Claimed, gathered and sent

This is the sermon I preached on Pentecost, 6/9/19 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church . The text was Acts 2:1-21. In high school, I had a dear Jewish friend. Desiring her salvation, I happily told her that we Christians also celebrate the Jewish feast of Pentecost. She had never heard of it! It wasn’t until many years later that I learned that what we call Pentecost, which is from the Greek, is the Jewish feast called Shavuot. Had I referred to it in that way, by its Hebrew name, then I suspect she would have had a better understanding. Shavuot began as an agricultural feast, originally celebrated seven weeks after the beginning of the grain harvest (Deut.16:9). Later on, it celebrated the giving of the Law, being celebrated fifty days after Passover. Still, my friend and I would have had very different understandings of what we call Pentecost. For us, it’s about the outpouring of God’s Holy Spirit and how that power launched God’s work through the church. In Acts we see the beginn...

These are some of my thoughts on Sunday's epistle sent to the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church. First Reading: Acts 2:1-21 1 When the day of Pentecost had come, [the apostles] were all together in one place. 2 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. 3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.   5 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6 And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. 7 Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea...

This is the sermon I preached this past Sunday, which was Pentecost Sunday, 5/15/16 at St. Timothy and St. Mark Lutheran Churche s. The text was Acts 2:1-21 . Did you hear that wind yesterday? Do you think that's what the apostles heard when the Spirit appeared or do you think it was bigger and stronger than the wind that blew yesterday? In the book of Acts, Luke tells us that the Holy Spirit appeared in the form of wind and fire. We often describe the Holy Spirit as being like the wind. You can't see the wind, but you can see the effects of the wind when it blows through.   The same can be said for the Holy Spirit. You can't see him, but you know when he's made his presence known. What comes to mind when you hear the word Pentecost? Do you think the apostles were   bewildered by the sound of the wind? Do you picture all the apostles with little tongues of flame dancing on their heads? Do you think of the apostles addressing the crowd and each person hearing them ...

  Pentecost, 5/24, was wonderful. After the service at St. Mark's , we had a delightful time at a very special birthday party for a 90 year old member from St. Timothy's that included Swedish dancers and barber shoppers. In the morning, I preached from Acts 2:1-21. On the day of Pentecost, the apostles in the upper room experienced the filling of the Holy Spirit. This filling equipped the apostles with inspired speech for ministry. It is the first fruits because the Holy Spirit's filling of believers did not end with the original followers of Jesus. The focus is a celebration of the Spirit of the risen Christ in the church. Do you remember how last week's gospel described what the disciples did after Jesus' ascension? Luke recorded that they were praying and worshipping and waiting for Jesus' promise  "and [the disciples] were continually in the temple blessing God" (Luke 24:53).. But then, God shows up and the Holy Spirit breaks in and sha...

This is the emessage that was sent to God's people at St. Timothy Lutheran Church . The scripture text is Acts 2:1-21 . I used only part of the passage. I know I am not alone in thinking this way, but have you ever been awestruck by the manifestation of the works of God in the book of Acts? Miracles were happening all over the place. It's no wonder the church grew exponentially! There are well meaning Christians of other denominations who would tell us that the age of miracles was completed when the canon of scripture was put together, but is really? Neal D. Presa takes on this scripture text from Acts in the blog, The Hardest Question, http://thq.wearesparkhouse.org/yearb/pentecostnt-2/. Here are but a few things he mentioned. 1. This is Pentecost in God's world. The Holy Spirit is on the move. Everything is shaken. We should not be surprised that the "tectonic plates of our fixed expectations and calcified thoughts need to be shaken up and stirred....