Illustrations, Quotes and Lectionary Reflections
by Various Authors

Are You Pentecostal?

Sermon Starter

Acts 2:1-21

The well known author and preacher Fred Craddock tells a rather funny story 
about a lecture he was giving: A few years ago, when he was on the west coast 
speaking at a seminary, just before the first lecture, one of the students stood up 
and said, "Before you speak, I need to know if you are Pentecostal." The room grew silent. 
Craddock said he looked around for the Dean of the seminary! He was no where to be found. 
The student continued with his quiz right in front of everybody. Craddock was taken aback, 
and so he said, "Do you mean do I belong to the 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 this morning? Is the church supposed to use the word Pentecost 
only as a noun or can it be used as an adjective? And so I ask you: Are you Pentecostal? 

In spite of the fact that the church doesn't know what the adjective means, 
the church insist that the word remain in our vocabulary as an adjective. 

The church is unwilling for the word simply to be a noun, to represent a date, a place, 
an event in the history of the church, refuses for it to be simply a memory, an item, 
something back there somewhere. The church insists that the word is adjective; 
it describes the church. The word, then, is "Pentecostal." 

If the church is alive in the world it is Pentecostal. And you thought we were Methodist! 
[Insert your own tradition here.] 

How do we keep this aliveness, this fire burning, this spirit moving? 
What must exist in us, around us, and through us, if we are to be Pentecostal? 

Simply these three things: 

 We Are To Be Of One Accord 
 We Are To Join Together Constantly in Prayer 
 We Are To Repent 


(from http://www.sermons.com)



The Spirit, at least for the Christian texts, seems deeply connected with resurrection.  
It is the ultimate “deed of power” that each in their own language are inspired to speak about.  
It “shakes lose” this power of God that otherwise might be a historically limited event 
and makes it an ongoing story.

So what does that mean?  It seems to me we are more into labels than perhaps ever before.  
We label “us” and “them,” “good” and “bad,” “citizen” and “immigrant” or even “alien.”  
In light of modern experience isn’t it astounding that such a diverse group should, centuries ago, 
hear a common message and affirm it together?  Or maybe we think of all ancients 
as part of a monolithic culture.  If so maybe we’ve lost the point of this story.

In our group’s lectionary study our discussion wandered to another group that carries a label:  
convicts.  This is a label that sticks.  The laws make sure that an individual never “once was” 
but will “always be” a convict, no matter how limited the crime or deep the rehabilitation.  
In fact, the virtual idea of rehabilitation seems gone from the discussion completely.

What would it mean to take this text seriously, as well to take the Holy Spirit seriously?  
For beginners it might mean that all our cultural differentiations, even the most fixed and settled, 
need to give way to a new reality that changes everything:  “them” and “us.”



Easter makes me not afraid to die. Pentecost makes me not afraid to  live.



If you can picture this -- when I was first being called
into ministry I was sitting in the waiting room at a hospital and I
picked up a children's bible story book. I was reading through it
and paused at the story of Noah. There were pictures of people
outside the ark in the muddied waters and the ark doors were closed. 
Now I know that some people question if this story is actually
true...but, God used it to speak to me. While I was looking at this
picture the Spirit of the Lord spoke to me and it was a powerful
message to my heart - I heard these words "Lu Ann, you must go and
tell them that I am the way. There are many lost and many more will
be lost if they do not hear the Gospel. Go and tell them that I'm
coming back and they must be ready for my return."  Well, here I am
sitting in a hospital waiting room with a children's book in my lap
and tears are running down my cheeks. Of course - what would you say
to the Lord at that point? I said "Yes Lord, I'll go everywhere you
send me, and I'll tell them about Jesus."

(Comments to Luann Youngman at winfieldumc@TUSCO.NET.)



The First Fruits of the Spirit

Do we have the first fruits of the Spirit? Can someone coming into our door
to visit for the first time recognize these traits in us?

Love: do we love each other, and do we love those who are different from us?
Do we love and welcome visitors, no matter who they are? Do we try to make
their acquaintance, so that we can love them? Do we put their comfort above
our own?

Goodness: Peter tells us (2 Peter 1:5) to support our faith with goodness,
and goodness with knowledge. Our salvation is the result of God's goodness.
Likewise, other persons should benefit as a result of our goodness. Our
mission work should clearly show our faith in God's goodness.

Peace: Is there peace between us, and peace within us? Can someone tell by
being with us, that we have a peaceful soul, based upon God as the source of
all that we have.?

Faithfulness: Is our steadfastness to Christ's church based upon an enduring
loyalty that is true to God, no matter how we feel about the pastor, the
district, the conference, the women's group, the organist, or any other
facet of our organization?

Gentleness: Do we exhibit care and protection for all of God's creation? Are
we gentle with the environment, with each other, and with ourselves?

Joy: Do we look joyous to the outsider? Do we feel joy inside? True joy in
being a child of God should be able to override all unhappiness and
bitterness we feel, and should be reflected in our total involvement in our
worship.

Kindness: This action word can be directed outwardly or inwardly. Do we show
compassion and generosity to others and ourselves?

Patience: How many of us are willing to let others (and ourselves) come
along at each one's own pace? How many of us can forgive seven times
seventy?

Self-Control: This is one of the hardest, and may include all of the others.
This requires an inner discipline only manageable with the grace of God's
Spirit to sustain us in our trials. Do we constantly pray for help in this
area, and constantly call on God to help us? If not, we should.

(by Jane Shepherd from Is The Spirit Here?)



Driven by Great Purpose

A schoolmaster in France was discouraged with one of his students. He wrote
in his roll book concerning this student: "He is the smallest, the meekest,
the most unpromising boy in my class." Half a century later, an election was
held in France to select the greatest Frenchman. By popular vote, that
meekest, smallest, most unpromising boy was chosen. His name? Louis Pasteur,
the founder of modern medicine. At age seventy-three, a national holiday was
declared in his honor. He was too old and weak to attend the ceremony in
Paris, so he sent a message to be read by his son. The message read: "The
future belongs not to the conquerors but to the saviors of the world."

Louis Pasteur was driven by a great purpose. Your name and my name may never
be a household word like Pasteur's, but we, too, can be driven by a great
purpose. Christ can give us that purpose. But there is one thing more Christ
gives us. He gives us the presence of the Holy Spirit.

(by King Duncan from Collected Sermons)



What if Jesus Were Really Boss?

Some years ago Charles Sheldon wrote a book titled, In His Steps. In that
book he told about the revolution which occurred in the lives of a church
and a congregation when the people decide to put every moral issue to the
test of one question—"What would Jesus do?". Perhaps his book was a bit
naive. We are not always sure of what Jesus would do in every situation.
Many of the moral issues which we must face as we come to the end of the
Twentieth century were never part of His First-century world. Perhaps a
better form of the question is: "Given what I know of the mind and spirit of
Jesus Christ, what would Christ have me do?" I am confident that a
revolution would follow if we were to ever really take that question
seriously. But that is what we mean when we confess our faith that "Jesus
Christ is Lord." "Lord," in the vernacular, means "Boss." What if Jesus
Christ really were Boss around here?

(by Donald B. Strobe from Collected Works)



What Is Your Other Plan?

Erasmus, the famous Renaissance scholar, once told a classis story which was
designed to emphasize how important it is that we take up the torch of
Christ's ministry with great commitment.   In the story, Jesus returns to
heaven after His time on earth.  The angels gather around Him to learn what
all happened during His days on earth.  Jesus tells them of the miracles,
His teachings, His death on the cross, and His resurrection.

When He finishes his story, Michael the Archangel asks Jesus, "But what
happens now?"  Jesus answers, "I have left behind eleven faithful disciples
and a handful of men and women who have faithfully followed me.  They will
declare My message and express My love.  These faithful people will build My
church."  "But," responds Michael, "What if these people fail?  What then is
Your other plan?"  And Jesus answers, "I have no other plan!"

Jesus is counting on you and you and you and me.  But the good news is, we
are not alone.  The Holy Spirit is here to melt us, mold us, fill us, and
use us.

(by James W. Moore from What Do You Do With Such A Gift?)



Leaning, Leaning, Leaning

The year was 1887, and a humble music professor named A.J. Showalter
received some sad news. Two of his former students had just lost their
wives. Both of these men were in despair, and looked to their old music
professor for comfort.

Showalter had always been deeply devoted to his students. He had no
comforting words of his own, so he turned to Scripture, where he found this
verse from Deuteronomy 33: 27, The eternal God is your refuge, And
underneath are the everlasting arms . . ." Out of this verse, professor
Showalter wrote a chorus to send to his students. You might recognize it:

"Leaning, leaning, Safe and secure from all alarms;
Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms."

Jesus did not tell his disciples that they would not have problems. In fact,
their problems would dwarf most of our problems. What he did promise them
was peace of mind. He would send upon them the gift of the Holy Spirit to
give them courage and comfort. They would be warriors and not worriers. And
that is the same promise Christ offers us today. Perhaps you have come to
this house of worship today like Jake seeking "the assurance from someone
that things are going to be okay." I can give you that assurance. God's Holy
Spirit is here to give both courage and comfort. Let go and lean on the
everlasting arms of God.

(by King Duncan from Collected Sermons)



You're Doing the Right Things

Sometimes it is easier to look elsewhere for our security and approval. Like
the day when Charlie Brown stopped at the psychiatric help stand to talk
with Lucy. He confesses, "My trouble is I never know if I'm doing the right
thing. I need to have someone around who can tell me when I'm doing the
right thing." Lucy says, "Okay. You're doing the right thing. That'll be
five cents, please!" Charlie Brown walks away with a smile on his face.

In a few minutes, he returns with a frown. "Back already?" asks Lucy. "What
happened?" Charlie Brown says, "I was wrong. It didn't help. You need more
in life than just having someone around to tell you when you're doing the
right thing." Lucy says, "Now you've really learned something! That'll be
another five cents please."

(by William G. Carter from Water Won't Quench The Fire, CSS Publishing Company)



Waiting to Exhale

A character in John Updike's novel, A Month of Sundays, reflecting on his
youthful experience of the church, says, "Churches bore for me the relation
to God that billboards did to Coca-Cola; they promoted thirst but did
nothing to quench it."

The Holy Spirit empowers the church to be the agent of change in the world,
a counter-cultural entity. The task of the church is to breathe in the
Spirit and be inspired by the Spirit to act on behalf of God. But the church
has been waiting to exhale far too long. As the Spirit of God flows into us,
it also ought to flow from us in the way we treat one another, the way we
speak to one another, in the way we treat others in our community, in the
way we live out the new life we receive when we accept Jesus Christ as Lord.



The Irresistible Influence of the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit warms us and melts our cold, cold hearts.  Recently I ran
across a parable that makes the point:  Once upon a time there was a piece
of iron, which was very strong and very hard.  Many attempts had been made
to break it, but all had failed.

"I'll master it," said the axe… and his blows fell heavily upon the piece of
iron, but every blow only made the axe's edge more blunt, until it finally
ceased to strike and gave up in frustration.

"Leave it to me," said the saw… and it worked back and forth on the iron's
surface until its jagged teeth were all worn and broken.  Then in despair,
the saw quit trying and fell to the side.

"Ah!" said the hammer, "I knew you two wouldn't succeed.  I'll show you how
to do this!"  But at the first fierce blow, off flew its head and the piece
of iron remained just as before, proud and hard and unchanged.

"Shall I try?" asked the small soft flame.  "Forget it," everyone else said.
"What can you do?  You're too small and you have no strength."  But the
small soft flame curled around the piece of iron, embraced it… and never
left it until it melted under its warm irresistible influence.

There's a sermon there somewhere.  Perhaps it means that God's way is not
the way of force but love.  God's way is not to break hearts but to melt
them.  Perhaps it means that that is our calling – to melt hearts… under the
irresistible warmth of God's gracious love.

(by James W. Moore from What Do You Do With Such A Gift?)



Christianity outside the Church

D.L. Moody once called on a leading citizen in Chicago to persuade him to
accept Christ. They were seated in the man's parlor. It was winter and coal
was burning in the fireplace. The man objected that he could be just as good
a Christian outside the church as in it. Moody said nothing, but stepped to
the fireplace, took the tongs, picked a blazing coal from the fire and set
it off by itself. In silence the two watched it smolder and go out. "I see,"
said the man.

(from The Interpreter's Bible)



It Is No Longer I

Soon after Augustine's conversion, he was walking down the street in Milan,
Italy. There he met a prostitute whom he had known most intimately. She
called but he would not answer. He kept right on walking.

"Augustine," she called again. "It is I!"

Without missing a beat and with the assurance of Christ in his heart, he
replied, "Yes, but it is no longer I."

Because of Christ and His Spirit, Augustine was a changed man. He was born
again, a brand new creation.

(by Adrian Dieleman from Receive the Holy Spirit)



Song to the Holy Spirit

Lord, Holy Spirit,
You blow like the wind in a thousand paddocks,
Inside and outside the fences,
You blow where you wish to blow.

Lord, Holy Spirit,
You are the sun who shines on the little plant,
You warm him gently, you give him life,
You raise him up to become a tree with many leaves.

Lord, Holy Spirit,
You are the mother eagle with her young,
Holding them in peace under your feathers.
On the highest mountain you have built your nest,
Above the valley, above the storms of the world,
Where no hunter ever comes.

Lord, Holy Spirit,
You are the bright cloud in whom we hide,
In whom we know already that the battle has been won.
You bring us to our Brother Jesus
To rest our heads upon his shoulder.

Lord, Holy Spirit,
You are the kind fire who does not cease to burn,
Consuming us with flames of love and peace,
Driving us out like sparks to set the world on fire.

Lord, Holy Spirit,
In the love of friends you are building a new house,
Heaven is with us when you are with us.
You are singing your songs in the hearts of the poor
Guide us, wound us, heal us. Bring us to the Father

[by James K. Baxter from Collected Poems (ed. John
Edward Weir; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1979), 572.]



Attempting to Hear the Ocean in a Seashell

A tourist stood for long periods of time upon the beach, facing away from
the ocean, pressing a seashell against his ear. The water lapped at his
feet, the sun beamed down upon his head and shoulders, and the waves crashed
just behind him. Firmly, he pressed the seashell against his ear. He wanted
to hear the powerful surge of the ocean as it heaved and rolled….



You Are in the Spirit
 
It’s like the story of the shark and the whale. Both were swimming in the sea 
when the shark swam up to the whale to engage in conversation. As they swam along, 
the shark said to the whale, “You are so much older than I, and wiser too. 
Could you tell me where the ocean is?” The whale responded, “The ocean is what you are in now.” 
The shark would not believe it. “Come on, tell me where the ocean is so I may find it!” 
The whale repeated, “The ocean is here, now; you are in it.” Unbelieving, 
the shark swam away searching for the ocean. 
 
The moral of the story, I believe, is this: don’t spend too much time looking for God 
because the Spirit of God is here in the now of your life, dwelling within you, within me, 
within this community. And that truth is nurtured in prayer.
 
(by Susan M. Fleenor from The Indwelling Spirit of Pentecost)



Peace
 
The peace Jesus gives to us through the Holy Spirit is more than we can ever imagine:
 
Peace means the cessation of all warfare, but it also means much more.
Peace means a feeling of inner well-being, but it also means much more.
Peace means an end to psychological tensions, but it also means much more.
Peace means halting interpersonal conflicts, but it also means much more.
Peace means the settling of silence on the soul, but it also means much more.
 
In Valyermo, California , the Benedictines converted a 400-acre ranch into a religious community 
called St. Andrew's Priory. As you enter the grounds, you find that the land is posted: 
"No Hunting Except for Peace."
 
The world is hunting for peace. What will we give it?
 
(by Leonard Sweet from Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com)



The Church on Fire
 
Two persons were talking together before a large church which was being destroyed 
by fire. The first man spoke in a voice which could be heard above the voice of the firemen: 
"This is the first time I ever saw you at church." To this the second responded: 
"This is the first time I ever saw the church on fire." There are many prophets of doom 
saying that the age of the Christian Church is over - that it has lost its zeal! 
We're taking a beating right now in this country and around the world. 
Our theology is being questioned. Everyone is writing a critical book against the organized church. 
We have had to take some unpopular stands on social issues. Magazines are attacking the ministry, 
and it isn't the thing to do anymore to join the church. John Kelman said, however, 
"God pity the nation or city whose factory smokestacks rise higher than her church spires."
 
(from Why Belong To The Church?, an anthology, CSS Publishing Company, Inc.)



Shaped by the Winds of God
 
Most times, when I'm called to conduct a funeral of a loved one from the church, 
I'm asked by the funeral director if I'd like to ride with them rather than to drive my own car. 
And most times, I take them up on the offer, for it is more relaxing not to have to worry 
about driving. I must say that I've had some interesting and informative drives out to the cemetery. 
One director told me about the effect God's Wind has on things that grow. 
It seems that over time, trees that have to stand out in the open become shaped in the direction 
the wind is blowing. Unless there are other trees around to block it from happening, 
a tree will eventually be shaped by the force and direction of the wind. Then, as living proof, 
the funeral director began to point out to me tree after tree that had all been shaped in this way, 
trees that I confess I had passed by many times, but had never really seen until then. 
Once this was pointed out to me, I began to see them everywhere. 
The cemetery was literally filled with them! All shaped by the Winds of God!
 
I leave you with this question. Like those trees in the cemetery, do we, as individuals, 
and as a congregation, show any evidence of being shaped by the Winds of God's Spirit? 
Is the new beginning Pentecostal experience a fresh, yet continuing presence in our lives?
 
[by David R. Cartwright from Sermons for Sundays after Pentecost (First Third): 
Guided by the Spirit, CSS Publishing Company, Inc.]



Waves of Worry
 
Several years ago a submarine was being tested and had to remain submerged for many hours. 
When it returned to the harbor, the captain was asked, "How did the terrible storm last night 
affect you?" The officer looked at him in surprise and exclaimed, "Storm? We didn't even know 
there was one!" The sub had been so far beneath the surface that it had reached the area known 
to sailors as "the cushion of the sea." Although the ocean may be whipped into huge waves 
by high winds, the waters below are never stirred.
 
This, I believe, is a perfect picture of the peace that comes from Christ's Spirit. The waves of worry, 
of fear, of heartbreak, cannot touch those resting in Christ. Sheltered by His grace 
and encouraged by His Spirit, the believer is given the perfect tranquility that only Christ can provide.
 
(by Adrian Dieleman from Receive the Holy Spirit)
 


A Dead Balloon
 
A "dead balloon" -- has no life. It continues to lie wherever you put it. It doesn't move. It has no power.
 
Take a "dead balloon" and do what Jesus did -- blow in it. What happens? It's full of air; 
but it is still dead, going nowhere until that power is released. [As an illustration, 
the "powered balloon" can be released.]
 
Under the "spirit's/breath's/wind's" power, the balloon can move. It goes out. 
However, when the wind power within the balloon is released, you don't know 
where the balloon is going to go; but you know it's going somewhere. 
(We don't know where the wind comes from or is going.)
 
Jesus did not give the disciples the Spirit's power so that they could stay behind locked doors 
in fear. It is given as a power to move people out into the world -- 
even if we don't always know exactly where we will end up.
 
What happens to the balloon after it has "spent" its power? It seems dead again. 
All out of power. It's flat. There's no more "spirit/breath" within it. On one hand 
we are not like that balloon. Jesus promises that the Spirit will be with us forever. 
We will never run out of the Spirit's power. The Spirit given to you in baptism remains forever. 
On the other hand, over and over again in Acts, we read that certain disciples were filled 
with the Holy Spirit. Their filling didn't just happen once, but over and over again. 
So we also need to be refilled. Weekly we return to church as a refilling station. 
To receive Jesus again in the hearing of the word and in the sharing of sacrament 
and through the fellowship of the saints.
 
(by Brian Stofregen from Exegetical Notes)
 


Passing the Peace
 
There is a true story related about a church in the Pacific Northwest, who much like us, 
has a time during the service for passing the peace of Christ. This is a time 
when they greet one another, and their guests, with handshakes and hugs, 
and kind words of welcome. Nobody thought much about the weekly ritual 
until the pastor received a letter from a man who had recently joined the congregation. 
The new member was a promising young lawyer from a prestigious downtown law firm. 
He drafted a brief but pointed letter on his firm's letterhead. "I am writing to complain 
about the congregational ritual known as 'passing the peace,' " he wrote. 
"I disagree with it, both personally and professionally, and I am prepared to take legal action 
to cause this practice to cease." When the pastor phoned to talk with the lawyer about the letter, 
he asked why he was so disturbed about sharing the peace of Christ. The lawyer said, 
"The passing of the peace is an invasion of my privacy."
 
And, in the Pastor’s response to this man, we find the truth of the Christian life. He said, 
"Like it or not, when you joined the church you gave up some of your privacy, 
for we believe in a risen Lord who will never leave us alone." And, he said, 
"You never know when Jesus Christ will intrude on us with a word of peace."
 
(by Jeremy Rebman from So Send I You)



Settling for Less

Charles Schultz, the artist who provides us with the Peanuts cartoons, is one of my favorite theologians. 
That ought to tell you something about the kind of seminary president I am. 
In one of his cartoon series, he has Snoopy, that hound of heaven, saying of Woodstock, 
that would-be bird of paradise; “Someday, Woodstock is going to be a great eagle.” 
Then in the next frame he says, “He is going to soar thousands of feet above the ground.” 
Woodstock takes off into the air and as Snoopy looks on he sees the bird upside down 
whirling around crazily. So he has second thoughts. In the third frame Snoopy says, 
“Well, maybe hundreds of feet above the ground…” But hardly had the words gotten out of his mouth 
when Woodstock plummets to the ground and lies there, on his back looking dazed, 
and Snoopy has to conclude, “Maybe he will be one of those eagles who just walks around.”

Isn’t it amazing – how quickly we settle for less than is promised, and for far less than is possible?

(by Charles Schultz, adapted by Maxie Dunnam)



The Christians in Acts 2 aren't the priesthood's hierarchy or the temple's choir. 
They don't base their hope upon a restructuring or uniting of their denomination, 
enlightened methods for church advertising, or upon their new, tall, handsome pastor. 
They don't keep up appearances for their neighbors' sake. They trust that God loves them enough 
to die for them and that God takes up residence in their hearts. They believe Jesus' promise of coming power.

What of us? We look away as we drive by someone carrying a cross on our streets. 
We toss the religious flyers stuck under our windshield wipers and we don't come to worship 
to be upset by people such as in Acts 2. We attend church to keep what we've got and add a little more. 
We disregard anything in worship that challenges us to cast aside our self-interest and shift our loyalties. 
Make us feel good the way we are. Patch us up so we can return to the life we've chosen.

Perhaps this is why what occurs in Acts 2 doesn't happen in our churches.

People can sit side-by-side but be light-years apart. It happens regularly. Folks share houses, 
airplanes, buses, movie theaters, and even church buildings, but chasms divide their hearts and minds. 
Wrangling, disputes, and spats evidence their separation.

When Acts tells us that the disciples were "all together in one place" it refers to more 
than physical togetherness. It means that they were emotionally and spiritually in sync. 
They proved it by the mighty things they later did for God. "Together" people do astonishing things.

What brought the disciples together making them such a powerful force? First, they all obeyed Jesus. 
He told them to wait in Jerusalem, and they did exactly that. Are you currently in full obedience to him?

Second, the disciples continually prayed. Some of us entreat God only if we think we need something 
or feel that we're in trouble. Do you pray constantly?

Third, the disciples were open to God's Spirit and were ready to act for him. How "together" are you? 
Are you ready to act with fellow Christians for God's glory? If so, God's Spirit may soon work powerfully in you.



Christianity means community through Jesus Christ and in Jesus Christ. 
No Christian community is more or less than this. 
Whether it be a brief, single encounter
or the daily fellowship of years,
Christian community is only this. 
We belong to one another only through and in Jesus Christ.

(by Dietrich Bonhoeffer from Life Together)



Talk about what you believe and you have disunity. 
Talk about Who you believe in and you have unity.

(by E. Stanley Jones)



The humble, meek, merciful, just, pious and devout souls everywhere
are of one religion,
and when death has taken off the mask,
they will know one another,
though the diverse liveries they wore here make them strangers.

(by William Penn)

(NOTE:  The word "liveries" means distinctive clothing or insignia 
that designate people as members of a particular group or class.)



It is not by driving away our brother (or sister)
that we can be alone with God.

(by George MacDonald)



Increase, O God, the spirit of neighborliness among us,
that in peril we may uphold one another,
in calamity serve one another,
in suffering tend one another
and in homeliness and loneliness in exile befriend one another. 
Grant us brave and enduring hearts,
that we may strengthen one another,
till the disciplines and testing of these days be ended.

(A prayer used in English air raid shelters during World War II.)



Control

A wealthy family from Massachusetts used to take a month's vacation every summer 
to the coast of Maine, taking their maid with them. The maid had an annual ritual at the beach. 
She wore an old-fashioned bathing suit, complete with a little white hat, 
and carried enough paraphernalia to stock Wal-Mart. She would settle herself on the beach, 
cover every inch of her exposed flesh and journey down to the water's edge. 
There she would hesitate while taking deep breaths and working up her courage to enter 
the icy-cold water. Finally, she would daintily extend one foot and lower it slowly into the water 
until she barely had her big toe submerged. Then she repeated the act with the other foot. 
Then, having satisfied her minimal urge for a swim, she would retreat to her chair and umbrella 
and spend the remainder of the vacation curled around a book.

I'm afraid that may be a parable of our Christian commitment. Are we afraid to give in 
to the Pentecost experience, fearful that we might lose control? That's what it is really all about, 
isn't it? Control. We want to be in control. Well, if Pentecost is to do nothing else, 
it should remind us that we are not in control, not even - or perhaps I should say especially - of ourselves.

(by Randy L. Hyde from Time to Deliver)



They All Come Together

John Ortberg tells the story of a friend who made his first trip south of the Mason-Dixon Line 
from Chicago to Georgia. On his first morning in the South he went into a restaurant to order breakfast, 
and it seemed that every dish included something called grits...which, as my Tennessee friends tell me, 
is exactly the way God intended it. Not being familiar with this southern delicacy, he asked the waitress, 
"Could you tell me, exactly what is a grit?" Looking down on him with a mixture of compassion 
and condescension, she said, "Sugar, you can't get just one grit. They always come together."

John Wesley knew there was no personal holiness without social holiness, and Pulitzer Prize winner 
Annie Dillard says, "You can no more go to God alone than you can go to the North Pole alone." 
We're just like grits...you can't get just one. They come together.

(by John E. Harnish from Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com)



Humor: How Were You Attired?

Recently, a judicial friend was presiding over a case in a small, rural county. 
The defendant was charged with drunk driving and trying to assault the police officer who arrested him. 
To convict the defendant on the assault on an officer charge, the District Attorney had to prove 
that the defendant knew the person he was assaulting was a police officer. And the easiest way to do that 
is to show that the officer was wearing a police uniform, and therefore the defendant knew 
that this was a police officer.

So the District Attorney asked the officer on the witness stand "And how were you attired 
when you pulled the defendant over?"

The witness looked at him blankly. It was clear he didn't know what the District Attorney meant by "attired". 
Everyone saw this but the District Attorney.

"Would you repeat the question, please?"

In a slightly irritated voice the District Attorney said, "And how were you attired when you pulled the defendant over?"

The witness still was puzzled. "Say that again", he pleaded.

"How were you attired when you pulled the defendant over?" barked the District Attorney.

My friend said you could suddenly see the light bulb come on in the officer's head, and he proudly proclaimed 
"I was traveling on standard issue radial tires!"

This officer needed an interpreter even within the English language!

That's what I'm getting at: We all need our own personal interpreter, full time, 24/7. So much of what we hear, 
even within the English language, we don't understand. And nowhere is that truth more evident than with people 
who are new to the church.

(by Leonard Sweet from Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com)



Lost and Found

Picture a little girl lost in a big city. There she sits, crying on the curb. A policeman finds her, 
puts her in his cruiser and drives her up and down the streets, hoping she'll recognize something familiar. 
Which, at last, she does. She sees a steeple with a cross on it. Tears vanish.
Speech returns. "That's my church," she says. "I can find my way from here."

You're not the only one, little girl.

(by William A. Ritter from Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com)



The Pentecostal Spirit of Love

Today's holy solemnity puts new heart into us, for not only do we revere its dignity, we also experience it as delightful. 
On this feast it is love that we specially honor, and among human beings 
there is no word pleasanter to the ear, no thought more tenderly dwelt on, than love.

The love we celebrate is nothing other than the goodness, kindness, 
and charity of God; for God himself is goodness, kindness, and charity. His goodness is identical with his Spirit, with God himself.

In his work of disposing all things "the Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole world" from the beginning, 
"reaching from end to end of the earth in strength, and delicately disposing everything; 
but as sanctifier the Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole world" since Pentecost, 
for on this day the gracious Spirit himself was sent by the Father and the Son on a new mission, 
in a new mode, by a new manifestation of his mighty power, for the sanctification of every creature.

[by Aelred of Rievaulx (1109-67)]