Pentecost Sunday-- sermon and service

Today was my last service at Flintstone United Methodist and it was Pentecost Sunday, the birthday of the church.  Pentecost is a fun Sunday for worship and for preaching.  Well, most Sundays are... especially when the songs and service come together and flow.  Today was one of those days.  Things flowed... from the songs we sang, to what the Spirit brought about.  It was a good time of worship.

We had a member join the church today and that was a gift.  Another gift was a young man whom I baptized my first "Baptism of the Lord" Sunday in the parish, when I happened to be at Flintstone UMC. He has grown quite a bit these past several years.  When I gave an invitation for anointing and prayer at the end of the sermon, he was one of a railing full who came forward.  What a moment to pray for him and anoint him, thinking back to that day several years ago in January 2016.  It was also meaningful for me to pray for each and every one who was at that altar for anointing and prayer.  What a humbling and powerful experience.

At the very end of the service, I was asked to come up front so that they could pray for me.  I tossed my vial of anointing oil to the lay leader of the day, Mary Beth, and she caught it. I asked her to anoint me as they prayed for me and Riley at the close of the service.  It was a first for her and it caught her off guard.  But it was one of those moments in which the Spirit was moving. 

That happened often at the "little rock church".  I have many wonderful memories of Holy Spirit moments in services where things just flowed well, "home runs" as David would say. 

What an incredible four years to be in mission and ministry with those folks at Flintstone as we were led together by God's Spirit.

The sermon was "Led By God's Spirit" from Romans 8:14-17.

You can hear the recorded sermon by clicking on this link for the sermon: "Led By God's Spirit".

Here is the transcript for the sermon:

“Led By God’s Spirit”

Romans 8:14-17 (NRSV)

June 9th, 2019 (Pentecost Sunday)

Flintstone UMC

Romans 8:14-17 (NRSV)

¹⁴ For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. ¹⁵ For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” ¹⁶ it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷ and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

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THIS IS THE WORD OF GOD FOR THE PEOPLE OF GOD.

THANKS BE TO GOD.                      

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In our call to worship this morning, the leader invited the Holy Spirit to come, along with additional words to ignite our hearts, fill us, and be with us.  We responded to each one. Yet, what we didn’t do as a whole was to invite the Holy Spirit to come.  I want to give each of us the opportunity to invite the Holy Spirit free reign as we continue our worship this morning.  Will you join me in saying: “Come, Holy Spirit!”. [“Come, Holy Spirit!”]

Will you pray with me?

“God of wind, word, and fire, we bless your name this day

   for sending the light and strength of your Holy Spirit.

We give you thanks for all the gifts, great and small,

   that you have poured out upon your children.

Accept us with our gifts

   to be living praise and witness to your love throughout all the earth;

through Jesus Christ, who lives with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

   one God, for ever. Amen.”  (Don E. Saliers, U.S.A. 20^th CENT.) BOW 408

Today is Pentecost Sunday.  From the UMC.org site glossary (http://www.umc.org/what-we-believe/glossary-pentecost): “One of the principal days of the Christian year, celebrated on the fiftieth day after Easter. The Greek word pentecoste means "fiftieth day." Pentecost is the day on which the Christian church commemorates the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and others assembled in Jerusalem. It marks the beginning of the Christian church and the proclamation of its message throughout the world and is often referred to as the birthday of the church. The liturgical color for Pentecost is red. Traditionally, Pentecost has been a day for baptisms. Because it was the custom in the early church for persons being baptized to wear white robes or clothing, the day also became known as Whitsunday, a contraction of white Sunday.” 

When we are baptized, we are baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19)

The place of the Holy Spirit in our lives, in our faith journey, in our churches, in everything is undeniable and something to which we are well advised to pay more attention.

As we become quiet and posture ourselves to listen to the Spirit, we are more likely to hear what is being said.

This past week I spent time at a retreat center in Wisconsin with other pastors and leaders who have been led by the Spirit to start outdoor worship services, outdoor churches.  It was an amazing opportunity to gather, to listen, to worship, to hear the stories of how the Spirit has been moving in and among people.  There are Lutheran, Mennonite, Episcopal, UCC, and Methodist folks involved.  To hear the stories of the different beginnings reminded me quite a bit of the early church and Pentecost.  The church began at Pentecost, as we see from the other Lectionary readings for today. (Acts 2:1-21) 

Verse 17— ‘In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out 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. 

There are dreams and visions coming to life as people listen to the Holy Spirit and respond to the nudging.  I have shared with you before about my time in the bamboo at Reflection Riding and how that experience has become an outdoor worship service.  I had no idea in the beginning that seeds were being planted for such a thing.  When things began stirring more inside me, I questioned and doubted some, but decided to trust and obey and see what the Spirit was doing.  It was humbling and encouraging to gather in the bamboo that first Saturday with others for worship, recognizing that the nudging of the Holy Spirit inside me was coming to life.

It isn’t easy to take those steps of risk in the faith.  I imagine it wasn’t easy back in the day when the church first began.  As you look at the Acts 2 passage, you will notice that folks were bewildered by what was going on.  They couldn’t understand.  Some people even condemned those who were responding to the Holy Spirit.  Yet, the Spirit continued to work and the people responded.

Our focus passage in Romans today reminds us that all who are led by God’s Spirit are God’s children. 

There is encouragement and affirmation in that statement that comes from Romans 8:14.

As God’s children, we are adopted (15) and we are heirs (17).  This is good news! 

As God’s children, who are led by God’s Spirit, here are some questions:

*Where is the Spirit leading you individually?

*Where is the Spirit leading you as a congregation?

*How will you respond to the Spirit, individually and as a congregation?

Think on these questions for a moment. [Repeat the questions. Allow for quiet reflection for a moment.] [Allow for sharing, if led by the Spirit.  Use the hand held microphone.]

I close with this prayer that we pray on Emmaus weekends:

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in us the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and we shall be created. And you shall renew the face of the earth. O God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy your consolations. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

http://emmaus.upperroom.org/
https://www.dallasemmaus.org/prayer-to-the-holy-spirit.html (pretty page)

As we sing the song of discipleship, I invite you to come to the altar to pray, to covenant with the Holy Spirit to work together in whatever you are being led. [offer anointing]

In the name of God, the Creator, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Songs from today:

"A Hymn of Pentecost"

"Refiner's Fire"

"As The Deer"

"I Love You Lord"
(acapella)

I love you Lord, and I lift my voice, to worship you, oh my soul, rejoice, take joy my king, in what you hear, may it be a sweet, sweet, sound, in your ear.   

In preparation for today's worship, I created this from the Emmaus prayer and using a photo from the Wild Church Network retreat I took this past week:

Pictures from today:

me and Riley before heading to church this morning-- #wearred #pentecost

sharing how we are led by the Spirit

anointing

children helping children moment

new member