Claimed, gathered and sent

This is the sermon I preached at St. Timothy Lutheran Church on Pentecost Sunday, 2024, May 19. The text was  John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15. Today is Pentecost. We celebrate the birth of Christ’s church. However, Pentecost is far more than simply the birthday of the church. This was just the beginning of God's work after Jesus went to heaven with his Father.   Especially in the Book of Acts, we read of many miracles being done through the apostles as the Holy Spirit worked through them. Miracles also continue today as God the Holy Spirit works through God’s people.   The fastest growing churches are those in the global south, countries south of the equator, not those in the United States, despite the number of megachurches there are. There, people walk for hours to get to church. Their commitment puts many of us to shame. Perhaps this is why these churches are growing exponentially. This is the work of the Holy Spirit in and through God’s people.  This past week,...

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 message I preached on Pentecost Sunday, 5/20 at  St. Timothy Lutheran Church.  The text was  Romans 8:22-27 . Today is Pentecost, the day we celebrate the beginning of Christ ’ s church. However, Pentecost is far more than simply the birthday of the church, though it is that too. It was but the beginning of God ’ s work after Jesus had ascended to his Father in heaven.    Especially in the Book of Acts we read of many miracles being done through the apostles as the Holy Spirit worked through them. Miracles also continue today as God the Holy Spirit works through God ’ s people.    Bishop John  Macholz  has designated today as Companion Synod Sunday. The Upstate NY Synod is in a companion relationship with the Evangelical Lutheran Churches in Zimbabwe and Zambia. In our affiliation, we follow a model of accompaniment. We walk  with  our brothers and sisters. Our relationship with them is not a ...