me. But the good news is, we are not alone. The Holy Spirit is here to melt us, mold us, fill us, and use us.
James W. Moore, Sermon: What Do You Do With Such A Gift?
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You're Doing the Right Things
Sometimes it is easier to look elsewhere for our security and approval. Like the day when Charlie Brown stopped at the psychiatric help stand to talk with Lucy. He confesses, "My trouble is I never know if I'm doing the right thing. I need to have someone around who can tell me when I'm doing the right thing." Lucy says, "Okay. You're doing the right thing. That'll be five cents, please!" Charlie Brown walks away with a smile on his face.
In a few minutes, he returns with a frown. "Back already?" asks Lucy. "What happened?" Charlie Brown says, "I was wrong. It didn't help. You need more in life than just having someone around to tell you when you're doing the right thing." Lucy says, "Now you've really learned something! That'll be another five cents please."
William G. Carter, Water Won’t Quench The Fire, CSS Publishing Company.
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Waiting to Exhale
A character in John Updike’s novel, A Month of Sundays, reflecting on his youthful experience of the church, says, "Churches bore for me the relation to God that billboards did to Coca-Cola; they promoted thirst but did nothing to quench it."
The Holy Spirit empowers the church to be the agent of change in the world, a counter-cultural entity. The task of the church is to breathe in the Spirit and be inspired by the Spirit to act on behalf of God. But the church has been waiting to exhale far too long. As the Spirit of God flows into us, it also ought to flow from us in the way we treat one another, the way we speak to one another, in the way we treat others in our community, in the way we live out the new life we receive when we accept Jesus Christ as Lord.
Staff, www.eSermons.com
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The Irresistible Influence of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit warms us and melts our cold, cold hearts. Recently I ran across a parable that makes the point: Once upon a time there was a piece of iron, which was very strong and very hard. Many attempts had been made to break it, but all had failed.
“I’ll master it,” said the axe… and his blows fell heavily upon the piece of iron, but every blow only made the axe’s edge more blunt, until it finally ceased to strike and gave up in frustration.
“Leave it to me,” said the saw… and it worked back and forth on the iron’s surface until its jagged teeth were all worn and broken. Then in despair, the saw quit trying and fell to the side.
“Ah!” said the hammer, “I knew you two wouldn’t succeed. I’ll show you how to do this!” But at the first fierce blow, off flew its head and the piece of iron remained just as before, proud and hard and unchanged.
“Shall I try?” asked the small soft flame. “Forget it,” everyone else said. “What can you do? You’re too small and you have no strength.” But the small soft flame curled around the piece of iron, embraced it… and never left it until it melted under its warm irresistible influence.
There’s a sermon there somewhere. Perhaps it means that God’s way is not the way of force but love. God’s way is not to break hearts but to melt them. Perhaps it means that that is our calling – to melt hearts… under the irresistible warmth of God’s gracious love.
James W. Moore, What Do You Do With Such A Gift?
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Christianity outside the Church
D.L. Moody once called on a leading citizen in
The Interpreter’s Bible
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It Is No Longer I
Soon after Augustine's conversion, he was walking down the street in
"Augustine," she called again. "It is I!"
Without missing a beat and with the assurance of Christ in his heart, he replied, "Yes, but it is no longer I."
Because of Christ and His Spirit, Augustine was a changed man. He was born again, a brand new creation.
Rev. Adrian Dieleman, Receive the Holy Spirit.”
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The Power to Transform Lives
Oscar Cervantes is a dramatic example of the Spirit's power to transform lives. As a child, Oscar began to get into trouble. Then as he got older, he was jailed 17 times for brutal crimes. Prison psychiatrists said he was beyond help. But they were wrong! During a brief interval of freedom, Oscar met an elderly man who told him about Jesus. He placed his trust in the Lord and was changed into a kind, caring man. Shortly afterward he started a prison ministry. Chaplain H. C. Warwick describes it this way: "The third Saturday night of each month is 'Oscar Night' at
Rev. Adrian Dieleman, Receive the Holy Spirit.”
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Attempting to Hear the Ocean in a Seashell
A tourist stood for long periods of time upon the beach, facing away from the ocean, pressing a seashell against his ear. The water lapped at his feet, the sun beamed down upon his head and shoulders, and the waves crashed just behind him. Firmly, he pressed the seashell against his ear. He wanted to hear the powerful surge of the ocean as it heaved and rolled. See the picture in your mind's eye: a man standing with his back to the ocean, attempting to hear the ocean in a seashell. Although in the presence of the very thing he was seeking, he was oblivious to the actuality.
Some people have difficulty in recognizing that they have caught up to what they have been chasing, or are in the presence of the object of their desire. Such persons, in their extreme forms, are always running but never arriving, always searching but never discovering, always looking but never seeing, always measuring but the numbers are forever wrong. It would be unfair to describe Phillip and the other disciples as fitting this description, but then it would be equally unfair to suggest that they were incapable of obliviousness, particularly since our text begins, "Lord, show us the Father, and we shall be satisfied." Phillip and the others are reminiscent of the man standing by the sea listening for the sound of the ocean in a seashell.
Larry Powell, Blow The Silver Trumpets, C.S.S Publishing Co.
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ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS NOT IN OUR EMAIL
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Waves of Worry
Several years ago a submarine was being tested and had to remain submerged for many hours. When it returned to the harbor, the captain was asked, "How did the terrible storm last night affect you?" The officer looked at him in surprise and exclaimed, "Storm? We didn't even know there was one!" The sub had been so far beneath the surface that it had reached the area known to sailors as "the cushion of the sea." Although the ocean may be whipped into huge waves by high winds, the waters below are never stirred.
This, I believe, is a perfect picture of the peace that comes from Christ's Spirit. The waves of worry, of fear, of heartbreak, cannot touch those resting in Christ. Sheltered by His grace and encouraged by His Spirit, the believer is given the perfect tranquility that only Christ can provide.
Rev. Adrian Dieleman, Sermon: “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
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A Dead Balloon
A "dead balloon" -- has no life. It continues to lie wherever you put it. It doesn't move. It has no power.
Take a "dead balloon" and do what Jesus did -- blow in it. What happens? It's full of air; but it is still dead, going nowhere until that power is released. [As an illustration, the "powered balloon" can be released.]
Under the "spirit's/breath's/wind's" power, the balloon can move. It goes out. However, when the wind power within the balloon is released, you don't know where the balloon is going to go; but you know it's going somewhere. (We don't know where the wind comes from or is going.)
Jesus did not give the disciples the Spirit's power so that they could stay behind locked doors in fear. It is given as a power to move people out into the world -- even if we don't always know exactly where we will end up.
What happens to the balloon after it has "spent" its power? It seems dead again. All out of power. It's flat. There's no more "spirit/breath" within it. On one hand we are not like that balloon. Jesus promises that the Spirit will be with us forever. We will never run out of the Spirit's power. The Spirit given to you in baptism remains forever. On the other hand, over and over again in Acts, we read that certain disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit. Their filling didn't just happen once, but over and over again. So we also need to be refilled. Weekly we return to church as a refilling station. To receive Jesus again in the hearing of the word and in the sharing of sacrament and through the fellowship of the saints.
Brian Stofregen, From his Exegetical Notes.
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Passing the Peace
There is a true story related about a church in the
And, in the Pastor’s response to this man, we find the truth of the Christian life. He said, "Like it or not, when you joined the church you gave up some of your privacy, for we believe in a risen Lord who will never leave us alone." And, he said, "You never know when Jesus Christ will intrude on us with a word of peace."
Rev. Jeremy Rebman, Sermon: “So Send I You”
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Truth Is Hard To Find
Truth is hard to find these days. Do you remember when President Jimmy Carter promised the American people he would never lie to us? We all knew, of course, that Nixon lied to us in the Watergate scandal. We had come to expect that most politicians, including presidents, lied to us regularly. So Carter's promise was met with sneering disbelief. And if "read-my-lips-no-new-taxes" George Bush broke his promise, Bill Clinton, only four-and-one-half months into his presidency, had broken at least three major campaign promises.
Truth is hard to find these days. We struggle with truth in advertising, truth in labeling, truth in packaging, as well as truth in medicine, law, business and even religion. Even the clergy are more suspect than ever before. Truth is hard to find these days.
Maurice A. Fetty, The Divine Advocacy, CSS Publishing Company, 1994.
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Why Do Things Hold Together?
The late Harvard mathematician and philosopher, Alfred North Whitehead, maintained that the whole scientific enterprise of the western world rested upon the belief that at the bottom of things science would find order rather than chaos. If animists were afraid to probe a world enchanted with demons and spirits, western scientists dissected, investigated, explored and probed into the depths of the atom believing order and organization would be found rather than disorder and disarray.
"What was at the bottom of this conviction?" asked Whitehead. It was the theological concept of the Logos, the Word or Reason or Mind of God, which held everything together. Why do things cohere and hold together? It is because the Mind or Logos, or the Spirit of God, holds them together.
Maurice A. Fetty, The Divine Advocacy, CSS Publishing Company, 1994.
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Taking the Time to Care
Douglas Maurer, 15, of
The doctors told him in frank terms about his disease. They said that for the next three years, he would have to undergo chemotherapy. They didn’t sugarcoat the side effects. They told
His aunt called a floral shop to send
His face lit up. "Oh wow!" he said.
It’s interesting: Douglas Maurer was in a hospital filled with millions of dollars of the most sophisticated technological equipment. He was being treated by expert doctors and nurses with competent medical training. But it was a sales clerk in a flower shop, a young woman making $170 a week, who - by taking the time to care, and by being willing to go with what her heart told her to do - gave
John M. Braaten, The Greatest Wonder Of All, CSS Publishing Co.
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(Would it be Auschwitz, Buchenwald, or
Someone Had Tripped the Switch
Bishop Bob Morgan in his book Who’s Coming To Dinner? tells a powerful story about a Dutch pastor and his family who during the second World War got into big trouble with the Nazis. The Dutch pastor and his family had been hiding Jewish people in their home to keep them safe from Hitler’s forces. They were eventually found out. And one night in the darkness, they heard the sound of heavy boots and the loud impatient knocking on the door. They were arrested and loaded into a cattle car to be taken to one of the notorious death camps. All night long the Dutch pastor and his family rode along in heart-breaking anguish, jostling against one another and against the other prisoners who were jammed into the train cattle car. They were stripped of any form of dignity and absolutely terrified. They knew they were being taken to one of Hitler’s extermination centers. But which one? Would it be Auschwitz, Buchenwald, or
Finally, the long night ended and the train stopped. The doors of the cattle car were opened and light streamed into that tragic scene. They were marched out and were lined up beside the railroad tracks, resigned to unspeakable pain, as they knew they would be separated from each other and ultimately killed. But in the midst of their gloom, they discovered some amazing good news… good news beyond belief. They discovered in the bright morning sunlight that they were not in a death camp at all, not in
During the night, someone through personal courage and daring had tripped a switch… and sent the train to
Something like that happened to the disciples at Pentecost. They were afraid, confused, unsure, overwhelmed… and then came this incredible gift… the gift of the Holy Spirit! It turned their lives around… and empowered by this amazing gift, they went out and turned the world upside down.
James W. Moore, Sermon: What Do You Do With Such A Gift?
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A Crippled Giant
Someone has imagined a story of the angel Gabriel meeting Jesus on the day of His ascension into heaven and asking: How did it go Master, how did it go? It went poorly he said, they nailed me to a cross. But I preached the love of God as long as I could. Then said Gabriel, what did you do to see that it would be carried out. I chose twelve said Jesus and I gave them the gospel of God's love for all mankind. I told them to go and tell others. But what if they don't do he asked. And the story has it that the master said: then there is no other way.
It is time that the church recaptures that purpose that was given it on Pentecost day. The church today seems to must to be limping along like a crippled giant when it ought to be marching like a conquering army. I am tired of the church being on the defensive. I am tired of listening to so called avant-garde theologians who have been wrapping black crepe on the church doors and writing its obituary. The church is not dead.
Staff, www.eSermons.com, May 2005
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A Harnessed Power
Power can be used in at least two ways: it can be unleashed, or it can be harnessed. The energy in ten gallons of gasoline, for instance, can be released explosively by dropping a lighted match into the can. Or it can be channeled through the engine of a Honda in a controlled burn and used to transport a person 350 miles. Explosions are spectacular, but controlled burns have lasting effect, staying power. The Holy Spirit works both ways. At Pentecost, he exploded on the scene; His presence was like "tongues offire" (Acts 2:3). Thousands were affected by one burst of God's power. But He also works through the church--the institution God began to tap the Holy Spirit's power for the long haul. Through worship, fellowship, and service, Christians are provided with staying power.
Unknown
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Christianity's Initial Growth
In less than 100 years the fire of the Gospel of Jesus Christ was carried as far as
R. Robert Cueni, Tenders of the Sacred Fire, CSS Publishing Company.
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Be Patient. The Spring Will Come.
Robert Schuller tells of a winter at home, when his dad needed firewood. He found a dead tree and sawed it down. In the spring, to his dismay, he found new shoots had sprouted from the trunk. He said to his son, "I thought sure it was dead; the leaves had dropped, the twigs snapped, it seemed as if there was no life there. But now I see there is still life at the taproot of the old tree." He looked at his boy and said, "Bob, don't forget this important lesson. Never cut down a tree in the wintertime. Never make a negative decision in a low time. Never make your most important decisions when you are in your worst mood. Wait. Be patient. The spring will come." And so, the disciples waited 24 hours, then another day, then a week, and now it has been 10 days, but still they waited - waited and prayed!
R. Robert Cueni, Tenders of the Sacred Fire, CSS Publishing Company.
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A New Way of Seeing
We are too often stuck in seeing the world in only one way and forget that we can be led to different viewings.
A wealthy oil baron once commissioned Picasso to paint a portrait of his wife. When the work was completed, the baron was shocked to see the image that had been created. "Why that looks nothing like my wife! You should have painted her the way she really is!" Picasso took a deep breath and said, "I'm not sure what that would be." Without hesitation, the oil baron pulled out his wallet and removed a photograph of his wife saying, "There, you see, this is a picture of how she really is! Picasso, bending over, looked at it and replied, "She is rather small and flat, isn't she?"
The point is clear: The man was so wrapped up in HIS view of his wife he could not understand anyone else's view of her. On the day of Pentecost there were many Jews who understood, who saw Gods new view of the world through the eye of the Spirit but there were also many there who did not, who could not see the world around them in any other way than the way it had always been.
Brett Blair, www.eSermons.com, May, 2005. Adapted from: Bradford Keeney,
Everyday Soul,
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Living Unaware of Our Vast Fortune
Come with me into
Day after day, as he grazed his sheep over those rolling
At 1,115 feet they struck a huge oil reserve. The first well came in at 80,000 barrels a day. Many subsequent wells were more than twice as large. In fact, 30 years after the discovery, a government test of one of the wells showed it still had the potential flow of 125,000 barrels of oil a day.
And Mr. Yates owned it all. The day he purchased the land he had received the oil and mineral rights. Yet, he'd been living on relief. A multimillionaire living in poverty. The problem? He didn't know the oil was there even though he owned it.
It is fair to say that you and I are a lot like Mr. Yates at times. We are heirs of a vast treasure and yet we live in spiritual poverty. We are entitled to the gifts of the Holy Spirit and his energizing power, and yet we live unaware of our birthright. We gather today to remember how rich we are.
Rev. Dan Rondeau "Come, Holy Spirit"
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The
Do you know that the southernmost point of
Until Jesus Christ rose from the dead, death had been the cape of storms on which all hopes of life beyond had been wrecked. No one knew what lay beyond that point until, on Easter morning Christ showed us. His disciples trembled in fear, even after seeing evidence of His resurrection. Eventually, Christ turns their
"Peace and Forgiveness," by Pastor Buchs
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300,000 Visits For Myself
Jimmy Carter, in his autobiography WHY NOT THE BEST? shared an incident that made him aware of his lack of evangelical fervor.
Each year the congregation of
One day Carter was asked to speak at a church in
As Carter sat there, he began to reflect on the 1966 governor's election. As he campaigned for the state's highest office, he spent sixteen to eighteen hours a day trying to reach as many voters as possible. At the conclusion of the campaign Carter calculated that he met more than 300,000 Georgians.
Sitting in his study the truth became evident. Carter wrote in his autobiography, "The comparison struck me--300,000 visits for myself in three months, and 140 visits for God in fourteen years!"
Jimmy Carter, "Why Not The Best?"
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The poet William Blake wrote a poem about Pentecost. Part of the poem says:
Unless the eye catch fire, God will not be seen.
Unless the ear catch fire, God will not be heard.
Unless the tongue catch fire, God will not be named.
Unless the Heart catch fire, God will not be loved.
Unless the mind catch fire, God will not be known.
William Blake
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God's Not Home Today
A young father tried to hush an exuberant young daughter who stomped around a church sanctuary on a weekday afternoon. "Please be quiet. This is God's house." With that, the curious girl pushed open the sanctuary door, peered around, and then announced, "Don't worry. God's not home today."
William G. Carter, Water Won’t Quench the Fire, William G. Carter, 1996.
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A Paradigm Shift in Watch Making
If people would have been asked in 1968 which nation would dominate the world in watch making during the 1990s and into the twenty-first century the answer would have been uniform:
The Swiss made the best watches in the world and were committed to constant refinement of their expertise. It was the Swiss who came forward with the minute hand and the second hand. They led the world in discovering better ways to manufacture the gears, hearings, and mainsprings of watches. They even led the way in waterproofing techniques and self-winding models. By 1968, the Swiss made 65 percent of all watches sold in the world and laid claim to as much as 90 percent of the profits.
By 1980, however, they had laid off thousands of watch-makers and controlled less than 10 percent of the world market. Their profit domination dropped to less than 20 percent. Between 1979 and 1981, fifty thousand of the sixty-two thousand Swiss watchmakers lost their jobs. Why? The Swiss had refused to consider a new development—-the Quartz movement-—ironically, invented by a Swiss. Because it had no mainspring or knob, it was rejected. It was too much of a paradigm shift for them to embrace. Seiko, on the other hand, accepted it and, along with a few other companies, became the leader in the watch industry.
The lesson of the Swiss watchmakers IS profound. A past that was so secure, so profitable, so dominant was destroyed by an unwillingness to consider the future. It was more than not being able to make predictions—it was an inability to re-think how they did business. Past success had blinded them to the importance of seeing the implications of the changing world and to admit that past accomplishment was no guarantee of future success.
James Emery White, Rethinking The Church, Baker Books, 1998.
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What's Our Purpose?
If we are to reach people for Christ we need people with passion and power. But we also need people with a purpose.
In the late 1800’s, no business matched the financial and political dominance of the railroad. Trains dominated the transportation industry of the
Then a new discovery came along—the car—and incredibly, the leaders of the railroad industry did not take advantage of their unique position to participate in this transportation development. The automotive revolution was happening all around them, and they did not use their industry dominance to take hold of the opportunity. In his video tape The Search for Excellence, Tom Peters points out the reason: The railroad barons did not understand what business they were in. Peter observes that "they thought they were in the train business. But, they were in fact in the transportation business. Time passed them by, as did opportunity. They couldn’t see what their real purpose was."
If the railroad barons at the turn of the century had understood that they were in the transportation business and not the train business we would all be driving a Gould and not a Ford. The same thing happened in the watch and clock industry. The Swiss had dominated time keeping. They controlled 90% of all revenues made in their industry. They made the most precise gears and springs in the world. Their watches and clocks were perfect.
Then something new happened called the Quartz movement—LCD readout. Guess who invented it. A Swiss man. But because it had no gears or knobs or springs it was rejected. They failed to recognize that they were in the business of helping people tell time not making precision gears. They lost their dominance in the industry. They now control 20% of all revenue. Seiko is the dominant leader.
"If Sports Illustrated magazine understood it was in the sports information business, not the publishing business, we would have the Sports Illustrated Channel, not ESPN."
And folks, if we in the
I want to be part of a church whose soul purpose is to win people to Jesus Christ.
I want to be part of a church that is empowered by the Holy Spirit. A church that is going out into the streets with spiritual power and the authority. The Holy Spirit compels us to go.
Brett Blair, www.eSermons.com, May, 2005
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In Touch with the Spirit
Those who say that meditation is an escape from reality obviously have no experience of it. Because if they had this experience they would know that meditation makes us face honestly the reality that is at our own core and it gives us insight into the core of that reality. This, I think, is another way of saying that it puts us in touch with the Spirit. In a sense, then, each time we put on our spiritual snorkels and set out to meditate we are celebrating Pentecost, the presence of the Holy Spirit in our midst.
Fr. Gerry Pierse
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Sermon Opener or Ender
Welcome to Pentecost in the Year 2005!
It is a time to open up to the mind-blowing, heart-warming, life-changing power of God.
The power of God can invade the body, inflate the mind, swell the soul, lift the Spirit and make us more than we ever imagined.
It'll make you young when you're old, and it'll make you live even when you die.
The power and presence of the Spirit will disturb, delight, deliver and lift.
When God sends forth the Spirit, "the whole face of the earth is renewed."
When God sends forth the Spirit chaos is changed into creation the
When God sends forth the Spirit:
A young woman says "Yes". Jesus is born and life is never the same.
When God sends forth the Spirit amazing things happen:
[Ask the congregation to join you by repeating the following]
barriers are broken,
communities are formed,
opposites are reconciled,
unity is established,
disease is cured,
addiction is broken,
cities are renewed,
races are reconciled,
hope is established,
people are blessed,
and church happens.
Today the Spirit of God is present
and we're gonna’ have church.
So be ready, get ready...God is up to something...
[Read these yourself with no response]
discouraged folks cheer up,
dishonest folks 'fees up,
sour folks sweeten up,
closed folk, open up,
gossipers shut up,
conflicted folks make up,
sleeping folks wake up,
lukewarm folk, fire up,
dry bones shake up,
and pew potatoes stand up!
But most of all, Christ the Savior of all the world is lifted up...
Rick Kirchoff,
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The Ability to Hear
Communication, an ability to hear, to know what other people "are getting at" and "where they're coming from," has got to be one of the chief characteristics of the effective pastor. I want to be a good communicator, a skillful preacher. Yet before that, I know that I must be a good listener. As someone has said, "A preacher must listen for six days a week -- listening to God and to the hopes, fears, and aspirations of the congregation -- for the right to speak one day a week." I agree.
Yet our modern world has also shown us how difficult, how very, very difficult, it is to hear. A number of years ago, Deborah Tannen, wrote, Why I Can't Hear You. It was a book about the difficulty of communication between women and men. Men and women speak different languages, says Tannen. When men are trying to say, "I need you to help me," they say it in ways which women can't hear. Likewise, when women say, "Give me some space; I need to be more independent for awhile," men get the message all messed up and hear something else.
Add to this gender-gap, the gaps in our communication due to differences in economics, education, race and class, what hope is there for us ever to understand one another?
The story we have read today, the story of Pentecost, is a story about hearing. Remember the Genesis story of the
William Willimon, How Can I Hear You?.
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Sermon Opener - True Communication
The disciples, despite the presence of the Holy Spirit, were misunderstood. They were perceived, because of their exuberant behavior, as being loaded. Sauced. Drunk. How rare it is to experience real communication. The kind of communication where every word is clearly and completely understood.
Years ago a conscientious homeowner wrote to a manufacturer of cast iron pipes, telling them that he had found that by pouring pure hydrochloric acid down his drain, he immediately opened his grease clogged pipes. He asked if there was any way in which the acid might be harmful to the pipes.
The plumbing manufacturer wrote him back. "Thank you for your letter. The effect of such acid upon ferrous-constructed materials is certain to be deleterious. We therefore strongly urge you to cease such activity in the interest of the future of your plumbing."
He read their letter and responded, thanking them for their letter, telling them that he was relieved that he was doing the right thing in using the acid on the pipes.
Another letter from the manufacturer: "We fear that there may have been some miscommunication in our correspondence. Acid, of that density, applied to cast iron pipe, is certain to have dubious results. Therefore, please desist from your current practices."
The homeowner read the letter, then wrote back, thanking the company for its response, telling them once again that he was delighted that he was doing nothing which might harm the pipes.
Finally, an exasperated manufacturer sent a telegram: DON'T USE ACID. IT RUSTS THE HELL OUT OF THE PIPES!
The possibilities for misunderstanding are limitless.
William Willimon, How Can I Hear You?, May 26, 1996 Acts 2:1-21. Adapted.
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The Fine Art of Doing Nothing
The sign on the stage proclaimed: "The Motionless Man: Make Him Laugh. Win $100." The temptation was irresistible. For three hours boys and girls, men and women, performed every antic and told every joke they knew. But Bill Fuqua, the Motionless Man, stood perfectly still. Fuqua is the Guinness Book of World Records champion at doing nothing. In fact, he appears so motionless during his routines at shopping malls and amusement parks that he is sometimes mistaken for a mannequin. When I heard about Bill Fuqua, "The Motionless Man," he reminded me of a lot of churches I know—many congregations seem to have mastered the fine art of doing almost nothing.
Well, that’s not the way it was on the Day of Pentecost almost 2000 years ago.
Dr. Leigh Bond, Sermon: 2001 Space Odyssey, 2001.
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Stay Together
A man tells of being on a bus tour in
Barbara Brokhoff, Grapes of Wrath or Grace, CSS Publishing,
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Gave It All Up
Use this to Contrast Christianity in the Early 20th Century with Today: C. T. Studd was handed the world on a silver platter. He inherited a fortune from his father, one of the wealthiest Englishmen of the latter 19th century. He himself was a world-class athlete, and captained what some say even to this day was the greatest cricket team in the history of
Which is why these words have all the more power: "Christ's call is to feed the hungry, not the full; to save the lost, not the stiff-necked; not to call the scoffers, but sinners to repentance; not to build and furnish comfortable chapels, churches and cathedrals at home in which to rock Christian professors to sleep by means of clever essays, stereotyped prayers and artistic musical performances, but to raise living churches of souls among the destitute, to capture men from the devil's clutches and snatch them from the very jaws of hell, to enlist and train them for Jesus and make them into an Almighty Army of God. But this can only be accomplished by a red-hot, unconventional, unfettered Holy Ghost religion, where neither church nor state, neither man nor traditions are worshiped or preached, but only Christ and Him crucified. Not to confess Christ by fancy collars, clothes, silver croziers or gold watch-chain crosses, church steeples or richly embroidered altar cloths, but by reckless sacrifice and heroism in the foremost trenches."
C. T. Studd, quoted in Norman P. Grubb, C. T. Studd: Cricketer & Pioneer,
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Consecrate That Trumpet to God
While preaching a revival in
Grapes of Wrath Or Grace, Barbara Brokhoff, CSS Publishing,
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An Amazing Organization
Russ Blowers is a minister who is active in his local Indianapolis Rotary club. At club meetings each week a member gives a brief statement about his job.
When it was his turn, Russ said: "I'm with a global enterprise. We have branches in every country in the world. We have our representatives in nearly every parliament and boardroom on earth. We're into motivation and behavior alteration.
We run hospitals, feeding stations, crisis pregnancy centers, universities, publishing houses, and nursing homes. We care for our clients from birth to death.
We are into life insurance and fire insurance. We perform spiritual heart transplants. Our original Organizer owns all the real estate on earth plus an assortment of galaxies and constellations. He knows everything and lives everywhere. Our product is free for the asking. (There's not enough money to buy it.)
Our CEO was born in a hick town, worked as a carpenter, didn't own a home, was misunderstood by his family, hated by enemies, walked on water, was condemned to death without a trial, and arose from the dead--I talk with him everyday."
The church is the most amazing organization in the world!
Unknown
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Touched By the Holy Spirit
On the day of Pentecost, those touched by the Holy Spirit were accused of being drunk, or maybe crazy. Today, believers are still considered to be weak, foolish, or emotionally unstable. But more and more studies are showing that religious believers are more emotionally and mentally stable than the average population. Religious faith is linked to lower blood pressure and lower rates of drug use, alcoholism, suicide, and mental disorders.
Charles Colson with Nancy Pearcey, A Dangerous Grace (Dallas: Word Publishing, 1994)
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A Moment of Conversion
Oscar Cervantes is a dramatic example of the Spirit's power to transform lives. As a child, Oscar began to get into trouble. Then as he got older, he was jailed 17 times for brutal crimes. Prison psychiatrists said he was beyond help. But they were wrong! During a brief interval of freedom, Oscar met an elderly man who told him about Jesus. He placed his trust in the Lord and was changed into a kind, caring man. Shortly afterward he started a prison ministry. Chaplain H. C. Warwick describes it this way: "The third Saturday night of each month is 'Oscar Night' at
Rev. Adrian Dieleman, Sermon: "Receive the Holy Spirit"
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Afraid of Power
A clergy colleague, a minister in another denomination, commented, "I really think we are afraid of power. Most folks I know (myself included)," he said, "are afraid of power that is beyond ourselves." He went on to suggest that we are like that Forest Service official down in
Rev. Dr. C. Eric Funston, "The Winds of God"
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The One Who Builds the Kingdom
"In our day too, the Spirit is the principal agent of the new evangelization. Hence it will be important to gain a renewed appreciation of the Spirit as the One who builds the
Pope John Paul II, "On the Coming of the Third Millennium"
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Peace of Mind
The absence of suspicion and resentment. Nursing a grudge was a major factor in unhappiness.
Not living in the past. An unwholesome preoccupation with old mistakes and failures leads to depression.
Not wasting time and energy fighting conditions you cannot change. Cooperate with life, instead of trying to run away from it.
Force yourself to stay involved with the living world. Resist the temptation to withdraw and become reclusive during periods of emotional stress.
Refuse to indulge in self-pity when life hands you a raw deal. Accept the fact that nobody gets through life without some sorrow and misfortune.
Cultivate the old-fashioned virtues--love, humor, compassion and loyalty.
Do not expect too much of yourself. When there is too wide a gap between self-expectation and your ability to meet the goals you have set, feelings of inadequacy are inevitable.
Find something bigger than yourself to believe in. Self-centered egotistical people score lowest in any test for measuring happiness.
Staff
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The Keys to the Car
There are transitional moments in life that confirm something tremendous has taken place. One of those moments occurs in a teenager's life and in lives of the parents of that particular teenager, when a mom or a dad gives to him or her the keys to the car for the first time for a solo run. What a transitional moment this is! Many of us have already experienced this. Some of you still have to experience it in life, but, I guarantee you, it's going to happen. It's going to be a step of growth for you. It's a time when you release to your child into an adult world. It's a change in your son or daughter's life from which they are never going to turn back. It's a moment in which you are giving your child an adult responsibility.
It is a transitional moment for the child also because the teenager recognizes that he has been given a great responsibility. It's an adult responsibility. He also realizes that this is something that he needs to take care with because great trust has been put in him. Teenagers need to prove to their parents that the validity of their faith in them is correct.
In the Scripture for today, Jesus does something very similar for His followers. Jesus said, "As the Father has sent Me, so send I you." Jesus is tossing the keys to the kingdom to His disciples. He is demonstrating that He is accepting them as His followers but He is also demonstrating to them that He is entrusting to them the message of the gospel. He gives to them a great privilege. He is showing them that He believes in them.
Pastor Don Walker, "Commissioned to a New Ministry"
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The Art of Rhetoric
William Willamon says, “The art of rhetoric, the art of using language skillfully and persuasively, arose in ancient
The profession of law was born in a time when people needed others to stand before the court and skillfully argue their case using the best possible arguments, the right words, and the right appeal to the good judgments of the court.”
This very well could be the image Jesus has in his mind as he speaks about the one who will come and stand before the world and skillfully argue Gods case, for us, “using the best possible arguments, the right words, and the right appeal to the good judgments” of people.
Staff
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On The Wrong Side
Edward Gibbon wrote "The Decline and Fall of the
Rev. William R. Boyer, “Jesus’ Greatest Promise”
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The End Is the Beginning
The end of the gospel of John always sends us back to the beginning. Every ending always implies the beginning of something new. On December 31st, the last day of the year, we celebrate the beginning of the New Year. Pregnancy ends with the delivery of a baby, and a new life begins—for both the parents and the baby. When you finish High School, you enter a new world of college or work. Jesus’ death on the cross was an ending, but it was also a beginning. Pentecost is the last day of the Easter season, and it is also celebrated as the beginning of the church.
Rev. Carla Gorrell, "Looks Like a Conspiracy"
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The Holy Gust
Colonel (
Rev. Earl Feddersen, "The Holy Gust"
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He Lives In Me Right Now!
Norman Neaves some years ago told about a teacher asking the students in her fourth grade class to name the person they considered the greatest person alive in the world today. Their responses were varied and interesting.
One little boy said, “I think it’s Joe Montana because he led the 49ers to all those Super Bowl wins.” A little girl said, George Bush… and still another named Oprah… and on and on it went with the students mentioning a wide variety or celebrities.
But then it was little Donnie’s turn. Without hesitation Donnie said, “I think it’s Jesus Christ because He loves everybody and is always ready to help them.” Mrs. Thompson smiled and said, “Well, I certainly like your answer, Donnie, because I’m a Christian too… and I also admire Jesus very much. But there’s one slight problem. I said the greatest living person… and of course, Jesus lived and died almost two thousand years ago. Do you have another name in mind?” I love the simple, innocent, confident, wide-eyed response of little Donnie. He said, “Oh no, Mrs. Thompson, that’s not right at all. Jesus Christ is alive! He lives in me right now!”
That’s the good news of our faith and the message of Pentecost… God is with us right now working from the inside out, giving us the Breath of Life, the Fire Power of Commitment… and the Peace That Passes All Understanding.
James W. Moore, Sermon: What Do You Do With Such A Gift?
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That’s No Way To End Up?
I once heard G. Gordon Liddy speak to a college audience in
I am enough of a “Christian realist” in the tradition of Reinhold Niebuhr to at least appreciate an element of his thinking. After all, the government’s role is the use of force. And in a fallen world it is needed. But Liddy seemed to mean more than this: force and a strong will for him were not provisional answers in a fallen world; they were the answer.
One of my colleagues on the faculty rose to timidly pose the question: “But in our country, most people...after all, do base their ethics on...like...the teachings of Jesus...and” (finally he got it out with a rush) “this-doesn’t-sound-much-like-the-teachings-of-Jesus.” He sat down.
Liddy glared a moment, took in a breath, and bellowed: “Yeah—and look what happened to Jesus!” He flailed his arms outward, holding them as if on the crossbeam of a gibbet: “They crucified him.” To Liddy, the case was closed. The audience reacted, briefly, as if stunned, astonished—and then with thunderous applause. After all, Liddy only said out loud what everyone else had already concluded: “Failure, persecution and pain, instead of success, appreciation and a good retirement—that’s no way to end up.”
A. J. Conyers, The Eclipse of Heaven, (InterVarsity Press,
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Some Pentecost Thoughts
As I see it, the Holy Spirit is graciously and unobtrusively busy all over the place. The quiet Helper. The unpretentious Friend.
The Helper is quietly at work:
in the sincere concern of a friend for our health,
in those who take a stand against injustice,
in the grace of folk who go the second mile,
in the inner resources we discover in times of crisis,
in those who dare to go against the tide of popular opinion,
in the grace that enables us to admit when we are wrong,
in the resilience of people who fight for the rights of others,
in those who surrender some of their rights for the larger good,
in times when we share the Gospel in spite of our inadequacy,
in finding joy in unexpected places,
in taking on responsibilities that we once thought beyond us,
in refusing to let the greed of society take over our soul,
in giving thanks always, even through the hard times of life,
in rising above past failures and putting past hurts behind us.
in finding a central core of peace in the midst of turmoil,
in daring to laugh in situations where some would curse,
in knowing ourselves to be children of God,
in knowing ourselves loved, even when we have been very unlovable.
Bruce D. Prewer, "Some Pentecost Thoughts"
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Two possible Sermon Outline for Acts 2:1-21:
At Pentecost the church was given:
Passion of the Disciples
Power of the Holy Spirit
Purpose of the Gospel
The Church's...
Motivation is the Holy Spirit
Method is Evangelism
Message is Jesus Christ
Brett Blair, www.SermonIllustrations.com, 2000
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HUMOR
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The Man with the Terrible Headache
Perhaps you heard about the man who had been suffering with a headache for several days. Finally, he went to see a doctor. However, the office nurse who looked and acted like a Marine Drill Sergeant at
And so the man did. When he got into the room and closed the door, he discovered another man already sitting in there wearing a hospital gown. The man with the headache said to the other guy, “This is ridiculous. I don’t know what in the world I’m doing in here. This is crazy. I just have a headache.” The other man said, “You think you’ve got problems. I just came in here to read the meter!”
Now that nurse had power, didn’t she? But that’s not the kind of power I’m talking about. Not the power of brute force or blatant intimidation… not the power of political clout or wealth or weapons. But rather the power of knowing God’s presence in our lives… and what that presence produces… integrity, honesty, commitment to a great cause. The sense of being God’s co-worker, the assurance of God’s love… there is nothing stronger than that.
James W. Moore, Sermon: What Do You Do With Such A Gift?
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STUDY
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Two Commentaries
THE FOLLOWING TWO COMMENTARIES, ONE FROM 1933 BY MICHAEL SLAUGTHER, AND THE OTHER FROM KARL BARTH 1998 BY OFFER TWO VIEWS ON HOW THE CHURCH SHOULD RESPOND GIVEN PARTICULAR CULTURAL/SOCIETAL CONTEXT. You decide.
First: How does the church transform itself without transforming its message so that it can respond to the new culture? Michael Slaughter believes that it must move with the culture from the old literate means of communicating to a visual multimedia means of expressing ideas. He says that culture has experienced an “Electronic Media Pentecost.” Here is his description of the new North American culture:
99.9 percent of Americans have televisions;
97 percent have plumbing.
I phoned home from a conference about the Media Reformation. During the course of the conversation, Jonathan, my fifteen-year-old son and sports enthusiast informed me that Rick Pitino would probably be leaving the head coaching position at the
“Where did you read this, Jonathan?”
“I didn’t read it. I saw it on
See not read is the word for this generation. This is the generation that has been saturated with media from the day they were born. From the Brady Bunch to MTV, From McDonalds’ Golden Arches to Nike. This generation, often referred to as Busters or Generation X, has been raised on an electronic playground. Atari, Nintendo, and Sega have been their baby-sitters
Our children view more than 5000 hours of television by age five. At age seven, if she’s anything like the typical kid, she will watch some 20,000 TV commercials a year. This saturation in multi-sensory images is what we mean by the impact of media on values and beliefs. My kids would point to the Golden Arches of McDonalds through the car windows before they had a fifty-word vocabulary. For years it was the only place they lobbied to eat during vacation. Our children are not the only persons raised in an audio-visual culture. From I Love Lucy, Howdy Doody, The Wonderful World of Disney, Leave It To Beaver, Gunsmoke, Father Knows Best, The Twilight Zone, Ed Sullivan, Dallas, countless hours of soap operas, Saturday Night Live, Oprah, Phil, Jerry, Geraldo to ER —TV has defined our values, styles, vocabulary, and choices. Two generations have grown up in a mass-media culture. TV is the defining medium. Now we bring on the Internet, where the values, lifestyles, and new vocabularies are piped on to personal television or computer screens without regulators or censors.
Personal focus on the screen has created a radical paradigm shift in the way “things make sense” to children, youth, and adults. A recent national study tried to determine the impact TV has had on the way college students learn.
-They expect to be entertained. Serious topics and serious discussions are viewed as boring.
-They are visually oriented. They relate more quickly to pictures than to words.
-They are not attentive to lecture-format presentations, which often lack motion, color, rapid changes, sound effects, visual effects, music, and drama.
-They become bored easily, unless information is fragmented and packaged according to the TV formula.
-They dislike history. TV does not deal with the historical facts effectively, nor does the TV generation.
-They dislike reading.
No wonder the Church isn’t making sense for most people in the North American culture. We are speaking a different language. We are still using the language of a literate culture in a post-literate visual age.
Michael Slaughter, Out On The Edge, Abingdon, 1998.
Second: Not without reason is there engraved on our communion table, “Take, eat, this is my body broken for you, my blood which is shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins.” That is as true today as it was a thousand years ago, and it will be as true a thousand years from now as it is today. He stands as the centrum. This story wishes to tell us nothing else. It tells us that on Pentecost when He was spoken about, all understood. When speech really tells about Jesus, then there is not a single person who, when asked to understand, could not understand. Of what significance, are the differences of language and culture as compared with this one, great redeeming Word which He came to tell us! That He stands in the midst means: these thousand fold distinctions of world and life outlooks sink away in His presence. We are often concerned how we may present Jesus to t he differing ages and stages of life, so that men may understand Him. How should we preach to the cultured? to laboring men? to youth? How much more important is it to consider whether it is really Jesus who is pro-claimed and whom we would have draw near us. If we actually gripped the centrum, where He stands, with our speech, if it were really He of whom we spoke, would we need to trouble ourselves about these differences of age and social station? As the circumference of the circle is around the center, so all the ages and stages are placed around Him. Or as a grenade crashes through the structure of the house from the top to the bottom, so the Word of God which Jesus brings, crashed through the structure of life in which humans dwell, from the pinnacle to the deepest basement.
Karl Barth and Eduard Thurneysen, Come Holy Spirit, Eerdmans, pp. 173-174
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