Posts Tagged ‘Pentecost’
Upperroom Daily Devotional 6-10-15
June 10, 2015Pastor’s Ponderings, Wanderings, Wonderings
June 9, 2015
This is a copy of my article in our June Newsletter that is published by Jan Day. You can read the whole newsletter by going to our website http://www.orangewesley.org. In the right hand column you will see our pages and the Newsletter is one of those. Click on Newsletters then click on the page you would like to read. It should expand for easy reading.
Have a blessed day in Jesus Christ, Pastor Randy
May the 24th was Pentecost Sunday. For the next twenty six Sundays we will be in the season after Pentecost and then it will be the Advent season again. As most of you know Pentecost is the day we celebrate the Holy Spirit coming down upon the disciples in the Upper Room.
Acts 2:1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Some folks heard them and were amazed and others heard them and said they were drunk at 9:00am in the morning.
Acts 2:5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God- fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked:”Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language?
Acts 2:13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine. ‘”14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd:”Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning!
Even today Christians are made fun of by those who do not believe in Jesus Christ or the God who sent Him to us. I have said before that sometimes Christians are Christ’s worse enemies. Simply by their actions and words they turn people away from Christ and eternal salvation. Only by being filled with the Holy Spirit will we ever be able to turn the tide of people leaving churches because they cannot see or feel love in the house of God. Each and every person who claims Jesus Christ as their savior is responsible for their actions in Church and out in the world. The only way any of us can ever come close to being the people Jesus Christ teaches us to be is to be filled and led by the Holy Spirit in Church and out in the world. Seek the Spirit of God and know that you can be that person who invites souls into the fellowship of Christian Love through word and deed.
Pastor Randy
Lectionary Scriptures for June 14, 2015
June 8, 2015Pastor’s Ponderings, Wonderings, Wanderings
June 7, 2014
Tomorrow is Pentecost Sunday. I want to share a story about Pentecost involving a preacher-teacher named Fred Craddock.
The well-known author and preacher Fred Craddock tells a rather funny story about a lecture he was giving: A few years ago, when he was on the west coast speaking at a seminary, just before the first lecture, one of the students stood up and said, “Before you speak, I need to know if you are Pentecostal.” The room grew silent. Craddock said he looked around for the Dean of the seminary! He was nowhere to be found.
The student continued with his quiz right in front of everybody. Craddock was taken aback, and so he said, “Do you mean do I belong to the Pentecostal Church?” He said, “No, I mean are you Pentecostal?” Craddock said, “Are you asking me if I am charismatic?” the student said, “I am asking you if you are Pentecostal.” Craddock said, “Do you want to know if I speak in tongues?” He said, “I want to know if you are Pentecostal.” Craddock said, “I don’t know what your question is.” The student said, “Obviously, you are not Pentecostal.” He left.
What are we talking about on Pentecost Sunday? Is the church supposed to use the word Pentecost only as a noun or can it be used as an adjective? And so I ask you: Are you Pentecostal?
In spite of the fact that the church doesn’t know what the adjective means, the church insists that the word remain in our vocabulary as an adjective. The church is unwilling for the word simply to be a noun, to represent a date, a place, an event in the history of the church, refuses for it to be simply a memory, an item, something back there somewhere. The church insists that the word is an adjective; it describes the church. The word, then, is “Pentecostal.”
If the church is alive in the world it is Pentecostal.
How do we keep this aliveness, this fire burning, this spirit moving? What must exist in us, around us, and through us, if we are to be Pentecostal? Simply these three things:
1. We Are To Be Of One Accord
2. We Are To Join Together Constantly in Prayer
3. We Are To Repent
Come join us tomorrow for Pentecost Sunday. I will talk some more about how United Methodist as well as other denominations must be Pentecostal in their beliefs.
Have a blessed day in Jesus Christ,
Pastor Randy
Wesley United Methodist Church, Orange TX 