The readings
Acts 2:1-4
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together
in one place. 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. Divided
tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them.
All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other
languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
Galatians 4:1
My point is this: heirs, as long as they are
minors, are no better than slaves, though they are the owners of all the
property; 2 but they remain under guardians and trustees until the date set by
the father. 3 So with us; while we were minors, we were enslaved to the
elemental spirits of the world. 4 But when the fullness of time had come, God
sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 in order to redeem those
who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. 6 And
because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts,
crying, "Abba! Father!" 7 So you are no longer a slave but a child,
and if a child then also an heir, through God.
The messages (we had a few today)
It’s sort of hard to describe today’s service and sermon. I’m
not entirely sure how to explain it. I had 3 different messages, an
introduction and 2 short sermons.
Introduction: Over the past year, we have followed a list of
Sunday readings that basically tell the story of God’s communication with the
world in time or chronological order. We
started back in September with creation and went through the great leaders and
events in Israel, the prophets, Christmas and Jesus life death and
resurrection. Since Easter, we have
looked at the book of Acts and Paul’s letter to the Galatians, which tell us
about the early church and what Jesus disciples did in the days, week, months
and years after Jesus Ascension, his post resurrection return to heaven. Today
our bible reading is out of that order. Jesus disciples were told to do nothing
and did nothing until the first Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended on
them. Jesus told them they would not,
could not do the work alone, that he would be with them. Today’s story happens before anything else. There are several versions of the Pentecost
story in the bible. They have 2 things
in common, what the Holy Spirit is and what the Holy Spirit does. The Holy Spirit is identified with the presence
of the Risen Christ (as we will hear Paul write, God send the Spirit of his Son
into our hearts) and the Holy Spirit’s work is to draw and lead us into a
meaningful and joyful relationship with God.
The Biblical timeline is not the only thing out of order
today. As you will see in a few moments,
our worship service has been changed.
All of the normal parts of worship, communion, Confession and
forgiveness, offering, sermon, hymns and prayers, are still here, just in a
very different order. The normal
liturgy or order of worship is ancient and its familiar rituals bring great
comfort so I do not change it lightly.
At the first Penetcost, the disciples were celebrating a Jewish festival
(today called Shavout, which marked the giving of the law on Mount Siani).
Jerusalem was filled with people from around the world. As the Holy Spirit comes in violent wind, no
one knows what is happening. At church,
we are not doing things just to do them, we are not pleasing God by following
an order. We are here to worship, to give thanks, to experience the gifts of
God and the presence of the Risen Christ. We are also reminded that for people
who did not grow up in church, who are curious, who just walk in here, what we
do is weird.
Sermon on Acts 2
We only have the first few verses of the Pentecost story
today. After this reading, Peter shares the first Christian Sermon, explaining
the story of Jesus, the fulfillment of prophesy and God;s saving work through
Jesus death and resurrection. Once the
promised Holy Spirit descends on the disciples, they start speaking in other
languages. They not speaking in tongues,
the ancient spiritual gifts where people speak in unknown sounds to express the
presence and word of God. Here they are speaking in real, known languages.
Jerusalem was filled with people from all over the world and the disciples were
able to tell the story of Jesus in their individual languages. This story centers on communication. God equips and enables followers to share the
good news in all different ways,
Sermon on Galatians 4
To understand this reading, we need to understand a little
about life during this time. People were
all divided by their class or status. Minors
were 3 or 4 years old, unable to exercise their responsibilities, unable to really
understand the depth of their power, status or wealth. They would some day be
in charge, but not yet. For Paul, this
is the world before Jesus, people did not really get it. They knew God was
communicating with the world, they knew the world was more than we could
explain with our knowledge or experience with our senses, but no one was sure
where it was going. Through Christ,
God’s ultimate love, grace and forgiveness is revealed.
This reading comes to the heart of who we are. We are not landlords, we are not social
workers, we are not teachers, we are not school owners, we are not keeping this
church open, we are not part of woodside, we are not helping people, we are
heirs to the promises of God.
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