Ministry Matters Preach! Teach! Worship! Reach! Lead! "How the church gets happiness right & wrong | Evangelism or hospitality? | Christian unity"

Ministry Matters Preach! Teach! Worship! Reach! Lead! "How the church gets happiness right & wrong | Evangelism or hospitality? | Christian unity"

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How the church gets happiness right and wrong by Rebekah Simon-Peter

What makes for happiness? The Beatitudes capture Jesus’ apocalyptic teaching on happiness or blessedness. Blessed or happy are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the meek, the peacemakers and those persecuted for the sake of righteousness.

Did that make people happy then? Maybe so. Especially given the time and place he taught in. Today? Doubtful. We live in a very different world with greater wealth, dazzling choice and growing personal power. Who really wants to settle for the pure, modest, self-sacrificing ways Yeshua counsels?

As it turns out, there’s a growing body of research that shines light on what makes postmodern people happy. Surprisingly, or maybe not, much of it lines up with the teachings of Jesus. But surprisingly, or maybe not, the church doesn’t always get it right.

I want to share three ways the church gets happiness right, two ways it gets it wrong, and one critical change your church can make to increase the happiness quotient on the planet.

How the church gets it right

1. Put others first. According to recent research, what makes for meaning, and therefore happiness, isn’t so much about pursuing your own passion — at least if it is self-focused — as much as helping others make meaning in their lives. To the extent that our ministries focus on bettering the lives of our fellow human beings and the planet we share, this is an area the church gets happiness right. It lines up with Jesus’ teaching on self-sacrifice now for greater good later. And it lines up with what makes for healthy congregations. No, we don’t want to encourage people to be doormats, but we do want to encourage the pursuit of the healthy self-sacrifice that leads to meaningful lives.
2. Be generous. Giving to others significantly increases happiness. “Simply thinking about contributing to a charity of choice activates a part of the brain called the mesolimbic pathway, the brain’s reward center, which is associated with feelings of joy,” according to "Happiness: 6 Myths and Truths." To the extent that your congregation excels at being a charity of choice, this is another way the church gets happiness right. Generosity towards God and others is an underlying assumption of the Beatitudes.
3. Give of yourself. In addition to giving money, which is very important, being face to face with the people you are giving to radically increases happiness. If you need a shot of endorphins, go beyond writing a check to interpersonal interactions that make a difference in the lives of others. Face-to-face interactions multiply the neurobiology of joy. These feelings not only bathe a person in well-being, they support a church in living out its mission and deliver on the kind of joy Jesus taught about.

How the church gets it wrong

1. Playing it safe. Security has long been associated with happiness. But paradoxically, the ways individuals in churches prefer to play it safe — for instance caring more about “us” than about “them” or not embracing risky ministry lest people leave — actually endangers congregational security. Playing it safe may keep some people happy in the short run, but in the long run these churches die out. And they die hard. Not happy.
2. Lack of compassion. Inclusivity is the name of the game in the Beatitudes: You can be poor, hurting, wounded, persecuted, meek, on the outs — and you are still in. That’s the gospel according to Jesus. But the gospel according to many churches is not that broad-reaching. Or if it is, they’re not going public with it. By going public with it, I don’t mean saying “everyone is welcome.” That’s so easy as to be meaningless. I mean actively identifying your congregation with the poor, the persecuted and those on the outs of society. In our day and age that likely means closely identifying with people living below the poverty line, the working poor, the hungry, the undocumented, brown and black-skinned immigrants, the imprisoned, and/or gays and lesbians — among others. It also means standing up for the well-being of Planet Earth itself. This of course is not easy — for all kinds of reasons —not least of which is overcoming congregational laryngitis and embracing risk. On the other hand, it lines up beautifully with the Beatitudes Jesus gave voice to.

What your congregation can do

Want to increase the happiness quotient on the planet? And to do it in a way that increases giving, hands on involvement in serving people, and followers of Jesus?

Then here’s the one critical change your church will need to make: Lead with a vision. Craft a vision that focuses on reaching out to others, helping others and working with them side by side. Share this vision frequently, passionately, and follow through on it. Giving goes up when people are giving to a project that helps people, that puts a face on the church’s place in the world and that makes a real difference. Your vision can be the deciding factor.

One church I served finished paying off the mortgage early, in part by adding a second collection, called Pennies from Heaven. Once the mortgage was completed and the papers burned in a rite of celebration, we decided to keep the Pennies from Heaven offering going. According to the church treasurer, congregational giving actually increased. Turns out specific people and needs in the community and around the world were even more compelling than paying off the mortgage. It didn’t hurt that the kids took up that collection. All that loose change helped many a family in our community, sent Bibles to forbidden countries where believers were persecuted, funded two work trips to a Katrina-devastated area of Mississippi, and other projects too numerous to recall.

It all started with a bold new vision: “Ordinary people doing extraordinary things with the love of Jesus Christ.”

This vision not only provided needed momentum for giving, it powered remarkable spiritual growth that touched practically every area of the church. Bible studies grew in number and size. We started a prison ministry at the men’s medium security state penitentiary. Several men from the community, who still can’t believe they had the courage to participate, led a Bible study there. Another two dozen people from the church and community trooped out for sing-along Christmas caroling there. Additionally, we experimented with new ways to connect with the poorer families in our community — some of which worked and some of which didn’t. We also started a second service, bought new hymnals, learned to sing new songs — even those in Spanish — opened up to new worship styles, and eventually shared space with a Spanish-speaking congregation. All of this prompted new designated financial gifts and growth in the regular budget.

How to explain all this? In a word, the church got happy. The congregation was making a difference it could see, feel, touch and taste.

Want to increase your happiness quotient, spiritual growth, and the effectiveness of the church ? A powerful, bold and life-giving vision is key.

Rebekah Simon-Peter blogs at rebekahsimonpeter.com.

A better reflection: The church, racism and our future by Michael W. Waters

As the American presidency of Barack Obama nears its conclusion, political pundits have begun the work of historically defining his terms in office. Among their considerations is what issues will remain most prominent in our recollections of the Obama era? Without question, one is an issue about which Obama was initially quite apprehensive to speak publicly, an issue that has once again taken center stage in our national conversation: race. 

From the media castigation of his former pastor, the Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright, Jr., pastor emeritus of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, Illinois, for his Afrocentric and prophetic preaching, to the Beer Summit, alongside Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., a black Harvard professor who was arrested by police while breaking into his own home; from Obama’s statement of seeing himself in Trayvon Martin at the White House to the fires that have raged from Ferguson to Baltimore, racial tension has marked the Obama presidency.

Personally, the president and his family have not been immune from this tension. In fact, the family has often been targeted by racist cruelties. The United States Secret Service notes that there have been more threats on Obama’s life than on any president in American history. The Obama family’s physical features — from his wife Michelle’s backside to his daughter Malia’s hair — have been criticized by politicians, the media and the general public as un-American. Governors have pointed fingers in his face, or refused to greet him altogether, when he arrived in their states, actions unheard of in previous administrations. And who can forget the notorious “You lie!” exclamation that arose during Obama’s 2009 State of the Union address? 

These offences and many more have caused many to identify Obama’s racial identity as the impetus for such unprecedented disrespect of the Office of the President. 112 years ago, Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois, the first African American graduate of Harvard University, one of the president’s alma maters, wrote in his classic text "The Souls of Black Folk" that “the problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line, the question of how far differences of race — which show themselves chiefly in the color of skin and the texture of the hair — will hereafter be made the basis of denying to over half the world the right of sharing to their utmost ability the opportunities and privileges of modern civilization.” While there are clearly other great concerns that now face our nation in the 21st Century, ranging from economic disparity to the increased threat of urban terrorism, race remains a prominent concern for our nation.

It is impossible to speak about the state of race relations in our nation in the past, or in the present, without speaking about the role of the church. The church has found itself equally on the wrong side and the right side of this issue. The church has proven itself to be proponent and opponent of racist ideals, an instigator and peacemaker regarding racial concerns, equally segregationist and integrationist, both Pharaoh and Moses. Many of the founding fathers, professed Christians whose glorious rhetoric painted portraits of freedom and equality for all, owned slaves. Yet, persons shaped by the church and church leaders, from William Wilberforce to Bishop Richard Allen, were the ones who spoke out against the institution of slavery and made many sacrifices for the cause of freedom.

Southern American churches served as hosts to Ku Klux Klan rallies as well as mass meetings for the Southern Civil Rights Movement. The church has been a haven of peace and a promoter of violence. Both are its legacy. Therefore, deeply imbedded in this legacy is hypocrisy, a hypocrisy that may have been best articulated by the nineteenth-century abolitionist Frederick Douglass, who wrote:

We have men-stealers for ministers, women-whippers for missionaries, and cradle-plunderers for church members. The man who wields the blood-clotted cowskin during the week fills the pulpit on Sunday, and claims to be a minister of the meek and lowly Jesus...The slave auctioneer’s bell and the church-going bell chime in with each other, and the bitter cries of the heart-broken slave are drowned in the religious shouts of his pious master. Revivals of religion and revivals in the slave-trade go hand in hand together. The slave prison and the church stand near each other. The clanking of fetters and the rattling of chains in the prison, and the pious psalm and solemn prayer in the church, may be heard at the same time. The dealers in the bodies of men erect their stand in the presence of the pulpit, and they mutually help each other. The dealer gives his blood-stained gold to support the pulpit, and the pulpit, in return, covers his infernal business with the garb of Christianity. Here we have religion and robbery the allies of each other—devils dressed in angels’ robes, and hell presenting the semblance of paradise. 

Hypocrisy is no less than spiritual oppression. It renders the church’s praxis incomplete, its witness impotent. As new reports recently emerged stating that American Christianity continues its rapid decline as fewer and fewer Americans identify as adherents of the faith, could it be that our great hypocrisy has taken its toll?

In the Epistle of James, the writer addresses the oppression of hypocrisy. After encouraging this persecuted church to remain faithful in the face of many trials, James offers a series of warnings. Concerning this church’s bout with hypocrisy, James writes, “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like" (James 1:22-24).

The purpose of a mirror is not only to show your reflection, but when you see your reflection, afford you that opportunity to make a better one. In many ways, the Obama presidency has presented our nation with a great opportunity. It has uncovered the continuing legacy of racism that impacts our nation. It has deflated the lie of living in a post-racial society. It has unsettled our notions of diversity. It has forced us to look at the mirror and to bear witness to a still disheveled appearance.

The question is, will we seize this opportunity, and with the help of God improve our reflection, or will we continue to walk away from the mirror, our face smeared with the sleep of our apathy and hypocrisy?

On Christian unity by David F. Watson

“Unity” is a big topic in the United Methodist Church these days. People are worried about institutional division, and rightly so. Acts of intentional and public disobedience to the Discipline by those who have taken vows to uphold it have caused many in our denomination to ask whether a unified future is possible. Most mainline Protestant denominations have already split over issues related to homosexuality. As General Conference approaches, the political tension is becoming more palpable.

Good News, and particularly Maxie Dunnam and Rob Renfroe, have been labeled “schismatics” because they were leading the call to consider division of the denomination. As will become clearer below, I think this label is unfair. Similarly, Bill Arnold and I were accused of attempting to split the denomination when we published the “A and W Plan.” In fact, that plan represents nothing more than an attempt to hold United Methodism together within the framework of our common covenant. Before we start labeling people “schismatics,” I think we should give due consideration to what unity in the church actually is.

Unity in love

Christians began talking about unity before there was very much of an institution to hold together. Various passages in the New Testament urge these early believers to love one another. Jesus says in John 13:35, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” Col 3:14 urges, “Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” In the New Testament, love among believers is not simply a feeling of affection. It means that the community of faith becomes like a family, and can even supplant the natural family in importance. The loyalty and honor of believers is first and foremost within the family of faith, where believers are brothers and sisters, and God is their Father. Just as in the natural family, there are expectations, norms of behavior and proper ways of honoring one another. That is in part why it is so serious when there are members of the community who flout the agreed-upon norms of the community. Take the example of the man who is living with his father’s wife in 1 Corinthians 5. Paul’s desire to maintain unity within the church in Corinth leads him to identify practices and impose consequences when the communal norms are unrepentantly broken.

Unity in the Spirit

The unity described in the New Testament, however, has to do with more than just love expressed in loyalty and norms of behavior. Unity is rooted in the work of God in Jesus Christ and maintained through the Holy Spirit. In Ephesians 1, we are told that God has put all things under Christ’s feet and “has made him head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all” (22-23). In the next chapter, we are told that we are “citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.” Apart from the spiritual presence of Christ, the church cannot subsist as a body. “In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God” (2:19-22). It is not just any spirit that holds the church together, but the Spirit of God in Jesus Christ.

Unity in faith

Therefore we are to make “every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all” (4:3-6). It is not just any god who has acted in just any way on our behalf. No, a particular God has acted in a particular way in the midst of human history so that we may be saved from sin and death. God the Father sent Jesus Christ to us for our salvation, and we are bound to Christ and to one another by the work of the Holy Spirit. The very nature of the church is rooted in the scandal of particularity. Unity involves acknowledgement of this particularity and living with the consequences of the scandal.

There are many more passages in the New Testament that come to bear on the way we should understand unity in the church. I quote these to highlight three themes that I think are important for us today: (1) the church is a family of faith bound together in love and loyalty, (2) the church does not exist apart from the eternal work of God the Father in Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit, and (3) there is a particular content to proper Christian belief and proclamation.

Do I want unity in The United Methodist Church? Yes, I do, very much. But I want unity that goes beyond a loose system of government, a pension fund and a logo. Unity cannot simply be institutional. For Christians, unity as the body of Christ rooted in the Holy Trinity should be more important than anything else. We are bound together in love by the One whose faith we are called to proclaim. Unity involves a certain set of theological claims and the praxis that flows forth from them.

There are many within the UMC and beyond who simply thumb their noses at the faith of the church, berating “orthodoxy” as if it were to theology what leeches are to medicine. We need to move beyond this antiquated way of thinking, they say. Quit harping on about the Trinity, the Incarnation, the Resurrection. The primitive minds who dreamt up orthodox claims about God and Christian salvation are exceeded in their fatuity only by the fools today who happen to believe they were right.

I have to confess, I’m one of those fools, and there have been many others, much more devout and committed than I, who have dared to hold to the foolishness of Christian proclamation. Many have given their lives for this foolishness, including the first followers of Jesus, including the Christians of the Middle East who are being martyred today. Why would they do this? They know that “God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength” (1 Cor 1:25).

As we think about the people and practices that are causing disunity in our denomination, it would be well for us to identify what unity actually is, how it is being threatened and what we are going to do about it. Simply saying we want to “avoid schism” isn’t enough. The only real Christian unity is unity in the Holy Trinity, which means mutual love, mutual accountability and the proclamation of the faith once delivered to the saints. Institutional commitments themselves cannot serve Christian unity unless they are visible expressions of our unity in God.

David F. Watson blogs at davidfwatson.me.

Evangelism or hospitality — or both? by  Olu Brown

This article is featured in the Evangelism Versus Hospitality: Do They Come? Do They Stay? (May/June/July 2015) issue of Circuit Rider

Some may contend that there is a stark difference between evangelism and hospitality, but I believe that in twenty-first-century culture they are the same strategy reflected differently, as rays from a diamond in the sun. Historically, many local churches have designed their evangelism and hospitality efforts to include the election of a six- to nine-member team, cookies in the lobby for visitors, and follow-up via poorly printed form letters delivered by the US Postal Service. Before today, this form of evangelism and hospitality worked because, for the most part in the US, we were seeking and reaching the loyalty generation. This generation grew up in a time in America when loyalty was king. People from this generation stayed with a company, denomination, or community organization even if they disagreed with its creed or practices or if they had unhappy experiences. These individuals would work for their employer for decades and, upon retirement, receive a small cake in a less-than-plush company break room, the latest and greatest paper certificate with a raised gold-star sticker, and handshakes from coworkers who were quietly miserable with their own careers, secretly wishing that the retirement party was for them. Truly we owe a great deal to these forerunners who’ve been so loyal—our wonderful institutions, endowments, and many of our scientific, religious, and technological achievements. Many of these individuals who built and nurtured most of our local churches and larger denominations were a congregation’s prime customers for the early form of evangelism and hospitality. Fifty years ago, we could simply hang a cross in a new sanctuary, place an “open for business” sign on the front door, and rightly expect as a direct result that people would enter the building and experience the power of God.

Today it’s an entirely different story and landscape, requiring a different design, approach, and execution. In 2015, the early form of evangelism and hospitality is no longer optimal; it doesn’t help local churches connect with the communities around them. Today, we are no longer trying to reach only the “loyalty” generation. We are also seeking the “relational” generation. The relational generation is a uniquely creative group, craving relationships that are not formed or nurtured primarily through traditional or outdated institutions. As the relational generation came into being, many denominations and local churches failed to maintain a pulse on the current developing beneath the flow of the loyalty generation.

The deep undercurrent that our predecessors missed was the future presence of today’s relational generation, which is best explained from the passage in Exodus 1:8 (NLT): “Eventually, a new king came to power in Egypt who knew nothing about Joseph or what he had done.” We were so certain that the loyalty generation would have children and grandchildren who would be similarly loyal. However, in 2015 we know that this isn’t the case as we continue to witness a decline in American Christian churches—a decline that some find to be incredibly frightening. While the decline may be scary, it’s also at least motivating, causing an energetic mobilization of church leaders to research and develop new ideas and practices for our denominations and local churches.

So, the solution for twenty-first-century local congregations is to learn how to reach a new and profoundly creative relational generation while still connecting to the loyalty generation.

We can actually live out this solution by practicing good ol’ evangelism and hospitality — except that we execute in fresh and different ways. We are fresh and different when we realize that evangelism and hospitality today is more than knocking on doors, inviting neighbors to the upcoming Vacation Bible School, and providing visitors with lobby cookies on Sunday mornings. Contemporary, good ol’ evangelism and hospitality is actually making real and lasting relationships, developing a strategy called “zip code presence.” This strategy means sitting with leaders from our congregations to map out our churches’ zip codes in five- to ten-mile radius circles accompanied by questions like “Who are the schools’ principals? Who is the police chief? Who is the fire chief? Who are the business owners? Where are the apartments, the young people, the seniors, and the nonprofit organizations?” Like most churches and leaders, we will leave these kinds of meetings with more questions than answers, which is a good result, one that means our churches have the opportunity to be a twenty-first-century relational faith community. Then we can be committed to connecting with our immediate communities so that our congregations can truly be witnesses for Jesus Christ. Actually, we would not have enough room in any of our churches if we fully committed to this practice of evangelism and hospitality using zip code presence and diligently sought the answers to our questions.

Finally, once we ignite zip code evangelism and hospitality in our local churches, we have to go one step further to commit to and practice “extreme” hospitality. This type of hospitality is best defined by the following three statements: All people are welcome. All people are worthy. All people have a place. This type of extreme hospitality will make authentic and lasting places for those in our communities with whom we connect via the zip code evangelism tool. My hope is that we don’t spend much time debating evangelism vs. hospitality. Rather, I hope that we recognize and use these strategies as complementary tools and powerful connectors to the world around us, deciding to practice evangelism and hospitality on a new level — fresh, different, yet somehow familiar.

Real community by  Courtney T Ball

Both my brothers have told me more than once, “Community for the sake of community is not enough.” (Strangely, we have these kinds of conversations.) I get what they mean, but I think they’re wrong.

What they mean is that a community must have a higher purpose. It has to be about more than people getting together just to enjoy each other’s company. They want communities to have a positive, measurable impact on the world. I have heard a similar critique of churches before (even spoken these words myself). “The church isn’t just a social club.”

Here’s the thing. When it comes to community my brothers (and most Americans under the age of 60) don’t know what they’re talking about. They don’t know because their experience of community is so incredibly limited.

This is what I mean.

• Today, families are smaller and spread over great distances. People no longer grow up surrounded by large networks of extended family. 
• Our educational and career ambitions keep many of us on the move every few years. We’re a nation of transients. Deep, long-term friendships are exceedingly rare. 
• Information and entertainment is mostly electronic. Many of us spend more time staring at screens than we do looking at other human faces. 
• We too often identify ourselves by what we produce or consume (our jobs or our brands or our teams) instead of the personal qualities and God-given gifts which we come to know about ourselves through real interactions with family, friends, and even enemies. 

There is a story in the Christian Bible where Jesus is asked, “What is the greatest commandment?” He answers by quoting well-known passages from the Hebrew Bible. He tells his audience that above all, they must love God and love their neighbors.*

There’s a long history of debate about what it means exactly to love God. I won’t go into all that except to say that according to the first letter from John, the main way we show our love for God is by loving one another.†

And of course there’s that famous passage from Paul. (You’ve heard it at a wedding or two I’m sure).

If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.♥

Maybe you don’t believe in God or Jesus or care much about what’s written in the Bible. Even if that’s true, can you come up with a higher purpose than loving one another? Is there a more worthy pursuit for our lives? Would you feel fulfilled if you reached the apex of your chosen career but did not know what it was like to love and be loved?

I should clarify something here. When it comes to love, I’m not talking about an idea. I’m talking about an activity. Real love happens when people:

• Spend time together (in both work and play) 
• Break down barriers to include (true love is not possessive or exclusive) 
• Understand, accept, appreciate and enjoy one another 
• Generously provide for each other (materially, emotionally) 
• Trust enough to communicate honestly 
• Forgive, empower, and encourage one another 

This can happen between partners in a marriage. Siblings, parents and children may find it in family. A few of us are lucky enough to experience this even today in long-term friendships. But the only way we can truly love our neighbors is in community.

1. Real community is that place where the actions of love — not just the fuzzy ideas of love — get lived out by actual people. Real community is a high purpose in and of itself. In fact, it is the highest purpose. Jesus knew this. He worked and sacrificed and even died in his effort to establish real community, what he called the kingdom of God.
2. Real community does not happen by itself. That is more than clear today in America. But we need it just as much now as we ever have.

So, I’d like to know: Have you experienced real community? Or even something close? If so, with whom? What did it look like? How did it come about? Was it someplace others can visit and see? You can share your answers in comments below or send them in an email to me at writercball@gmail.com.

Thanks in advance for sharing.

1. *Matthew 22:35-40 and Mark 12:28-31 (similar wording can also be found in Luke 10:25-28). Jesus is quoting from Deuteronomy 6:4-5 and Leviticus 19:18.
2. †1 John 4:19-21 (and similar verses in 1 John 4).
3. ♥ 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 (but read the whole chapter)

You can see more of Courtney's work at CourtneyTBall.com, or sign up to receive his weekly email, “Life and Depth.”

The might of your own hand by  Logan Robertson

This piece was originally published at Disembodied Beard. Used with permission.

With Eric Garner, Mike Brown, Tamir Rice, Freddie Gray and the Baltimore riots sparking dialogue in the church about race and justice in America, it is impossible to avoid discussions of privilege. Except, for some of us, the reaction seems to be to resist discussions of privilege entirely. This effort at willed ignorance stands not only against the reality of privilege, but also against the Christian witness about the gifted nature of our existence.

This is privilege: a road made straight, a route constructed without the labor of one’s own hands, traffic and street signs made to fit one’s own understanding of the rules of the road.

It is strange to be alive at all, is it not? Then it should not be so strange to imagine people born with advantages beyond their own responsibility. Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in 1943 that it is natural to look back with special thankfulness upon the joys of life, the unflagging support of friends and family, a way made smooth. Many Christians seem to have lost this thankfulness in the intervening 72 years. If they have not, then I wonder why so many react defensively to the concept of privilege. Bonhoeffer says: “no one can create and assume such life from his own strength.”(1)

This is ancient knowlege, not a product of some newly-devised postmodern liberalism. Moses says,

"Do not say to yourself, ‘My power and the might of my own hand have gained me this wealth.’ But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, so that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your ancestors, as he is doing today."(2)

He goes on to say that to forget this is to forget the Lord God and worship other gods. If wealth is anything in our present situation, it is a god. But wealth is perhaps too ambiguous for this discussion.

Being itself should be the basis of any Christian investigation of privilege. Life, from the Christian perspective, is a gift. Combined with the image of God within each person, the gift of being is the basis of equality for all humanity. This basic equality is erased by our economics, ethics, politics, and cultures. We erase our gifted equality. We sin.

Of course, part of the Christian witness is also an affirmation of our status as forgiven beings. Sin does not have the last word. But here I want to hold on to repentance as a precondition for grace. In relation to inequality, to repent is to contend with privilege. One must ask, how straight is my road? Is it smoother than my neighbor’s road? What advantages have I reaped without the labor of my own hands? When has my labor yielded a greater harvest than my neighbor’s when our efforts were equal? Have I often reaped more even when my efforts lagged? When my neighbor has been unable to work as I have, has s/he perhaps been burdened by something I do not see or cannot understand?

But one must go further than questions. Bonhoeffer would say that to stop here is “cheap grace.” Answers to these questions aren’t available in isolation. Life is a gift, and it is as Jesus says:

"When you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift."(3)

Contending with privilege is the same. First ask imaginative questions, then be reconciled to your neighbor. Only then may you be reconciled to God.

In the future, when confronted with discussions of privilege, simply repent. Turn away from defensiveness and toward your neighbor. Remember your life is a gift. Be reconciled to your neighbor, and offer your life back to your maker.

1. Letters and Papers from Prison
2. Deuteronomy 8:17-18 
3. Matthew 5:23-24

Beyond self-loathing to God's future by  Kenneth H. Carter, Jr.

The release of the Pew U.S. Religious Landscape Study has generated prominent headlines in the general and church media. “Christianity Faces Sharp Decline,” the Washington Post announced; “America is Getting Less Christian and Less Religious,” according to Huffington Post; and in Christianity Today, “Evangelicals Stay Strong as Christianity Crumbles.”

These and other summaries have been shared via social media over the past few days. I have encouraged friends to move beyond the headlines and to dig more deeply into the data itself. The discoveries there are significant. In the United States:

• Christian affiliation is declining as a share of the population 
• The mainline and Catholic Churches are experiencing the most significant decline 
• The evangelical and historically black churches are experiencing a slight decline 
• There is small growth in faiths beyond Christianity 
• There is significant growth among the unaffiliated 
• One-third of the population has a religious identity different from the one in which they were raised 
• Two-thirds of persons who immigrate to the U.S. are Christians 
• Anglos are more likely to be religiously unaffiliated than blacks or Hispanics 
• Men are more likely to be religiously unaffiliated than women

Of course, beyond the data there is the matter of interpretation. I offer three brief comments.

1. We have clearly moved in most communities beyond a culture of church affiliation as conformity. A generation ago, it was acceptable and expected that one participated in a church in order to cultivate social, economic and political relationships. Ed Stetzer has distinguished between cultual, congregational and convictional Christians. The age of social conformity shaped cultural and congregational Christians, but lacked the capacity to disciple men and women into a convictional and practicing faith.

2. The increasing numbers of “dones" (those who no longer claim a Christian affiliation) is the result of two factors. We must first take responsibility; in the words of the confession, “we have failed to be an obedient church”. And so we are honest about the church's self-inflicted wounds, evident in the harm we have done to each other. We should also note that the growth of unaffiliated has been shaped by the relentless critique of the church from without (the high culture of academia and the popular culture of film, television, drama and music) and within; in social media I am often taken by the default posture of cynicism and displaced anger within the church (and among the clergy), which takes the form of self-loathing.

But a third learning from the data, for me, is most significant.

3. The real shifts toward growth of the nones calls us to take seriously movements like Fresh Expressions in the U.K., which is a much more secular context than the U.S.

Here we can give up on the idea that if we passively wait for them, they will return. This was the inherent flaw in the “Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors” campaign; it assumed that the “nones” and the “dones” would flow into our spaces and find us to be tolerant, open-minded people.

The research suggests that this did not happen, and is not likely to occur in the future. And so we are left with critical questions:

• Can we give a proper burial to the church of social conformity, whether it be marked by liberalism or conservative evangelicalism?
• Can we move from self-loathing into God’s future, one that is missional and experimental? Can we claim the affirmation voiced in our prayer, that God might “free us for joyful obedience”?
• And can we channel our resources — our prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness — toward community-based forms of making disciples, who would transform, if not the world, at least the neighborhoods in which we live?

Ken Carter is resident bishop of the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church. His Converge Bible study “Holy Spirit and Community” has just been released.

How to recognize evil by  Drew McIntyre

Russian icon of the Old Testament Trinity by Andrey Rublev

We live in an age where the language of good vs. evil is not appreciated. Hyper-postmodernity would have us believe that every truth claim is merely an assertion of power, so no truth claim holds value. Bulls---. Here’s how to recognize evil:

Love unites. Evil divides. It’s a simple premise that, if you accept it and begin to look for it, you’ll see everywhere. Churches. Families. Communities. And of course, on to whole nations and regions of the globe.

Love brings things together in ways that are life-affirming. In marriage, two become “one flesh” and join lives, hearts, and wills. Communities form when individuals become neighbors. Countries form when communities come together for the common good.

Evil is the opposite. Evil makes a marriage a contract between two individuals rather than a covenant bond. Evil turns community members into bitter, envious, hateful, and prejudiced rivals competing for scarce resources. Evil turns nation against nation.

As Augustine noted, evil has no force on its own. Evil can only ever be a parasite. It is a privation of the good only possible wherever the good is found.

God (who is love) became united with humanity for our salvation, to unite us to God and to each other. As St. Maximos the Confessor observed (emphasis mine):

“In His love for man God became man so that He might unite human nature to Himself and stop it from acting evilly towards itself, or rather from being at strife and divided against itself, and from having no rest because of the instability of its will and purpose. Nothing sequent to God is more precious for beings endowed with intellect, or rather is more dear to God, than perfect love; for love unites those who have been divided and is able to create a single identity of will and purpose, free from faction, among many or among all; for the property of love is to produce a single will and purpose in those who seek what pertains to it. If by nature the good unifies and holds together what has been separated, evil clearly divides and corrupts what has been unified. For evil is by nature dispersive, unstable, multiform and divisive.”

Evil is the power of entropy, the power to corrupt, to rot, to destroy that which God has joined together in love. Division is the way of the world (it’s no accident that Christians are often enjoined to flee it, after all). It’s hard for people, even with much in common, to be united in the bond of love; pride and experience and competing narratives all get in the way.

But let’s be clear: God’s will, the ultimate Good, is not for division but for loving unity. As God has been revealed to us as a unity of persons who are distinct but still united in will, purpose, and love — a mystery we name Trinity — so God’s will for us, his people, is that we might know that same purely other-regarding love in our lives. A high calling, but one worthy of our best efforts, despite the difficulties and many differences which too easily divide us.

May that effort be found abundantly among us: as wives and husbands, as communities, and particularly as the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Body of Christ. As David Watson has suggested, such unity is not primarily institutional but spiritual. In a world bent on incarnating the evils of division along every possible line, let us resist that tide and pray for the power of the Holy Spirit to instead live as Paul exhorted the church at Ephesus:

“…with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.” (Eph. 4:2-6, NRSV)

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. 

Source: “First Century Various Texts,” from the "Philokalia: Volume 2" (London: Faber & Faber 1981), 174. If the Philokalia is unfamiliar to you, I highly recommend it and this helpful interview with the great Orthodox leader Metropolitan Kallistos Ware.

Drew McIntyre blogs at Uniting Grace and co-hosts theWesleyCast.

What ‘I love you’ sounds like by  Matt Rawle

Pentecost: Jean II Restout, 1732

“And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them” (Acts 2:2-3). It is difficult to describe the indescribable. It’s as if the Gospel authors didn’t even try to explain the resurrection. Mary came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away. With the exception of Matthew’s description of an earthquake and an angel, that’s about all we have to describe Jesus’ resurrection. It could be that while Jesus walked with the disciples during the forty days after his resurrection he never revealed exactly what happened. I would imagine that at least Peter, James or John would have asked. On the other hand, maybe Jesus did describe what happened in the darkness of the tomb, but even words couldn’t fully contain the “other” of what resurrection is or was or will be.

And then we have the day of Pentecost. Luke, the author of both the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts, tried to describe what it was like for the Holy Spirit to come upon the disciples who had gathered together in one place. Just saying the first few words aloud should make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Go ahead. Read it aloud.

“And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind.” Don’t you almost expect it to happen again while reading it out loud?

On the one hand we have the darkness of an empty tomb, and on the other we have an ecstatic experience of a rushing wind and dancing fire. There’s such a stark contrast in how resurrection and Pentecost are described. It’s like when you are falling in love. You meet, you talk, you walk, you embrace. There’s something about the other person that wakes you up in the morning, but words just don’t adequately describe the butterflies in your stomach and the skipping beat of your heart. Then you say to each other, “I love you,” and there’s something like the sound of a rushing wind and everything just feels right. You couldn’t describe it before, and maybe can’t after, but the world could be crumbling around you and it doesn’t seem to matter.

Jesus was raised and 50 days later Christ and humanity exchanged an “I love you” that forever shook even the words on our tongue. Now that’s worship!

Matt Rawle blogs at MattRawle.com.

Is it heresy for Baptists to baptize a baby? by  Heidi Hall / Religion 

Adults are baptized while the congregation sings at nondenominational CrossPoint megachurch in Nashville on Sunday, May 17, 2015. RNS photo by Heidi Hall

(RNS) The sprinkling-style baptism of a Dayton, Ohio, infant — a scene heartwarming and commonplace for Catholics and mainline Protestants — is touching off accusations of doctrinal heresy in the evangelical world.

In April, an influential American Baptist Churches USA pastor performed the rite, which most Baptists believe is reserved for Christians who are able to make a mature confession of faith. Although there are dozens of Baptist denominations in the U.S., the news made instant waves among those who know and understand Baptist teachings.

Before long, a Southern Baptist seminary president compared the notion of Baptists baptizing infants to vegetarians eating steak.

But while denominations squabble about doctrine, the Southern Baptist Convention, the nation’s largest Protestant denomination, routinely immerses children age 5 and younger. A task force report based on 2012 figures said that age group was the only one seeing growth in numbers of baptisms, although a top researcher in the denomination said that’s no longer the case.

In light of new survey data showing a decline in the number of self-professing Christians, some have wondered whether denominational heads are urging younger baptisms as a way to provide a membership boost.

Others discounted that theory.

“There’s pressure to go downward in age because parents are kind of convinced that their kids are understanding it earlier, and it’s easier to baptize kids,” said Ed Stetzer, executive director of LifeWay Research.

“I don’t think it is a preservationist instinct,” he said. “It’s more of a precociousness instinct.”

The meaning of infant baptism varies slightly among denominations that practice it. In the Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church encouraged infant baptism after fears arose that babies not baptized might die without the chance of salvation. Today, the sacrament is still understood to wipe away original sin inherited from Adam and Eve.

Baptists, on the other hand, believe the practice is rooted in Jesus’ own baptism story, said Yolanda Smith, a Yale Divinity School research scholar who specializes in Baptist theology and the black church.

In the biblical account, Jesus was baptized as an adult, and his immersion symbolizes dying to sin and being reborn — a foreshadowing of his death and resurrection, Smith said. For Baptists, making that choice also symbolizes full integration into the church.

The Rev. Rodney Kennedy, the First Baptist Church of Dayton pastor who baptized the 7-month-old boy, said the fact that his church accepts members who were baptized as infants without immersing them as adults influenced his decision. He said the backlash doesn’t surprise him.

“The Christian community needs to have a conversation about baptism,” said Kennedy, a seminary professor who has served terms as president of the Dayton Area Baptist Association. “Our nation is becoming progressively pagan, and we’re going to sit here and argue about when we need to baptize people? … I am no longer interested whether confession of faith comes before or after baptism.”

He said he performed the baptism with the support of his church’s executive council and faced no repercussions from his denomination and no loss of membership.

David Dark, author of “The Sacredness of Questioning Everything” and assistant professor of religion and the arts at Belmont University in Nashville, said people’s beliefs have always been fluid, but that fact is getting more attention.

“I think that there is the growing belief that, even if we don’t share every approach to religion with people of other traditions or faiths, everyone is in the same relationship with God the way that we’re in the same relationship with oxygen,” he said. “Increasingly, we receive the wisdom whatever the source without policing the boundaries of traditions.”

But Jason Allen, president of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, who wrote a popular blog post on the subject, was adamant: “Baptizing infants is not Baptist,” Allen said. “It’s a disqualifier.

“If you are baptizing someone, regardless of age — 4 or 44 — and they don’t have a sufficient understanding of the gospel, or they do understand and their heart has not been pierced by it, it’s an injustice to that person. They’ll be inclined to think they have a right standing before God.”

A recent Southern Baptist Convention task force found a two-decade decline in baptism and issued a report last year encouraging parents and church leaders to “make the claims of Christ clear to the Next Generation.”

Alvin Reid, evangelism professor at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C., who served on that task force, said the idea was to focus on young people from middle school through college.

It’s troubling to hear about 3-year-olds being baptized, Reid said, but he said he was not aware of any Southern Baptist church that receives people into membership who have been baptized as infants. Most Southern Baptist churches require a believer’s baptism.

“We have to understand that people don’t come to church because we put out a sign and put on a pageant. We have to be missional and living the gospel.”

Bright spots & tough challenges for evangelicals in Pew survey by  Trevin Wax / Religion News Service

(RNS) The survey of America’s religious landscape released by the Pew Research Center last week engendered controversy, with headlines and articles latching onto one aspect of the data (usually the number of self-identifying Christians dropping to 70 percent) and then speeding away to exaggerated conclusions.

What’s the story here? Is it the “demise” of Christianity? Or the steadiness of religious practice? Is it the accelerating decline of denominational affiliation? Or the slow but upward tick of “evangelicals”?

Like so many surveys, there are different ways one can interpret the data.

Evangelical leaders saw the statistics as vindication: The number of evangelicals has grown, a sign that “true Christianity” is winning the day over the “progressive” mainline denominations or a cultural “Christianity-in-name-only.”

Liberal Christians pushed back against evangelical “triumphalism,” pointing out that some of the worrisome statistics that were once true only of mainline Protestantism are now showing up in evangelical denominations as well.

These divergent perspectives on the Pew survey are connected to larger narratives that frame how conservative and liberal Christians in the United States see themselves. In “The Righteous Mind,” Jonathan Haidt describes the different “stories” that arise, depending on whether you lean to the left or right politically. Though he has written primarily about “liberals” and “conservatives” from a political standpoint, I find his analysis easily applies to “liberals” and “conservatives” within Christianity also.

Haidt describes the liberal narrative as “heroic liberation.” Applied to the church, liberals would say the authoritative and hierarchical structures of the church (not to mention the way the church has wielded power in the past) are elements of tradition that keep people in chains. Liberals want to set people free from outdated or misunderstood dogma. Haidt summarizes the conservative narrative as the “heroism of defense.” Applied to the church, conservatives are protecting their heritage, much like a home that needs to be reclaimed after significant damage has been done by termites. Loyalty to the church is declining because submission to God’s word is being subverted. Conservatives want to hold tightly to the life-giving truths of Christianity and maintain the church’s distinctiveness, no matter how unpopular it may be.

If you’re examining the Pew survey from the “liberation” narrative, then the solution is for the church to “get with the times.” To wit: If only churches would stop taking backward and damaging social positions, maybe they’d start growing again! If you’re looking at it from the “defense” narrative, then the solution is for the church to “hold the line” and clarify true Christianity from its counterfeits: If only the “cultural” Christians would disappear altogether, then we’d know who really believes in traditional Christianity!

Which one of these interpretations is right? I’m one of the convictional Christians: “traditional” not progressive, “conservative” not liberal. Not surprisingly, the “heroism of defense” resonates more with me than “liberation” does. Still, I find elements of both these interpretations shortsighted.

Regarding the progressive interpretation, I don’t think it’s accurate for commentators to interpret Christianity’s decline as a backlash against evangelicalism’s unpopular stances on morality and sexual ethics. According to this thesis, we ought to see an uptick in mainline denominations that hold to liberal views. Instead, mainline Protestantism continues to hemorrhage members, especially millennials.

Furthermore, those who still identify as Christians are becoming “evangelicalized” (a term from researcher Ed Stetzer); that is, what remains of American Christianity is increasingly evangelical in its outlook.

Regarding the conservative interpretation, it’s shortsighted for evangelical leaders to celebrate a declining number of self-identifying Christians, as if the fading of cultural Christianity is, in and of itself, a good thing.

I’m glad to see Christianity become more convictional, not just cultural. But the Pew survey shows “nominal” Christians now choosing “none of the above,” which indicates that the consciousness of the wider culture is moving away from religious devotion. Evangelicals can celebrate the steadiness of our own religious fervor, but the fact that our friends and neighbors are choosing “none” means they will probably be harder to reach moving forward.

In the end, if you are an evangelical, the Pew survey offers reason for celebration and cause for concern. You can celebrate that even as fewer people now self-identify as Christian, more Christians identify with the evangelical movement. But we ought to be concerned about the growing apathy and indifference among Americans toward religion in general.

Evangelicals may be shaping Christianity like never before, but Christianity is no longer shaping American culture like it once did. And there’s our challenge: While liberal and conservative Christians passionately debate the data, more of our neighbors checking “none” say, “Who cares?”

Southern Baptists to open their ranks to missionaries who speak in tongues by  Yonat Shimron / Religion News Service  Greg Horton

Anita Hensley of Kansas City, Mo., joins in worship at the National Day of Prayer observance on Capitol Hill on Thursday (May 2). RNS photo by Adelle M. Banks

(RNS) After decade-long resistance, the Southern Baptist Convention will admit missionary candidates who speak in tongues, a practice associated with Pentecostal and charismatic churches.

The new policy, approved by the denomination’s International Mission Board on Wednesday (May 13), reverses a policy that was put in place 10 years ago.

Speaking in tongues is an ancient Christian practice recorded in the New Testament in which people pray in a language they do not know, understand or control. The practice died out until Pentecostalism emerged around the turn of the 20th century. In Pentecostal churches it is considered one of many “gifts” of the Holy Spirit, including healing and the ability to prophesize.

Allowing Southern Baptist missionaries to speak in tongues, or have what some SBC leaders call a “private prayer language,” speaks to the growing strength of Pentecostal churches in Africa, Asia and South America, where Southern Baptists are competing for converts and where energized new Christians are enthusiastically embracing the practice.

“In so many parts of the world, these charismatic experiences are normative,” said Bill Leonard, professor of church history at Wake Forest Divinity School. “Religious groups that oppose them get left behind evangelistically.”

The change does not mean that Southern Baptists will commission missionaries who speak in tongues. But Wendy Norvelle, a spokeswoman for the IMB, said an affirmative answer regarding the practice would no longer lead to automatic disqualification.

Southern Baptists have long prided themselves as among the world’s most ambitious missionaries — reaching countries and regions few dared to go — but they are increasingly finding competition from fast-growing Pentecostal Christianity, which now has an estimated 300 million followers worldwide.

In 2005, the International Mission Board created guidelines that specifically disqualified all missionary candidates who spoke in tongues. For Southern Baptists, the practice, also known as glossolalia, ended after the death of Jesus’ apostles. The ban on speaking in tongues became a way to distinguish the denomination from others.

These days, it can no longer afford that distinction.

“Southern Baptists are experiencing such demographic trauma of membership and baptism they need new constituencies among nonwhite population,” Leonard said.

Indeed, the issue became such a lightning rod for Southern Baptists that it got top billing on the application form.

“If someone said they did pray in tongues, they were automatically disqualified, essentially for being honest,” said Wade Burleson, an Enid, Okla., pastor who opposed the ban.

The policy changes approved this week during an IMB trustee meeting in Louisville, Ky., will leave the question of tongues in the application.

And the IMB said it will still end employment for any missionary who places “persistent emphasis on any specific gift of the Spirit as normative for all or to the extent such emphasis becomes disruptive,” an FAQ on the IMB website explained.

Other policy changes this week would allow divorced missionaries to serve in more positions, including long-term missions assignments.

And the IMB will recognize baptisms performed by other Christian denominations so long as they involved full-body immersion. Previously, a Southern Baptist minister must have baptized missionary candidates who transferred from another denomination.

My struggle with Ben Carson by  By David Person

Photo courtesy iprimages via Flickr

Ben Carson lost my support as a presidential candidate over 20 years ago when he was the guest speaker at the Emmanuel-Brinklow SDA Church in Ashton, Maryland. 

Initially, I looked forward to the sermon. What I knew of Carson in those days was all positive: world-renowned neurosurgeon, African-American role model with an amazing story of overcoming childhood challenges to become enormously successful. Since I was also a visitor that day, I thought I was in for an especially unexpected blessing. 

Instead, what I recall is that Carson’s opening remarks were so full of right-wing propaganda that I walked out. Carson was certainly entitled to his point of view. But I wasn’t obligated to sit through it. 

The experts say that we church-going blacks tend to be social conservatives. I’m sure that’s true for many of us, even though I am socially, politically and theologically liberal. But even the most socially conservative African-American Christians likely still have a strong connection to the civil rights movement’s motivations and values, which include viewpoints on equity and justice that Carson and other black political conservatives tend to de-emphasize or even reject, as his recent visit with some Baltimore leaders showed.

The GOP seems to hope that Carson will draw blacks into the party while deflecting the constant criticism of it as the party of white male privilege. But even John Philip Sousa IV, the founder of the National Draft Ben Carson for President Campaign Committee Super PAC, has low expectations about Carson’s impact on the racial divide in voting.

He told CNN last year that Carson would get at least 17 percent of the black vote. He based that on two facts: first, Carson is black; two, polling done by Herman Cain’s campaign – the lone black Republican during the last presidential cycle – projected that Cain would get 17 percent of the black vote.

Sousa and the Cain campaign have underestimated the loyalty of African-Americans to Obama. His presidency is powerfully symbolic. Even we who disagree with the president on some issues — for me, his administration’s disregard for certain civil liberties has been disturbing — nevertheless appreciate the overall competency, class and positive impact of his leadership. I believe history will not only vindicate most of his agenda, it will document how the Obama presidency moved our nation forward on race relations.

If he were eligible for a third term, I’d vote for him again despite my concerns. I suspect that far more than the 83 percent the Cain campaign ceded to Obama would do the same. 

Besides, Carson went way over the top when he said the Affordable Health Care Act is worse than slavery. Not only was the comparison offensive, it showed how out of sync he is with black people. A Pew Research-USA Today survey found that African-American support for the AHCA jumped from 50 to 91 percent between 2009 and 2013. 

Carson is entitled to his own opinion about the AHCA, just as the rest of America is. But the political optics aren’t good when the only potential African-American presidential candidate has been so hostile toward the signature legislation of America’s first African-American president.

Sousa’s first point — Carson’s blackness guarantees him a certain percentage of the African-American vote — feels like a cavalier underestimation of the discernment of black people. We aren’t duped by political minstrelsy. Putting a black face on policies and philosophies that disenfranchise the poor and people of color and undercut or remove legitimate opportunities for them while falsely characterizing them as subscribing to victimology, makes the policies no less palatable. 

Commonalities matter, but they aren’t conclusive. Not when it comes to race. And certainly not when it comes to faith.

Ways to love by Connie Cole Jeske

This article is featured in the Evangelism Versus Hospitality: Do They Come? Do They Stay? (May/June/July 2015) issue of Circuit Rider

I sat around a table with my small group last night. As we ate dinner I asked, “What comes to your mind when you hear the word evangelism?” For the most part every­one smiled but silently continued to eat. One group member finally spoke up and said, “It’s loving people.” I agree. Loving people is evangelism. It is also hospitality.

Since no one else spoke up, I shared that when I grew up, “evangelism explosion” was the primary form of evangelism in my United Methodist church. We were bold to share the good news of Jesus Christ by knocking on doors. We would canvas neighborhoods with our evangelism explosion tools. After introducing ourselves and what church we were from, we proceeded with asking the question “If you were to die tonight, would you go to heaven?” Amazingly, people would answer the question. We would go through the gospel message step by step. I remember people asking Jesus into their heart as their personal Lord and savior, right there on their front porch.

In our culture today, most people do not open their doors to strangers. Much has changed, and our assumptions, definitions, and practices must change, too. What does it mean for us as Christians to love people today?

Christians are called to share the hope we have — to share the good news that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins so that we can have a relationship with God and have eternal life. If we are to love people, we must be willing to be in relationship with them. Loving people causes a constant tension, because loving a person necessarily forces me out of my comfort zone. Loving others diverts my attention to them; my focus shifts away from myself. When I actively, consciously, intentionally love others, I go beyond my own sphere into theirs. That may take me to someone’s doorstep, but more likely it will take me into a neighborhood laundromat, playground, or coffee shop. And instead of reciting an outline of the gospel message, I will strike up a conversation about whatever the other person is doing or thinking or struggling with at the moment. I’ll look for ways to help, to be a friend, to do the loving thing, moment by moment, in relationship. This is my definition of assertive evangelism today.

Hospitality is welcoming the stranger, inviting them in, designing activities and experiences that will resonate with them, and sharing the gospel message by word and deed at every step along the way. True hospitality requires that we actively, consciously, and intentionally welcome others, thinking first about what our church will feel like for them, rather than for us. This is a radical challenge. “Others” are strangers, unfamiliar, and we sometimes fear the unfamiliar. We can become very comfortable inside the walls of the church. If we are to extend hospitality, we must embrace being uncomfortable.

Assertive evangelism and welcoming hospitality may be in tension at times, when we are deciding where to use resources and what efforts to emphasize in our congregations. But they are both ways to love others, and both are important as we answer our call to share the good news of Jesus Christ.

I think sometimes we get so caught up with the methods and logistics — whether we think in terms of assertive evangelism or radical hospitality — that we forget the “others” entirely. We forget that there are people who work alongside us, live next door, or serve us at our favorite restaurant who are longing for someone to tell them that Jesus loves them, to show them Jesus cares, to enter relationship with them, to welcome them.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is as relevant today as it was when Jesus walked on earth with his disciples. We live in a world full of lonely people, a world full of people waiting for the church to be actively, consciously, intentionally relevant, courageous, and full of grace.

This Sunday May 24, 2015

Pentecost Sunday: 

Acts 2:1-21

Psalm 104:24-34, 35b

Romans 8:22-27

John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15

Lectionary Scriptures:

Acts 2:1 The festival of Shavu‘ot arrived, and the believers all gathered together in one place. 2 Suddenly there came a sound from the sky like the roar of a violent wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then they saw what looked like tongues of fire, which separated and came to rest on each one of them. 4 They were all filled with the Ruach HaKodesh and began to talk in different languages, as the Spirit enabled them to speak.

5 Now there were staying in Yerushalayim religious Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd gathered; they were confused, because each one heard the believers speaking in his own language. 7 Totally amazed, they asked, “How is this possible? Aren’t all these people who are speaking from the Galil? 8 How is it that we hear them speaking in our native languages? 9 We are Parthians, Medes, Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Y’hudah, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, 10 Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome; 11 Jews by birth and proselytes; Jews from Crete and from Arabia. . . ! How is it that we hear them speaking in our own languages about the great things God has done?” 12 Amazed and confused, they all went on asking each other, “What can this mean?” 13 But others made fun of them and said, “They’ve just had too much wine!”

14 Then Kefa stood up with the Eleven and raised his voice to address them: “You Judeans, and all of you staying here in Yerushalayim! Let me tell you what this means! Listen carefully to me!

15 “These people ar en’t drunk, as you suppose — it’s only nine in the morning. 16 No, this is what was spoken about through the prophet Yo’el:

17 ‘Adonai says:

“In the Last Days,

I will pour out from my Spirit upon everyone.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy,

your young men will see visions,

your old men will dream dreams.

18 Even on my slaves, both men and women,

will I pour out from my Spirit in those days;

and they will prophesy.

19 I will perform miracles in the sky above

and signs on the earth below —

blood, fire and thick smoke.

20 The sun will become dark

and the moon blood

before the great and fearful Day of Adonai comes.

21 And then, whoever calls on the name of Adonai will be saved.”’[a][Footnotes:

Acts 2:21 Joel 3:1–5(2:28–32)]

Psalm 104:24 What variety there is in your works, Adonai!

How many [of them there are]!

In wisdom you have made them all;

the earth is full of your creations.

25 Look at the sea, so great, so wide!

It teems with countless creatures,

living beings, both large and small.

26 The ships are there, sailing to and fro;

Livyatan, which you formed to play there.

27 All of them look to you

to give them their food when they need it.

28 When you give it to them, they gather it;

when you open your hand, they are well satisfied.

29 If you hide your face, they vanish;

if you hold back their breath, they perish

and return to their dust.

30 If you send out your breath, they are created,

and you renew the face of the earth.

31 May the glory of Adonai last forever!

May Adonai rejoice in his works!

32 When he looks at the earth, it trembles;

when he touches the mountains, they pour out smoke.

33 I will sing to Adonai as long as I live,

sing praise to my God all my life.

34 May my musings be pleasing to him;

I will rejoice in Adonai.

35 May sinners vanish from the earth

and the wicked be no more!

Bless Adonai, my soul!

Halleluyah!

Romans 8:22 We know that until now, the whole creation has been groaning as with the pains of childbirth; 23 and not only it, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we continue waiting eagerly to be made sons — that is, to have our whole bodies redeemed and set free. 24 It was in this hope that we were saved. But if we see what we hope for, it isn’t hope — after all, who hopes for what he already sees? 25 But if we continue hoping for something we don’t see, then we still wait eagerly for it, with perseverance.

26 Similarly, the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we don’t know how to pray the way we should. But the Spirit himself pleads on our behalf with groanings too deep for words; 27 and the one who searches hearts knows exactly what the Spirit is thinking, because his pleadings for God’s people accord with God’s will.

John 15:26 “When the Counselor comes, whom I will send you from the Father — the Spirit of Truth, who keeps going out from the Father — he will testify on my behalf. 27 And you testify too, because you have been with me from the outset.

John 16:4 But I have told you this, so that when the time comes for it to happen, you will remember that I told you. I didn’t tell you this at first, because I was with you. 5 But now I am going to the One who sent me.

“Not one of you is asking me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 Instead, because I have said these things to you, you are overcome with grief. 7 But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I don’t go away, the comforting Counselor will not come to you. However, if I do go, I will send him to you.

8 “When he comes, he will show that the world is wrong about sin, about righteousness and about judgment — 9 about sin, in that people don’t put their trust in me; 10 about righteousness, in that I am going to the Father and you will no longer see me; 11 about judgment, in that the ruler of this world has been judged.

12 “I still have many things to tell you, but you can’t bear them now. 13 However, when the Spirit of Truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own initiative but will say only what he hears. He will also announce to you the events of the future. 14 He will glorify me, because he will receive from what is mine and announce it to you. 15 Everything the Father has is mine; this is why I said that he receives from what is mine and will announce it to you.

John Wesley's Notes-Commentary for:

Acts 2:1-21

Verse 2

[2] And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

And suddenly there came a sound from heaven — So will the Son of man come to judgment.

And it filled all the house — That is, all that part of the temple where they were sitting.

Verse 3

[3] And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

And there appeared distinct tongues, as of fire — That is, small flames of fire. This is all which the phrase, tongues of fire, means in the language of the seventy. Yet it might intimate God's touching their tongues as it were (together with their hearts) with Divine fire: his giving them such words as were active and penetrating, even as flaming fire.

Verse 4

[4] And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

And they began to speak with other tongues — The miracle was not in the ears of the hearers, (as some have unaccountably supposed,) but in the mouth of the speakers. And this family praising God together, with the tongues of all the world, was an earnest that the whole world should in due time praise God in their various tongues.

As the Spirit gave them utterance — Moses, the type of the law, was of a slow tongue; but the Gospel speaks with a fiery and flaming one.

Verse 5

[5] And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.

And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews — Gathered from all parts by the peculiar providence of God.

Verse 6

[6] Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.

The multitude came together, and were confounded — The motions of their minds were swift and various.

Verse 9

[9] Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,

Judea — The dialect of which greatly differed from that of Galilee.

Asia — The country strictly so called.

Verse 10

[10] Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,

Roman sojourners — Born at Rome, but now living at Jerusalem. These seem to have come to Jerusalem after those who are above mentioned. All of them were partly Jews by birth, and partly proselytes.

Verse 11

[11] Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.

Cretans — One island seems to be mentioned for all.

The wonderful works of God — Probably those which related to the miracles, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, together with the effusion of his Spirit, as a fulfilment of his promises, and the glorious dispensations of Gospel grace.

Verse 12

[12] And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?

They were all amazed — All the devout men.

Verse 13

[13] Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.

But others mocking — The world begins with mocking, thence proceeds to cavilling, Acts 4:7; to threats, 4:17; to imprisoning, Acts 5:18; blows, 5:40; to slaughter, Acts 7:58. These mockers appear to have been some of the natives of Judea, and inhabitants of Jerusalem, (who understood only the dialect of the country,) by the apostle's immediately directing his discourse to them in the next verse.

They are full of sweet wine — So the Greek word properly signifies. There was no new wine so early in the year as pentecost. Thus natural men are wont to ascribe supernatural things to mere natural causes; and many times as impudently and unskilfully as in the present case.

Verse 14

[14] But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:

Then Peter standing up — All the gestures, all the words of Peter, show the utmost sobriety; lifted up his voice - With cheerfulness and boldness; and said to them - This discourse has three parts; each of which, Acts 2:14,22,29, begins with the same appellation, men: only to the last part he prefixes with more familiarity the additional word brethren.

Men of Judea — That is, ye that are born in Judea. St. Peter spoke in Hebrew, which they all understood.

Verse 15

[15] For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.

It is but the third hour of the day — That is, nine in the morning. And on the solemn festivals the Jews rarely ate or drank any thing till noon.

Verse 16

[16] But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;

But this is that which was spoken of by the prophet — But there is another and better way of accounting for this. Joel 2:28

Verse 17

[17] And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:

The times of the Messiah are frequently called the last days, the Gospel being the last dispensation of Divine grace.

I will pour out of my Spirit — Not on the day of pentecost only, upon all flesh - On persons of every age, sex, and rank.

And your young men shall see visions — In young men the outward sense, are most vigorous, and the bodily strength is entire, whereby they are best qualified to sustain the shock which usually attends the visions of God. In old men the internal senses are most vigorous, suited to divine dreams. Not that the old are wholly excluded from the former, nor the young from the latter.

Verse 18

[18] And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:

And upon my servants — On those who are literally in a state of servitude.

Verse 19

[19] And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:

And I will show prodigies in heaven above, and signs on earth beneath — Great revelations of grace are usually attended with great judgments on those who reject it.

In heaven — Treated of, Acts 2:20.

On earth — Described in this verse. Such signs were those mentioned, Acts 2:22, before the passion of Christ; which are so mentioned as to include also those at the very time of the passion and resurrection, at the destruction of Jerusalem, and at the end of the world. Terrible indeed were those prodigies in particular which preceded the destruction of Jerusalem: such as the flaming sword hanging over the city, and the fiery comet pointing down upon it for a year; the light that shone upon the temple and the altar in the night, as if it had been noon-day; the opening of the great and heavy gate of the temple without hands; the voice heard from the most holy place, Let us depart hence; the admonition of Jesus the son of Ananus, crying for seven years together, Wo, wo, wo; the vision of contending armies in the air, and of entrenchments thrown up against a city there represented; the terrible thunders and lightnings, and dreadful earthquakes, which every one considered as portending some great evil: all which, through the singular providence of God, are particularly recorded by Josephus.

Blood — War and slaughter.

Fire — Burnings of houses and towns, involving all in clouds of smoke.

Verse 20

[20] The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:

The moon shall be turned into blood — A bloody colour: before the day of the Lord - Eminently the last day; though not excluding any other day or season, wherein the Lord shall manifest his glory, in taking vengeance of his adversaries.

Verse 21

[21] And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

But — whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord - This expression implies the whole of religion, and particularly prayer uttered in faith; shall be saved - From all those plagues; from sin and hell.Psalm 104:24-34, 35b

Verse 25

[25] So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts.

Creeping — This word is common to all creatures that move without feet.

Verse 26

[26] There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein.

Leviathan — The whale.

Therein — Who being of such a vast strength and absolute dominion in the sea, tumbles in it with great security, and sports himself with other creatures.

Verse 20

[20] Thou makest darkness, and it is night: wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth.

Darkness — Which succeeds the light by virtue of thy decree.

Verse 29

[29] Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.

Hidest — Withdrawest the care of thy providence.

Verse 30

[30] Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.

Spirit — That quickening power of God, by which he produces life in the creatures from time to time. For he speaks not here of the first creation, but of the continued production of living creatures.

Created — Other living creatures are produced; the word created being taken in its largest sense for the production of things by second causes.

Renewest — And thus by thy wise and wonderful providence thou preservest the succession of living creatures.

Verse 31

[31] The glory of the LORD shall endure for ever: the LORD shall rejoice in his works.

Rejoice — Thus God advances the glory of his wisdom and power and goodness, in upholding the works of his hands from generation to generation, and he takes pleasure in the preservation of his works, as also in his reflection upon these works of his providence.

Verse 32

[32] He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth: he toucheth the hills, and they smoke.

He looketh — This is a farther illustration of God's powerful providence: as when he affords his favour to creatures, they live and thrive, so on the contrary, one angry look or touch of his upon the hills or earth, makes them tremble and smoke, as Sinai did when God appeared in it.Romans 8:22-27

Verse 22

[22] For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.

For the whole creation groaneth together — With joint groans, as it were with one voice.

And travaileth — Literally, is in the pains of childbirth, to be delivered of the burden of the curse.

Until now — To this very hour; and so on till the time of deliverance.

Verse 23

[23] And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

And even we, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit — That is, the Spirit, who is the first-fruits of our inheritance.

The adoption — Persons who had been privately adopted among the Romans were often brought forth into the forum, and there publicly owned as their sons by those who adopted them. So at the general resurrection, when the body itself is redeemed from death, the sons of God shall be publicly owned by him in the great assembly of men and angels.

The redemption of our body — From corruption to glory and immortality.

Verse 24

[24] For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?

For we are saved by hope — Our salvation is now only in hope. We do not yet possess this full salvation.

Verse 26

[26] Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

Likewise the Spirit — Nay, not only the universe, not only the children of God, but the Spirit of God also himself, as it were, groaneth, while he helpeth our infirmities, or weaknesses. Our understandings are weak, particularly in the things of God our desires are weak; our prayers are weak.

We know not — Many times.

What we should pray for — Much less are we able to pray for it as we ought: but the Spirit maketh intercession for us - In our hearts, even as Christ does in heaven.

With groanings — The matter of which is from ourselves, but the Spirit forms them; and they are frequently inexpressible, even by the faithful themselves.

Verse 27

[27] And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

But he who searcheth the hearts — Wherein the Spirit dwells and intercedes.

Knoweth — Though man cannot utter it.

What is the mind of the Spirit, for he maketh intercession for the saints — Who are near to God.

According to God — According to his will, as is worthy of God. and acceptable to him.

John 15:26-27

Verse 26

[26] But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

When the Comforter is come, whom I will send from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me — The Spirit's coming, and being sent by our Lord from the Father, to testify of him, are personal characters, and plainly distinguish him from the Father and the Son; and his title as the Spirit of truth, together with his proceeding from the Father, can agree to none but a Divine person. And that he proceeds from the Son, as well as from the Father, may be fairly argued from his being called the Spirit of Christ, 1 Peter 1:11; and from his being here said to be sent by Christ from the Father, as well as sent by the Father in his name.16:4b-15

Verse 4

[4] But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you.

I did not tell you these things at the beginning, because I was with you — To bear the chief shock in my own person, and to screen you from it.

Verse 5

[5] But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou?

None of you asketh me — Now when it is most seasonable. Peter did ask this before, John 13:36.

Verse 7

[7] Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

It is expedient for you — In respect of the Comforter, John 16:7, etc., and of me, John 16:16, etc., and of the Father, John 16:23, etc.

Verse 8

[8] And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

He — Observe his twofold office; toward the world, John 16:8, etc.; toward believers, John 16:12, etc.: will convince - All of the world - Who do not obstinately resist, by your preaching and miracles, of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment - He who is convinced of sin either accepts the righteousness of Christ, or is judged with Satan. An abundant accomplishment of this we find in the Acts of the Apostles.

Verse 9

[9] Of sin, because they believe not on me;

Of sin — Particularly of unbelief, which is the confluence of all sins, and binds them all down upon us.

Verse 10

[10] Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;

Of righteousness, because I go to my Father — Which the Spirit will testify, though ye do not then see me. But I could not go to him if I were not righteous.

Verse 11

[11] Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

The prince of this world is judged — And in consequence thereof dethroned, deprived of the power he had so long usurped over men. Yet those who reject the deliverance offered them will remain slaves of Satan still.

Verse 12

[12] I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.

I have yet many things to say — Concerning my passion, death, resurrection, and the consequences of it. These things we have, not in uncertain traditions, but in the Acts, the Epistles, and the Revelation.

But ye cannot bear them now — Both because of your littleness of faith, and your immoderate sorrow.

Verse 13

[13] Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

When he is come — It is universally allowed that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost dwell in all believers. And the internal agency of the Holy Ghost is generally admitted. That of the Father and the Son, as represented in this Gospel, deserves our deepest consideration.

Verse 15

[15] All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

All things that the Father hath are mine — Could any creature say this?

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Upper Room Ministries, a ministry of Discipleship Ministries

PO Box 340004

Nashville, Tennessee 37203-0004 United States

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Sermon Story "The Promise Received" by Gary Lee Parker for Sunday, 24 May 2015 with Scripture: Acts 2:1 The festival of Shavu‘ot arrived, and the believers all gathered together in one place. 2 Suddenly there came a sound from the sky like the roar of a violent wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then they saw what looked like tongues of fire, which separated and came to rest on each one of them. 4 They were all filled with the Ruach HaKodesh and began to talk in different languages, as the Spirit enabled them to speak.

5 Now there were staying in Yerushalayim religious Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd gathered; they were confused, because each one heard the believers speaking in his own language. 7 Totally amazed, they asked, “How is this possible? Aren’t all these people who are speaking from the Galil? 8 How is it that we hear them speaking in our native languages? 9 We are Parthians, Medes, Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Y’hudah, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, 10 Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome; 11 Jews by birth and proselytes; Jews from Crete and from Arabia. . . ! How is it that we hear them speaking in our own languages about the great things God has done?” 12 Amazed and confused, they all went on asking each other, “What can this mean?” 13 But others made fun of them and said, “They’ve just had too much wine!”

14 Then Kefa stood up with the Eleven and raised his voice to address them: “You Judeans, and all of you staying here in Yerushalayim! Let me tell you what this means! Listen carefully to me!

15 “These people ar en’t drunk, as you suppose — it’s only nine in the morning. 16 No, this is what was spoken about through the prophet Yo’el:

17 ‘Adonai says:

“In the Last Days,

I will pour out from my Spirit upon everyone.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy,

your young men will see visions,

your old men will dream dreams.

18 Even on my slaves, both men and women,

will I pour out from my Spirit in those days;

and they will prophesy.

19 I will perform miracles in the sky above

and signs on the earth below —

blood, fire and thick smoke.

20 The sun will become dark

and the moon blood

before the great and fearful Day of Adonai comes.

21 And then, whoever calls on the name of Adonai will be saved.”’[a][Footnotes:

Acts 2:21 Joel 3:1–5(2:28–32)]

I will never forget that day when my father and mother took me to Jeursalem for the Feast of Pentecost. This is the Feast that we remember God giving the Torah to us who are Israelites. I remembering studying this in the Synagogue School where my Rabbis would ask us questions about the Torah, then at break I rememer my fellow students and I would talk about this Rabbi who chose His Disciples from uneducated or sinners of the Torah. We heard stories of this man' teachings and healings, but the Rabbis said that this man could not be the Messiah Promised because He was from Nazareth, not Bethlehem. We also heard the stories about His beating by the Temle Guards and Roman soldiers before He was crucified and died like a criminal on an execution stake. Yes, we heard stories about His disciples saying that He was raised from the dead walking among them for 40 days before being taken back to His Father-God. Now, we are here remembering God giving us the Torah and we hear a rshing mighty wind coming down into that Upper Room in that house where we see tongues of fire descending on the heads of the people in the room. Suddennly, we hear the people speaking in other languages other than Hebrew and Aramaic because there were people here in Jerusalem from other countries whether they are Jews or Converts to Judaism. I heard some people say that these people in the Upper Room must be drunk, but then the leader of this group, Peter was his name, stood up and said that they were not drunk, but this is what was promised in the Prophetic Book of Joel. In the last days, there were be young people with vision and old people dreaming dreams. Then, this man sahred about this Jesus who truly is the Messiah of Israel and He is not dead, but alive sitting at the right hand of the Father in the Kingdom of God. Suddenly, I heard myself along with others asked what we needed to do to be saved. Peter told us to repent of our sins and embrace Jesus for who He is the Messiah the Son of Man and Son of God-you know-god-incarnate. I repented as did others and was baptized receving the promised Holy Spirit as they did and I realized that I was a Completed Jew or Messianic Jew. What a day that was and I partook of a common meal with them conclusing with eating the Body of Jesus and drinking His Blood in partaking of the Holy Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist as you will do today coming forward singing the Hymn "Come Holy Spirit"

1. Come, Holy Spirit, I need you

Come, sweet Spirit, I pray

Come in your strength and your power

Come in your own gentle way

2. Come as a rest to the weary

Come as a balm to the sore

Come, Lord, as strength to my weakness

Fill me with joy evermore

3. Come, Holy Spirit, I need you

Come, sweet Spirit, I pray

Come in your strength and your power

Come in your own gentle way

4. Come like a spring in the desert

Come to the withered of soul

Lord, let your sweet healing power

Touch me and make me whole

5. Come, Holy Spirit, I need you

Come, sweet Spirit, I pray

Come in your strength and your power

Come in your own gentle way

Come in your own gentle way

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4147 Idaho Street, Apt. 1

San Diego, California 92104-1844, United States

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FROM THE PARTICULAR TO THE UNIVERSAL by Roberto L. Gómez

Acts 2:1-21

The concept of the Holy Spirit is always fascinating. There are many attempts to define it and describe it, but alas, all fall short. To use an ancient Latin phrase, the Holy Spirit is a mysterium tremendum. My interest here is to focus on the work of the Holy Spirit on that Day of Pentecost.

First, the presence of the Holy Spirit became evident in an overwhelming way. The report of the appearance of the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts says that “suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting” (2:2).

A number of times strong gusts of wind have hit me while I was walking, hit my home during a storm, or hit my car while I was driving on the highway. Air turbulence easily knocks around a big airplane. One can only marvel at the power of wind in those instances. Thus, in its initial appearance, the Holy Spirit manifested its tremendous power in the movement of the wind.

Second, the presence of the Holy Spirit touched everyone present in the upper room during that Pentecost Day. People of faith from all backgrounds, various languages, and different nationalities experienced the presence of the Holy Spirit in a personal, powerful, life-transforming moment.

During my lifetime, I have experienced the outpouring of the Holy Spirit during a worship service or a spiritual rally. Although there is much emotion, the best parts of those experiences are the love, peace, joy, and unity felt among the participants. The group of people can be big or small, but the presence and power of the Holy Spirit are evident. In those precious moments people are greatly blessed with a profound sense of forgiveness, of new hope, new life, healing, and reconciliation, resulting in blessing after blessing.

For me, the most exciting and interesting work of the Holy Spirit is its third action on Pentecost Day. By enabling the people present to speak different languages so that non-Aramaic-speaking people can understand the message, the Holy Spirit breaks all kinds of barriers, indeed frees the gospel from a particular first-century Galilean rabbi to a universal message of hope and salvation for all people.

In various psalms (67; 72; 117) we find a vision of God as the God of all nations, of all peoples, of all the earth and its inhabitants. We find the same theme repeated in the Prophets, especially Isaiah (2:2-4) and Jeremiah (3:17; 4:2-4). We see that the Lord Jesus Christ repeatedly reached out to the marginalized, the poor, the sick, the social rejects, women, foreigners, military, nonmilitary, known sinners, the religious, and the wealthy. Jesus’ closing words before his ascension are that his followers are to go to all the nations of the world to baptize and preach in his name. The Holy Spirit gives Jesus’ followers the power to carry out the commandment Jesus gave them to baptize and preach in his name to all people.

At a church conference, I noticed a young man who listened attentively to the lectures. I wondered who he was. I took the opportunity to speak to him. He told me he was from Nepal, the tiny country on whose border with Tibet sits Mount Everest. He once was a Hindu and believed in many gods. While he was attending college, a student gave him a tract about Jesus. He was so intrigued reading about Jesus that he got a Bible to read more about Jesus. Soon, he encountered the living Christ and became a Christian. He joined a Christian fellowship.

For the first time in his life, he felt forgiven and redeemed. He left a life of confusion and uncertainty for a life of assurance, hope, faith, and love. He began living a new life, a life based on the living Christ. It was a dangerous time for him. At that time, Nepal did not allow Christians to worship openly. His family, all Hindus, ostracized him. Yet his faith in Jesus Christ grew stronger. Several years later, the government changed and Christians could worship openly. Then his family became Christian. Now, as headmaster of a small Christian college, he joyfully serves the Lord Jesus Christ.

How could it be that a young man from Nepal read a tract about Jesus, became a convert to the Christian faith, and now directs a Christian training school? It happened because of the movement and power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit inspired someone to write that tract, someone else to give away the tract, and that Nepalese man to read it and be touched by its message about the Lord Jesus Christ.

We all can have our Pentecost. We can experience the Holy Spirit’s presence and power in worship, in the sacraments of baptism and Holy Communion, during prayer time, during Bible study, during missionary outreach, during service work, in whatever activity helps us have an open heart and mind to the presence of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is also present in times of personal suffering and even death. God sends us the Holy Spirit in such moments to comfort us but also to give us the courage, faith, and power to deal with our suffering and grief and then move on. The Holy Spirit helps us experience God’s presence and gives us the power to be faithful followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is God’s way of staying in touch daily with his people as they share the good news of Jesus Christ in word and deed.

Thus the whole world can rejoice in the hope that God’s love in the Lord Jesus Christ is also for them. The Holy Spirit labors mightily toward that end. Let us pray that as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, we have open hearts and open minds to the presence and movement of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

WORSHIP ELEMENTS: by Sara Dunning Lambert

Pentecost Sunday

COLOR: Red

SCRIPTURE READINGS: Acts 2:1-21; Romans 8:22-27; John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15;

Psalm 104:24-34, 35b

THEME IDEAS

The feast of Pentecost is celebrated today with images of rushing wind, tongues of flame, and with the breaking down of language barriers to receive the message of the gospel through the power of the Holy Spirit. The Romans passage uses the metaphor of birth to describe the infant church awaiting guidance of the Spirit, while making the transition from old ways to a new life in Christ. John introduces the Advocate, or Spirit of Truth, as the guide for those who follow Christ. The psalm proclaims that all creation rejoices at the touch of God’s hand. At Pentecost, the mission of the church is to reach out to the world with the

love of Christ.

INVITATION AND GATHERING

Call to Worship (Acts 2, John 15–16)

With tongues of flame, the Holy Spirit descends

to burn in our hearts anew.

Unite us, Holy Spirit!

Like the rush of wind, we sense God’s presence

blowing afresh throughout the world.

Unite us, Holy Spirit!

Across the barriers of language and culture,

Christ’s message of love and grace is heard.

Unite us, Holy Spirit!

Divine Advocate, we seek your guidance

as we search for the Spirit of Truth.

Unite us, Holy Spirit! Amen.

Opening Prayer (Acts 2, Romans 8)

Holy One,

ignite within us a fiery passion

for your mission in the world today.

Warm us by the Spirit’s dancing tongues of flame,

that we may feel your kindling blaze within,

urging us to do your greater good.

Make us wholly present to experience a new birth,

and awaken possibilities within us

to share your love in the world.

In this love and abundance,

we come to celebrate your harvest—

a harvest bearing the first fruits of the Spirit

within us.

Show us how to use these gifts,

as we listen for your truth

in the gentle breeze of your Spirit.

PROCLAMATION AND RESPONSE

Prayer of Confession (Romans 8, Acts 2)

Heavenly Father,

you dwell within us

in sighs too deep for words,

yet we cannot hear you.

Caring Mother,

you wrap us tenderly in fierce love,

you give us the breath of life,

yet we cannot touch you.

Brother Jesus,

we yearn for your presence,

we seek your abundant grace,

yet we cannot feel it.

Sister Spirit,

you prepare to sear our souls for your purpose,

yet we allow our somber selves to intrude,

shutting our minds to your power.

Remind us, we pray,

that we need only trust in the giver of life

to find the hope and faith you have promised.

Gather us up in the winds of your favor

and carry us to ever greater heights,

through Christ who loves us still.

Words of Assurance (John 15–16, Acts 2)

Do not be afraid.

Our Comforter and Advocate has come.

Rejoice in the knowledge that all is forgiven.

People of the Spirit, listen.

The wind that drives the heavens—

the wind that soars above and beyond us all,

unifies us in God’s love.

Keep the Spirit’s flame alight within your heart.

Await the new birth in Christ that is promised to all.

Passing the Peace of Christ (Acts 2)

Feel the caress of the Holy Spirit in the healing breath of

hope. See the bright embers of faith beckon each of us to

unity in God. Greet one another in the assurance that the

peace of Christ is ever present.

Response to the Word (Acts 2, Romans 8, John 15–16)

Source of all,

open us to your word.

Open our eyes to the incendiary faith of your disciples.

Open our minds to the gift of becoming first fruits

of the harvest.

Open our ears to hear your rushing, mighty Spirit.

Open our mouths to cry out for peace

in a war-torn world.

Open our hands to bring justice to the downtrodden.

Open our hearts to share hope with the hopeless.

Amen.

THANKSGIVING AND COMMUNION

Invitation to the Offering (Acts 2)

Gracious God,

as we stand in your holy place

we feel your bright Spirit surge within us.

We are on fire with the knowledge

that we may be your witness to the world.

Help us speak in language

that others will understand.

Ignite within us

a need to share the abundance of our lives.

We lay before you

our gifts of faith, hope, and love.

We pledge to give more of our time,

more of our hearts,

and more of our material possessions,

that we may serve your greater good. Amen.

Offering Prayer (Acts 2, Romans 8)

Precious Lord,

we hunger for the light and strength

that only the Spirit can bring.

Feed us and strengthen us,

as we learn to feed others.

Fill us with the breath of your spirit

as you search our hearts.

Take our lives

as proof of our faithfulness.

Take our gifts

as proof of our love.

Use them to your purpose

here on earth.

SENDING FORTH

Benediction (Acts 2)

May the power of the Holy Spirit

transform you with the healing fire

that unifies the world.

Let the wind of that first Pentecost

teach you of God’s grace, love, hope,

and mystery.

With tongues of flame,

may you be marked for Christ.

Go out in faith and abiding love.

CONTEMPORARY OPTIONS

Contemporary Gathering Words (Acts 2)

The flame of the Spirit burns in our lives,

warming all in its path.

Holy Spirit, come!

Hear the Spirit calling out of God’s holy wind,

rising up toward the sky.

Holy Spirit, come!

The intoxicating breath of hope fills us with love.

Holy Spirit, come!

God calls us to listen, feel, and follow!

Holy Spirit, come!

Praise Sentences (Acts 2)

The Holy Spirit is the fire that doesn’t consume

or destroy, but energizes, warms, and excites!

The Holy Spirit is the wind that lifts us up

to heights beyond joy!

The Holy Spirit is the birth that brings us into

life with Christ, as a mother births a child!

The Holy Spirit calls us to testify to the truth!

From “The Abingdon Worship Annual 2009,” edited by Mary J. Scifres and B.J. Beu, Copyright © 2008 by Abingdon Press. “The Abingdon Worship Annual 2016” is now available.

WORSHIP CONNECTION: by Nancy C. Townley

Pentecost Sunday

COLOR: Red

SCRIPTURE READINGS: Acts 2:1-21; Romans 8:22-27; John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15;

Psalm 104:24-34, 35b

Pentecost is one of the most exciting days in our Christian Year. It is the birthday of the church; a time when disciples no longer feared but were energized to proclaim the good news of God’s love through the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. The traditional colors for this day are bright Red (for the tongues of flames) and White (for the dove of peace). Use a lot of music and involve as many people in this worship as possible. This should be an exciting service of worship! 

CALLS TO WORSHIP

Call to Worship #1

L: Come, Holy Spirit. Inspire our hearts with your fiery presence!

P: Let your flame burn within us, stirring us to action.

L: Come, Holy Spirit. Energize our lives to work for God.

P: Let your wind of hope swirl around us, lifting and moving us from complacency.

L: Come, Holy Spirit. Pour your blessing on us.

P: Let your presence challenge us to proclaim God’s presence and love in everything we say and do. AMEN.

Call to Worship #2

L: Rushing Wind of the Spirit, breathe new life into us!

P: Blazing Flame of the Spirit, burn away our fears!

L: Comforting Presence of the Spirit, heal our wounds

P: Let us be prepared to worship and praise you, O Holy Spirit.

L: Spirit of God, come upon us this day and fill us with your love.

P: Make us people who will proclaim God’s good news in all that we do. AMEN.

Call to Worship #3

[Using THE FAITH WE SING, p. 2125 "Come, Holy Spirit", offer the following call to worship. Beginning with a solo voice (Part 1) and using an echo (Part 2 descant). Each section will be preceded by a statement of the Worship Leader, which is followed by the solo/echo segment. Finally the entire congregation will sing the melody line, with the choir singing the echo (descant)]

L: Fling wide the doors. Open the windows! Let the Spirit of God pour in!

Solo: "Come, Holy Spirit

Echo: Hear us calling.

L: Open your eyes and see the new day!

Solo: Come Holy Spirit

Echo: Hear us calling

L: Get ready, God’s promised Spirit comes sailing on the Wind

Solo: Come, Holy Spirit

Echo: Hear us calling to you

L: Let your hearts burn with hope and joy at this wondrous Gift!

Solo: Come, Holy Spirit

Echo: Hear us calling,

Both: Hear us calling, hear us calling to you.

L: Give your gift of life to this church, teach us your ways! Guide us and point us in the ways of truth and hope.

Solo: Come, give your gift

Echo: Edify your church

Solo: come bring your truth

Echo: glorify our Lord.

Solo: come be our guide

Echo: point the way,

BOTH: come walk beside.

ALL: (singing FWS 2125 - congregation: Part 1; choir: Part 2 [descant])

Call to Worship #4

L: Once we walked the hillsides and pathways.

P: Then, in fear we hid in an upper room.

L: News of Jesus’ Resurrection stunned and awed our souls.

P: We didn’t know what to believe.

L: On this day, long ago, God’s Holy Spirit inflamed the hearts of those who had hidden in fear. They were encouraged to go and proclaim God’s Good News to all the world.

P: May God’s Holy Spirit inflame our hearts and stir us from apathy and complacency to energy and enthusiasm to serve God in this world. AMEN.

PRAYERS, LITANY, BENEDICTION

OPENING PRAYER

Almighty God, your Holy Spirit came to Jesus’ disciples, hidden in an upper room in Jerusalem. A violent wind and tongues of fire were the symbols of a new thing happening in their lives. May your Holy Spirit burst into our lives today, encouraging and inspiring us to proclaim boldly the good news of Jesus Christ who offers healing and hope to all people. AMEN.

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

We aren’t ready, Lord. It is easier for us to hide in the upper rooms of our lives, to let the world go by and not acknowledge your presence. But you have challenged us to come alive again with your love and words of healing mercy. Forgive our hesitant witness and our complacent spirits. Heal our fears and our wounds. Help us to be agents of healing and hope for others. Challenge and inspire us to overcome our feelings of inadequacy and remind us that you have called us beloved and have given us what we need to proclaim your Good News. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. AMEN.

WORDS OF ASSURANCE

Don’t be afraid! God’s Holy Spirit brings you healing comfort and hope. You are being prepared to serve God in some mighty ways. Rejoice! God’s Holy Spirit is with you always. AMEN.

PASTORAL PRAYER

Knock us off our seats, O Lord, with the wind of your Holy Spirit. Don’t let us just sit back and rest as though nothing important was happening. Remind us that you have come to bless and prepare us for your service. Now is the time of proclamation and celebration! Now is the birth of your church, not as an exercise in futility, but as a dynamic group of people who know you and love you as you know and love each of us. Flame up our hearts! Make us so joyful that we find it difficult to sit back and watch. We want to be part of your healing love and mercy. We want to be people who bear the word that your love for us is eternal; that Jesus Christ, our Savior, proclaimed and taught that love in all that he did and said, modeling for us a new way to live. Pick us up and propel us forward into your world. Help us to remember that you have given to us what we need to be your disciples. We just need to say a resounding "Yes!" to you. Thank you for all the wondrous patience and blessings you pour into our lives each and every day, as we offer our lives back to you in joy and hope. AMEN.

CELEBRATION READING

[This is an active litany and may involve people moving about the sanctuary/worship space. Children should have red streamers (crepe paper streamers about 8" in length taped to popsicle sticks so that they can hold them. You may want to have all the children speak the lines or selected children who can read with enthusiasm. Make sure that they are loud enough for all to hear. Doves, cut out from white poster board and threaded on fishing line, suspended from dowels about 2' in length. These may be carefully waved above the heads of the youth as they proclaim their parts, either as a group or a specified enthusiastic reader. The megaphones for the Adults can be made from red poster board and emblazoned with a white dove (see symbol books for a pattern) and can be raised and used during their portion of the Celebration Reading. If some people are not able to come forward to present their gifts, have someone in the congregation bring their gifts forward for them]

L: What is that sound?

Children (waving their flame sticks over their heads): That sound is us! We are here to laugh, sing, and pray! We are here because God absolutely loves us! We can’t sit still because God’s Spirit is making us move and dance. We are part of the church - and we love it!!

L: What is that sound?

Youth (waving their doves over their heads): It’s us, the youth! Come on, get up and join us! Clap your hands, stamp your feet! Sing for joy! Don’t just sit there! This is a time to get moving! We are part of the church - and we want to serve!!

L: What is that sound?

Adults (using their megaphones): We are that sound! We are the sound of new life stirring! We are the sound of ministry and mission given joyfully to all in need throughout all the world! We are part of the Church - and we want to witness to Jesus Christ and be his disciples.

L: What are you bringing to this celebration? Children come forward and present your gifts.

[Note: during this next section, each group brings their items forward to place in the worship center (see Artistic Elements for suggestions about placement)]

Children (bringing their flame sticks forward and placing them in the designated spot): Look, we’re bringing red streamers to wave in the air. They look like flames of fire dancing over our heads.

L: Youth, what are you bringing to this celebration? Come forward and present your gifts.

Youth (bringing their doves forward and placing them in the designated spots): We are bringing doves of peace, waving over our heads, as a reminder that the Spirit of God has come to us like a dove.

L: Adults, what are you bringing to this celebration? Come forward and present your gifts.

Adults (bringing their megaphones forward and placing them in the designated spots): We are bringing megaphones, reminding us that we have to loudly proclaim the good news so that everyone can hear. We want the news to be shouted not whispered!

L: Rejoice! God’s Holy Spirit is with us, uniting us in witness and worship, in ministry and mission. Celebrate! Clap your hands! Shout for joy!

BENEDICTION

God, out of God’s great love, has created you. Jesus Christ, out of his great love, has redeemed you. The Holy Spirit, out of great love, has lifted and inspired you to go in peace and service throughout God’s world, proclaiming the good news of peace, love, hope, and joy to all. Go in peace. AMEN.

ARTISTIC ELEMENTS

The traditional color for this day is RED - a very bright red - flame colored! White is also used for the dove.

This service should be exciting and vibrant. It is the birthday of the church, the time when the disciples boldly came forward to proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord. I believe in lots of activity during this service. The following artistic elements are interwoven with some of the liturgy I have prepared for the day. They will involve prior planning and participation of the congregation.

You will want to have extra people to assist with the placement of items in the worship center and to create the flame sticks, dove rods, and megaphones

SURFACE: Place a large riser (about 1' high) across the back of the worship center. If you are using the Celebration Litany as part of your worship service, make the following riser placements. Place several lower risers (about 4-6" high) in front of the large riser. Some of the lower risers should be slightly forward (stagger the line - don’t have it all in a row). Place six risers of various heights in front of the worship center, with the lowest being at the center. If you are not using the Celebration Litany, do not use any other risers, other than the one at the back of the worship center. You will not need risers in front of the worship center

FABRIC: Cover the entire worship center with red fabric, making sure that all surfaces are covered. The fabric should puddle, somewhat, on the floor in front of the worship center

CANDLES: Because of the other items recommended for the worship center (see liturgy), I don’t recommend candles for this setting. However, if you are not using the Celebration liturgy, you may want to use a large white pillar candle (about 10") and two shorter white pillar candles (about 6-8") on either side of the white candle.

FLOWERS/FOLIAGE: Large ferns may be placed on the floor to the right and left of the worship center. Other leafy plants may be placed on the ends of the top risers for the worship center. No flowers are recommended for this display. However, if it is your tradition to give out red carnations in celebration for Pentecost, you may want to have them in a basket in front of the worship center

ROCKS/WOOD Not recommended for this setting

OTHER: If you are using the Celebration Reading you will need to create the following:

Flame sticks (popsicle sticks in which are taped red crepe paper streamers, about 8" long)

Dove sticks (dowels from which doves, made from poster board, are suspended on fishing line)

Megaphones (made from red poster board with a white dove emblazoned on the side)

A basket for the red flowers if you are giving out flowers.

WORSHIP FOR KIDS: by Carolyn C. Brown

From a Child's Point of View

Acts 2:1-21

Children are more interested in the story of Pentecost than in Peter's sermon. Before reading the story, help them recognize the difference that God's Spirit made in the lives of the disciples by reminding them that the disciples had been hiding out together, excited and frightened about what happened at Easter, but even more frightened about what might happen to them next. There are really two Pentecost miracles: (1) the uneducated disciples spoke foreign languages; and (2) the frightened disciples spoke bravely and publicly about Jesus. The second miracle is the one that children are most likely to experience.

The first and last lines of Peter's sermon are key for children. God's Spirit was poured out on everyone, and everyone who welcomed God's Spirit was saved (belonged to God).To complete the story, add verse 41 and perhaps 42.

Romans 8:22-27. The apocalyptic background and big words (adoption, redemption, etc.) make this text nearly impossible for children to understand as it is read. Its message for children is that the activity of the Holy Spirit gives us hope. Hope, however, needs to be carefully defined so that it refers not to our hope for such things as a Nintendo for a birthday, but to our hope for things such as a time when everyone will get along happily, a time when all the hungry are fed, and so forth. We have God's promise that each of these things will one day happen, and we can tell stories that prove that God is working to make them happen, although sometimes it seems impossible that they will ever happen. The Holy Spirit reminds us of God's promises and gives us the courage to keep on working and hoping, even when it looks as if the problems are too big to be solved. And the Spirit works through us to do more than we could do on our own.

The intercession of the Holy Spirit (vss. 26-27) is hard to explain to children without making God seem like a fearsome judge, from whom we need the protection of the more understanding Spirit. It is clearer simply to say that the Holy Spirit lets us know that God is close to us, loving and caring for us.

John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15. John's abstract language and sophisticated theology also lose children. But he has two related things to say to them about the Holy Spirit. First, the Holy Spirit is God's way of being with us after Jesus was no longer with us. So on Pentecost, we remember that God is with us always, in every situation. Second, the Holy Spirit also helps us to know what is true. Even young children are confronted by a dizzying array of claims about what is right and good. Ads tell them they need certain cereal, clothes, and toys to be happy. Teachers tell them what they must do to be successful. Other children urge them into all sorts of activities from cheating to hunger-relief walkathons saying that they are fun and acceptable. God's Holy Spirit works deep within each of us, helping us to know which claims are really true.

Ezekiel 37:1-14. Children delight in the mental picture of dry bones coming together into skeletons, to which muscles and skin are added before God breathes life into them. Once they have had a chance to enjoy this picture and have identified the power that can achieve such a feat, older children are ready to hear the Pentecost point: that the Holy Spirit not only can bring dry bones back to life, the Holy Spirit can resolve situations that look hopeless. For example, the Spirit can lead people who are prisoners of war in a foreign country back home. We can count on the Holy Spirit to be with us in the worst of our problems and to work through us to solve them. Celebrating the power of the Holy Spirit gives us the hope of which Paul spoke.

Psalm: 104:24-34, 35b. The psalmist praises the Spirit's work in creation. On a day devoted to the Spirit's role in the church, this is peripheral, so save this psalm for a day when God's creation can be the focus of worship.

Watch Words

Use Pentecost frequently today to build familiarity with this holy day that is not celebrated at all in the larger society. Tongues of fire are small flames.

Speak of the Holy Spirit, rather than the Holy Ghost, which sounds like a somewhat friendly Halloween spook.

Let the Children Sing

"Breathe on Me, Breath of God" and "Spirit of the Living God" are good Pentecost hymns for children. And though they miss most of the verses, children do catch the repeated opening line and changing titles for the Holy Spirit in "Holy Spirit, Truth Divine."

"Open My Eyes That I May See" is a natural choice when the focus is on the Romans text. Children pick up the repeated chorus quickly and follow the verses about different parts of the body. They do need a paraphrase of illumine me perhaps "Fill me with understanding."

For an intergenerational Pentecost celebration:

—Ask a children's choir or class to sing the first two verses (the storytelling verses) of "On Pentecost They Gathered," with the adult choir or congregation singing verses 3 and 4 (the commentary verses). Or

—Invite a kindergarten choir or class to sing the choruses of "We Are the Church" (maybe with hand motions), with the congregation singing the verses. Sing the verses in reverse order starting with the verse about Pentecost.

Singing "Happy Birthday" to the church remains the most meaningful Pentecost song for young children.

The Liturgical Child

1. Ask each household to bring one candle (red if possible) in a sturdy holder to place on the central table. As worshipers arrive, have ushers instruct them to place their candles on the table before taking seats. (Provide candles for those who arrive without.) Begin worship by reading Acts 2:1-4a, and continue with: "Come, let us worship God. Let us be alert for God's Holy Spirit moving among us, filling us with the power to be God's people."

Then during an opening Pentecost hymn of praise, have acolytes or a class of younger teenagers light all the candles. At the close of the service, have them extinguish the candles. Invite worshipers to take their candle home and light it at mealtime each day this week, as a reminder that God's Spirit rests on each one of us, every day.

2. A prayer leader could describe a series of seemingly hopeless situations which children worry about, to each of which the congregation would respond: "Holy Spirit, come stay in us. Give us courage and hope. Work through us until your will is done." For example:

God, you gave us families as gifts. But often we treat our brothers and sisters worse than we treat bullies on the street, and we treat our husbands and wives with less respect than we give strangers. Simple chores cause major battles. Instead of friendly conversation, gripes about "Who gets what" and "Who gets to do what," instead of friendly conversation dominate the dinner table. Too often, our families seem like a terrible burden instead of a wonderful gift. 

(RESPONSE) 

God, it's hard to imagine being really hungry and not knowing when or if you're going to eat again. But we see pictures of people in faraway places, and in our own town, who know exactly how it feels. We want to help, but we do not know how. The problem seems hopelessly big for us. (RESPONSE)

Sermon Resources

1. Describe before and after experiences with the Holy Spirit: the disciples before and after Pentecost; the Hebrews in exile and returned (Ezekiel); feelings when we are trapped in a hopeless situation and when that situation is resolved through God's Spirit working in us (e.g., we accidently make friends with someone who had been making our life miserable).

2. Cite claims made in specific current commercials and describe how God's Spirit (the Spirit of truth) helps us to know which claims are "true." Cite several commercials, each aimed at viewers of a different age. Watching children's programs for an hour on Saturday morning will provide several good examples of what will promote happiness, friends, and strength.

SERMON OPTIONS: 

What Makes the Difference?

Ezekiel 37:1-14

When we eat a meal, the ingredients make all the difference in taste and enjoyment. A tossed salad needs a dressing. Some people think certain foods need to be flavored with ketchup. Cooks sometimes omit an ingredient from a recipe, and tasters notice the difference.

God spoke to Ezekiel when he and the Israelites were in bondage in Babylon. God wanted to teach Ezekiel what made the difference with God’s people. It was not a place. It was not a government. It was God.

God used a valley full of bones for Ezekiel’s lesson. God told Ezekiel to speak to the bones, and he did. They began to organize into human skeletons and to take on muscles and skin. They had form but no life. Only when God breathed life into the bodies was there vitality. God makes all the difference in the life of a nation and the life of a person.

I. Observe a Pathetic Situation (vv. 1-2)

God took Ezekiel on a journey to see a large valley of dry bones. Probably a big battle had taken place in the valley with numerous deaths. Casualties had not been buried. The bodies had decayed, and nothing was left but the bones. Ezekiel saw a pathetic sight.

God wanted Ezekiel to see another sight. He wanted Ezekiel to see the pathetic condition of Israel. They had rebelled against God, and they were reaping the consequences in Babylonian bondage.

Any person outside of Christ is in a pathetic situation. Paul says such persons are “dead through the trespasses and sins” ( Eph. 2:1) .

II. Ponder a Wonderful Possibility (vv. 3-8a)

God asked Ezekiel an intriguing question: “Son of man, can these bones live?” Ezekiel was stunned by the question. He did not know if or how the bones could live. So he answered, “O LORD God, thou knowest.” God told Ezekiel to prophesy unto the bones, and God would cause them to live.

God wanted Ezekiel to know about the possibility of Israel’s restoration. They could return to their land and would become a “light to the nations” again.

No situation is too hard for God. He can take lives ruined by sin and make them beautiful. The possibility for restoration awaits every person who desires God.

III. Notice the Absolute Necessity (vv. 8b-14)

Ezekiel saw the bones organize into skeletons. He saw these skeletons take on muscles and skin; “but there was no breath in them.” God’s breath is an absolute necessity.

Israel would not restore herself. Human wisdom and strength availed nothing. Only God creates vitality in a person’s life. No one can come to life outside the breath of God. He makes all the difference.

God wants to indwell each person with his Holy Spirit. Allowing him to come into life creates changes and gives life. (Harold T. Bryson)

Pentecost and the Reversal of Babel

Acts 2:1-38

The story of Babel ( Gen. 11:1-9) is a clear portrayal of the divisiveness and confusion that reign in a world that seeks to exalt itself and discredit God. The day of Pentecost marked that moment in Christian history when the reversal of Babel began. In Acts, Luke says that the believers were all gathered together when the unexpected happened (2:1).

I. Experiencing the Unexpected

Luke’s Gospel closes with the disciples waiting for power and direction (Luke 24:49) . What came in Acts 2 surprised everyone (v. 12). The phenomena that occurred in this event were stranger than fiction. A sound like a violent “wind” (pnoe) introduced the presence of “Spirit” (pneuma). Tongues of fire on people (v. 3) became tongues of understanding that, for a time, completely banished the language barriers of the Hellenistic world (vv. 4-11).

Rational attempts at explaining these phenomena that took place at Pentecost by calling the disciples drunkards just would not work (v. 13). Pentecost was not some mere repeatable, human-induced experience or event. It was a special act of God that marked the start of breaking down barriers—a theme that drives the book of Acts.

From the very beginning of the book, therefore, the message is consistent: nothing can limit or restrict the scope of the gospel (Acts 28:31) , not even the old Babel language barriers! The Holy Spirit can and will break open chains and prisons and barriers. The power of the Resurrection had come to the church through the Holy Spirit, and God was announcing in this special event that the confusion of Babel could be brought to an end through people who wait upon the Lord and receive, or are “filled with,” the Spirit.

II. Proclaiming the Unexpected

The task of God’s people was and now is to proclaim the meaning and significance of the way in which God acts in the world. The sermon of Peter (vv. 14-36) is a marvelous contextualized message in three parts, introduced by three vocative uses of andres (men), which address Peter’s listeners at verses 14, 22, and 29. As such, the sermon provides a model of three aspects of the Christian proclamation.

The message begins where the people are and with what they have experienced. Then it reminds them that the event they have witnessed is fully in keeping with God’s intention in the Old Testament that his “sons and daughters” would someday experience the power of the Spirit (v. 17; cf. Joel 2:28) . The second part of the sermon reminds us that the experience of the Spirit is directly linked to the ministry of Jesus and that his death and resurrection was part of God’s great plan for saving the world (v. 23).

The final part of the sermon points to the resurrection of Jesus as the foundation of the Christian witness (v. 32) and the basis for proclaiming him as Lord and Christ to the world. The only adequate response to such a message is self-examination and repentance (vv. 37-38). (Gerald L. Borchert)

The Promise of the Counselor

John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15

Many Christians are afraid of the Holy Spirit. The “Ghost” of the KJV sounds like a spook. The excesses of some have caused many of us to focus more on what we don’t believe about the Spirit than what we do believe. Pentecost reminds us that the reality of the Spirit’s coming is the birthday of the church.

The Old Testament said little about the Spirit in personal terms. The breath of God at the dawn of creation, the Spirit of God, is an occasional empowerment in the lives of selected heroes and heroines of Israel. Jesus words were “new” teaching in that they spoke of a whole new relationship with the Counselor—his word for the Holy Spirit. The Counselor who had been with them would be in them. There are basic truths about the Holy Spirit contained in these verses from Jesus last words to his disciples before his departure via the cross.

I. The Holy Spirit Is “Counselor” (15:25)

He is not to be feared. He is sent by Jesus and comes from God. He “goes along beside” the believer. We should joyously embrace the Spirit’s ministry in our lives. Paul refers to the Spirit as the “earnest” of our salvation. He is God’s down payment and promise that he who has begun this good work in you will perform it.

II. The Holy Spirit’s Ministry Is to Testify About Jesus (15:26)

The Spirit does not draw attention to himself. The gifts of the Spirit or other manifestations are intended to focus our attention on Christ. Any focus on the Holy Spirit that says more about the third member of the Godhead than about Jesus has missed the point of the Spirit’s ministry. Likewise, we are genuinely spiritual not when we draw attention to ourselves, but as our lives point others to Christ.

III. The Holy Spirit Will Convict the World of Sin, Righteousness, and Judgment (16:8)

We have the obligation to preach and testify about that which we have seen and heard. But we cannot argue anyone into faith. In reality, the Holy Spirit of God must draw men and women to Christ. He is the one who lifts up Christ—the objective standard of God’s righteousness that reveals human sin and portends of divine judgment. We don’t find Christ. Rather, as Saint Thomas observed, Christ is like the hound of heaven who finds us.

IV. The Holy Spirit Guides Us into All Truth (16:13)

The focus here is on spiritual truth. Yet as Arthur Holmes’s philosophy title suggests, “all truth is God’s truth.” The Holy Spirit is God’s mediated presence in the world. He communicates the mind of God to the believer. The test for all spiritual truth claims is: “Does this glorify Jesus Christ?”

V. The Holy Spirit Makes the Resources of God Available to the Believer (16:15)

In the New Testament we are urged to “walk in,” “be filled with,” and “live by” the Spirit. Stuart Briscoe has said: “All that Christ is, He is in us and all that He is in us He wants to be through us. The invitation of the New Testament is simply, ‘Let Him. ”

We have an unlimited resource in the power of God available to us through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. (L. Joseph Rosas)

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