power from heaven

Good morning friends,
Today's reading starts the story of Pentecost, and is many ways the birth of the church. Jesus told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they receive power from heaven. In today's passage that power comes, and the disciples (including women) begin their ministry.


God bless,
Sam


Acts 2: 1-13

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.3Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.


5Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each.7Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” 12All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”

telling the story

Good evening friends,
I hope you're doing well. I apologize for the gap in readings. We've been following the story of Pentecost, when God sent the Holy Spirit to strengthen the disciples for their ministry of witness to the world. When the Spirit first came it gave the disciples the ability to speak in other languages. When they started praising God, a crowd gathered because they heard the good news in their own language. Some mocked, but Peter told the story of Jesus and his death and resurrection. It's a simple sermon, but as we see in today's reading, it is effective. How can we tell the story today?

God bless,
Sam

Acts 2:37-47

³⁷Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” ³⁸Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.” ⁴⁰And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” ⁴¹So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added.

⁴²They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. ⁴³Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. ⁴⁴All who believed were together and had all things in common; ⁴⁵they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. ⁴⁶Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, ⁴⁷praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

an end and a beginning

Good morning brothers and sisters,
We've been walking through the church season of Easter, which reflects on and celebrates Jesus' resurrection from the dead. The Gospels all tell the story of Jesus rising from the dead, and and most tell stories about the risen Jesus spending time with his disciples to get them ready for their ministry in the world. Luke's Gospel takes it a step further. It talks about the disciples spending time with Jesus and then closes as they watch him go into heaven. But then Luke's Gospel has a "Part 2," which is the Book of Acts. Acts starts with Jesus giving some closing words to his disciples and goes on to show their ministry in the power of the Holy Spirit as these men and women become the church.

Today's reading from Acts sets the stage for what is to come. It starts with an introduction Luke writes to "Theophilus." It's not clear if this is a particular person Luke knew or if it's really an introduction for all believers (Theophilus means, "Lover of God" in Greek.) From there we get last words from Jesus and his ascension into heaven. Here's where our story begins.

God bless,
Sam
 

Acts 1:1-11

In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning ²until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. ³After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. ⁴While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. “This,” he said, “is what you have heard from me; ⁵for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

⁶So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” ⁷He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. ⁸But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

⁹When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. ¹⁰While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. ¹¹They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

locusts

Good morning brothers and sisters,
This week we're getting ready for Pentecost and the gift of the Holy Spirit. When the Spirit came and Peter tried to explain what was happening he went back to a passage from the book of the Prophet Joel. So we're going to get ready first by getting to know Joel. Joel is a short book. We can't pin down Joel's setting exactly, but scholars guess the fifth century before Christ, which is after the return from exile.

Joel was sent to Israel to interpret a terrible plague of locusts that almost destroyed agricultural life. He interprets it as God's judgment and calls Israel to repent and return to the Lord. He talks a lot about temple sacrifice including grain and wine offerings to God. The locusts become apocalyptic and Joel see's the end of time. Let's take a look to see what we can learn about repentance and God's calling.

Blessings as you start your week,
Sam
 

Joel 1:1-13

The word of the Lord that came to Joel son of Pethuel: ²Hear this, O elders, give ear, all inhabitants of the land! Has such a thing happened in your days, or in the days of your ancestors? ³Tell your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation. ⁴What the cutting locust left, the swarming locust has eaten. What the swarming locust left, the hopping locust has eaten, and what the hopping locust left, the destroying locust has eaten. ⁵Wake up, you drunkards, and weep; and wail, all you wine-drinkers, over the sweet wine, for it is cut off from your mouth. ⁶For a nation has invaded my land, powerful and innumerable; its teeth are lions’ teeth, and it has the fangs of a lioness. ⁷It has laid waste my vines, and splintered my fig trees; it has stripped off their bark and thrown it down; their branches have turned white.

⁸Lament like a virgin dressed in sackcloth for the husband of her youth. ⁹The grain offering and the drink offering are cut off from the house of the Lord. The priests mourn, the ministers of the Lord. ¹⁰The fields are devastated, the ground mourns; for the grain is destroyed, the wine dries up, the oil fails. ¹¹Be dismayed, you farmers, wail, you vinedressers, over the wheat and the barley; for the crops of the field are ruined. ¹²The vine withers, the fig tree droops. Pomegranate, palm, and apple— all the trees of the field are dried up; surely, joy withers away among the people. ¹³Put on sackcloth and lament, you priests; wail, you ministers of the altar. Come, pass the night in sackcloth, you ministers of my God! Grain offering and drink offering are withheld from the house of your God.

glad and generous hearts

Good morning sisters and brothers,
We read yesterday about how Peter preached about Jesus to the crowd that had gathered after hearing the disciples speaking in other languages. Peter's message about how Jesus was crucified and raised from the dead touched the crowd and led them to repentance. Peter invites them into discipleship as well and from there the church grows. Notice what Luke thinks is important about the church: rejoicing, fellowship, prayer, taking care of those in need and eating together. Not a bad starting point.

God bless,
Sam

Acts 2:37-47

³⁷Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” ³⁸Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.” ⁴⁰And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” ⁴¹So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added.

⁴²They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. ⁴³Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. ⁴⁴All who believed were together and had all things in common; ⁴⁵they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. ⁴⁶Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, ⁴⁷praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

Pentecostal preaching

Good morning brothers and sisters,
After Jesus ascended into heaven the disciples followed his instruction and waited in Jerusalem. They prayed and worshiped together and in the temple. One day when they were praying together in an upper room God's Holy Spirit came down on them like fire and led them to speak in other languages to proclaim God's love. This grabbed lots of attention and a crowd gathered. Peter addressed the crowd to explain what was going on. This was the beginning of the church, and in the Spirit's power the message continued to spread. What are you going to do with the message today?

God bless,
Sam

Acts 2:14-17, 22-24, 32-36

¹⁴But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. ¹⁵Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. ¹⁶No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: 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…

²²“You that are Israelites, listen to what I have to say: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know— ²³this man, handed over to you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law. ²⁴But God raised him up, having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power…

³²This Jesus God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses. ³³Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you both see and hear. ³⁴For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, ³⁵until I make your enemies your footstool.”’ ³⁶Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

Joel

Good morning friends,
As we approach Memorial Day weekend, please take some time to remember the men and women in uniform who have died in service. We also remember those who have served and suffered for our sake. Regardless of how we feel about military action, these folks risk their lives to serve their country. They deserve our profound gratitude.

In our reading for today we continue the story of Pentecost. God poured out the Holy Spirit on the disciples and they began telling the good news in other languages. Some people were amazed and others thought they were drunk. Peter gets up to explain what God is doing.

Blessings as you finish your week,
Sam

Acts 2:14-21

¹⁴But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. ¹⁵Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. ¹⁶No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

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. ¹⁸Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. ¹⁹And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. ²⁰The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day. ²¹Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Spirit's arrival

Good evening friends,
You may remember that when Jesus talked with the disciples after his resurrection (in Luke's version) he told them to wait in Jerusalem for God's power to fill them. The disciples waited, and finally our story picks up with the Holy Spirit's appearance. This moment we're about to read is the start of the church's ministry, which continues with us. I'd invite you to wear red on Sunday as a symbol of the Holy Spirit as we celebrate Pentecost.

God bless,
Sam

Acts 2:1-13

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. ²And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. ³Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. ⁴All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

⁵Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. ⁶And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. ⁷Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? ⁸And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? ⁹Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, ¹¹Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” ¹²All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” ¹³But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”

Pentecost

Good morning and Happy Pentecost,
We often think about Pentecost as the church's birthday because it's the Spirit's power that enabled that small band of disciples to spread the good news of God's love in Christ throughout the known world within a generation. In our Sunday reading from Pentecost we hear the story of that day and the apostles first Spirit-filled words to the crowd. I've never literally been able to speak another language I haven't learned like on that day, but through our different lives and experiences God enables us to communicate with different groups of people. As a community we speak the "language" of counseling, teaching, engineering, medicine, music, domestic life, groceries, research and many more. Our experiences are part of how God calls and equips us to share God's love with others, and by the Spirit God gives us many gifts for ministry in the world.

Our Gospel passage gives us an up close look at one of Jesus' early healings. Leprosy was a particularly feared disease in Jesus' time because not only did it threaten the health and life of the person who was ill, it also cut them off from their family and community, leaving them isolated. The man with leprosy, a man who faced rejection and loneliness everyday, found the courage to ask Jesus to heal him. He knew Jesus could, but he also knew from experience that many people shrunk back from touching him. Jesus does not shrink back and he ignores not only the risk of infection but also the fact that touching someone with leprosy made him ritually unclean. We know Jesus didn't always see eye to eye with the religious establishment, but here we see him take pains to send the man to follow the temple rules for showing that he was now healed. This reminds the temple that God is working in the world and begins the process of reintegrating the man into society. I pray that we would use our different gifts to reach out to others and to bring God's healing and love to a hurting world.

Blessings,
Sam

Luke 5:12-16

12Once, when he was in one of the cities, there was a man covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he bowed with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you choose, you can make me clean.” 13Then Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I do choose. Be made clean.” Immediately the leprosy left him. 14And he ordered him to tell no one. “Go,” he said, “and show yourself to the priest, and, as Moses commanded, make an offering for your cleansing, for a testimony to them.” 15But now more than ever the word about Jesus spread abroad; many crowds would gather to hear him and to be cured of their diseases. 16But he would withdraw to deserted places and pray.


Acts 2:1-8
1When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

5Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. 7Amazed and astonished, they asked, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language?

new wine or the coming of the kingdom?

Good morning everyone,
Our reading this morning begins Peter's sermon to the crowd as the Spirit moves the early Christians not only to speak other languages, but to proclaim the good news to others. Peter puts this amazing occurrence in the context of earlier prophesy. The prophet Joel said that when the end comes God would pour out the Spirit not just on a few prophets but on everyone. He argues that this is the very thing the people are seeing in front of them; God's Spirit at work in ordinary men and women. He also says that God's powerful action is an opportunity for everyone to turn to the Lord and seek God's healing. The invitation is always open and the Spirit calls us closer.

Our reading from Luke for this morning, especially for those who won't be able to join in worship this morning, shows Jesus fasting in the desert and facing temptation from Satan. Satan is crafty and he can quote scripture, but Jesus resists the devil through faithfulness, through trusting his connection to God and staying true to that. As James promises the early church, if we resist the devil he will flee from us. Sure enough, Satan is defeated by Jesus' firm stand. If we build a strong foundation in worship and faith we too can stand against the devil when he comes to tempt us, whatever form he wears when he comes.

Blessings on your morning; see you in church,
Sam

Sunday 2/21 Acts 2:14-21

14But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. 15Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o”clock in the morning. 16No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: 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. 18Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. 19And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. 20The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day. 21Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

*Sunday Luke 4:1-13

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. 3The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” 4Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’” 5Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6And the devil said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. 7If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’” 9Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’ 11and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’” 12Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 13When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.

Firestorm

Good afternoon all,
I'm sending out tomorrow's reading early because many of us will be on retreat tomorrow. This is a familiar story to most of us; probably the most familiar story in the whole Book of Acts. In our opening reading Jesus told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem because they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit before long. Today we see that promise come true. We often say Pentecost is the birthday of the church, since it is by the Spirit's power that the group of 120 people who threw lots to chose a twelfth apostle in this morning's reading became a world wide movement changing lives and reshaping the world.

Throughout Acts we see a similar pattern. People believe the good news about Jesus, they accept the faith and seek baptism and then the Holy Spirit is poured out on them. We aren't used to seeing the Spirit in such dramatic ways today, but God's powerful Spirit is still working in the church and in individual believers around the world. Often the challenge for us is to seek the Spirit's guidance and to allow space in our lives and plans for the Spirit to show us new directions. God isn't done with us so let us listen and trust.

Blessings,
Sam

Saturday 2/20 Acts 2:1-13

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.3Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

5Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. 7Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” 12All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”