Holy Spirit Come

The hallways of the church have been very quiet this last couple of weeks. The preschool children are home for the summer. Although I do appreciate the quiet, I miss having the little kiddos around. I especially miss our time every Wednesday at chapel where we play and learn together about God’s love. I love asking the children questions about God and they are all so eager to raise their hand. The funny part is that they are eager to raise their hand but seldom have an answer. I think they just like to be called upon and have a chance to speak, but when asked to answer I often get a lot of um’s and ah’s. Their eagerness to respond reminds me of our eagerness to respond to God’s call. Many of us cherish the thought of being called upon by God but most, like me, respond with um’s and ah’s.

I was thinking of the phrase often echoed around the season of Pentecost. We say “Holy Spirit come” but what would or will we do when the Holy Spirit comes? In Acts 2, we hear the story of the first church responding to the Holy Spirit coming. It was the birth of the church and what the church was meant to be. People coming together to respond to God’s call and change the world. Everyone was involved in the movement. Young, old, women, men, and people of various nationalities coming together as one and being the church!

You may think of Pentecost as the birth of the church, but it is more than that. It was when the church learned to walk on its own. When it was empowered by fire and wind. On Pentecost, we celebrate the coming of the Spirit to raise the church out of hiding. It was the day that the church received its mission to outwardly and invitationally live the good news of Jesus Christ.

When we say, “Holy Spirit come” are we willing to respond as the first church did? At Lake Cities our mission is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world and we plan to do that by inviting, growing, serving, and sharing in the love of Christ. How do we make that statement more than just words? How do we become the church God has called us to be? How do we become the church that you want to be a part of?

Over the next four weeks our sermon series that comes for United Methodist Discipleship resources, “Living the Spirit Life”, will hopefully address those questions and how we to can to can not only call upon the Holy Spirit but live the Spirit life. Join us this Sunday at 8:30 or 10:45 AM for worship.

In God’s grip,

Pastor Chuck Church