Sunday May 23,2021,
Pentecost Sunday
Welcome, our scripture this week is:
Acts 2:1-21
(1) When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. (2) Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. (3) They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. (4) All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
(5) Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. (6) When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. (7) Utterly amazed, they asked: “Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? (8) Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? (9) Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, (10) Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (11) (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs–we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” (12) Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”
(13) Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.
(14) Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. (15) These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! (16) No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
(17) ” ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.
(18) Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.
(19) I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke.
(20) The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
(21) And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
This is the word of God,for the people of God. Thanks be to God.
Let me begin with three quick stories. See if you can find the common thread that runs through them.
The First Story is about a woman who lives in Texas. She is a motivational speaker who is often asked to give the key-note address at conventions and convocations.
Recently she returned home after speaking five nights in a row. Her husband said: “Honey, I know you must be really tired. Why don’t you “sleep in” in the morning?”
That sounded good to her, so she did stay in bed longer than usual. When she finally got up she put on an old worn-out blue robe that was frayed and faded but comfortable… and some old house-shoes that had no back to them… the kind that you have to slide your foot into them… and then slide your foot as you walk to keep them on. Then, she walked by a mirror and saw that her hair was a major disaster… so she stopped and put some of those big pink plastic rollers in her hair. That done, she headed for the kitchen.
When she walked into the kitchen to get her morning coffee, she noticed it immediately. Her husband had forgotten to take out the trash! In that community if you didn’t get your trash out on time, it was tough luck. They would not wait for you.
So she grabbed the two big trash bags quickly and began to shuffle outside…
- pulling the heavy trash bags along the ground,
- trying to keep her worn-out robe closed by holding her arms close together,
- sliding her feet along to keep her house-shoes on,
- and sporting huge pink plastic rollers in her hair.
Just at that moment, the garbage truck was pulling away… she shouted to the driver: “Am I too late?” And he took one look at her and replied: “No, hop on!”
The Second Story comes from Dr. Jim Standiford, former pastor of First United Methodist in San Diego. (FUMC, San Diego, October 31, 2004, “A Vocabulary of Faith Is What America Needs”)
When Jim first came to San Diego, he played golf a couple of times with a man named Lawson Cooke. Some months later, Jim’s wife said: “Jim, you used to play golf with Lawson Cooke, but you two haven’t played together for some time now. Why don’t you play golf with Lawson Cooke anymore?”
Jim replied: “Well, would you play golf with somebody who kicked his ball out of the rough into the fairway, or took a countless number of mulligans, or hit the wrong ball, or didn’t write down the right score on the score card and kept hitting ball after ball into the lake?”
She said: “No.” And Jim said: “Well, Lawson Cooke wouldn’t either!!!”
The Third Story comes from a minister who put an ad in the local paper for a well-rounded handyman, who could fix things around the church and help out with routine chores.
The very next morning after the ad ran, a well-dressed young man came and asked to speak to the minister. The pastor “sized up” the young man, and then asked him a flurry of questions:
- Can you start a fire? “Yes Sir!” Can you have breakfast ready by 7:00 a.m. every morning? “Yes Sir!”
- Can you polish the silver and wash the dishes? “Yes Sir!”
- Can you keep things picked up and neat, and the lawn mowed? “Yes Sir!”
And the minister continued: “And, of course, there will be electrical problems and unexpected leaking pipes and restroom overflows and… Wait a minute! The young man interrupted, “I came here to make arrangements for my wedding. But if it’s going to be like that, I think I’ll just forget the whole thing!”
Now, all three of these stories are humorous. They made me laugh when I first heard them, but what is even better about them, (and is the common thread that runs through them and links them together), is the fact that we know these three stories the only way we could. The people telling the stories, (the motivational speaker and the two pastors) are all telling the stories on themselves. They are laughing at themselves as they tell the stories and they are doing so with obvious joy and delight.
To have a sense of humor and to be able to laugh at yourself, is a sign of a emotionally healthy person. It’s fun to laugh with children at the cute and funny things they sometimes say. It’s fun to laugh at the hilarious wit of good comedians. But, the best humor of all is when we laugh at ourselves. It’s a real mark of emotional maturity. It eases our self-pity; it diminishes our pride and saves us from taking ourselves too seriously. To have a good sense of humor, to be able to laugh at yourself, those are the signs of a healthy personality.
Scholars tell us that the book of Acts was written by Luke,(the physician). And if he were with us today as we celebrate Pentecost Sunday, The Birthday of the Church, he would probably remind us to get an annual check-up not only physically, but spiritually as well. What questions to you think he might want us answer if he were to give us a “faith check-up”.
What are the signs of a healthy faith? It’s a good question to raise and think about today as we celebrate Pentecost Sunday (The Birthday of the Church). Do we as a church family have a healthy faith?
What are the and key signs of a healthy faith? If you were asked to make a list of the key signs of a healthy faith, what would you write down?
To get into this, let’s conduct a;
“Faith Check-up.”
What I would like to do today is ask you to make a “house call”, an “annual check-up”, of your faith, on this Pentecost Sunday. Most of us, if we are wise, get a yearly check-up by our doctor, who will; take our pulse, check our temperature and check our heart-beat. Today I would like you to ask yourself three test questions that will enable you, to take your spiritual pulse; to evaluate your present spiritual temperature; and to check your spiritual heart-beat.
Are you ready? Here is Question Number One.
I. FIRST OF ALL, DO YOU HAVE A HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD?
Think about that. How is your relationship with God right now? Is it warm and wonderful, alive and well; is it healthy… or unhealthy?
Some people have a relationship with God based on fear and guilt. They think: “I had better shape up and obey the rules or else God is going to get me.” This is an unhealthy approach to faith because it makes God “the Bogey Man”… who is out to get us… (and nothing could be further from the truth). According to the Scriptures, God is not “The Bogey Man.” Rather, He is our best friend who is out to find us and save us and bring us safely back into His loving arms.
Other people have a relationship with God based on self-interest. They say: “I had better be good, so God will reward me and bless me now, and let me go to heaven later.” This, too, is an unhealthy approach to faith because it regards God as nothing more than an impersonal computer who automatically and mechanically rewards us when we do good and punishes us when we do bad. According to the Bible that is not the way God works at all.
Jesus showed us that God loves us graciously, generously, compassionately, sacrificially, and unconditionally. So, God is not some unfeeling, uncaring impersonal computer who does nothing more than react in kind to what we do. No, to the contrary, He is our living Lord, Personal Saviour who comes looking for us (like a loving parent searching desperately for his lost child,) laying his life on the line, to find us and save us and reclaim us and to draw us back into His loving arms, where we belong.
We do good things not in order to get God to love us, but because He already loves us. Relationships with God based on fear or guilt or self-interest are basically unhealthy. They are “flawed” from the get-go because; a healthy relationship with God is based on trust. “We do our best and trust God for the rest.”
That’s what Pentecost is all about. It’s the celebration of the gift of the Holy Spirit. “God is with us” and we can trust Him… that is the promise of Pentecost. It is also the great promise of God recorded on page after page of the Bible.
That’s also the kind of trust Simon Peter must have had when he stood up to preach on the first day of Pentecost. God was with him. God’s spirit blew on that place… and He gave Peter the right words to say and the courage to say them… And 3,000 people were converted that day because Peter did his best and trusted God for the rest.
Let me ask you something: Do you trust God like that? Do you? Do you have a healthy, relationship with God, built on trust in Him?
Now, let’s move to the second question.
II. SECOND, DO YOU HAVE A HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHERS?
I remember when I was a Boy Scout and went to Camp Tuscarora with my troop for a annual camp out week, with other Scout troops from the area. One of the scout leaders decided that it would be a great idea if we were to be split up from our troops and one person from each troop be put together to form new ones. Then as an learning exercise each new troop was given a compass and a map to find our way to a certain location marked on the map.
I was assigned to a group of 5 or 6 other scouts. None of which I knew, and we started on our journey. After huddling together, we decided to head off into the woods. We had agreed that it would be our shortest route.
We had a great time, but stayed too long. Darkness and fog came in quickly, and no one thought to bring a flashlight, so we ended up holding each other’s hands and moving down the mountain together in a human chain. We sometimes debated which path we should follow, but the one thing we did not do was let go of each other. It was so dark and foggy that sometimes all I could see was the hand behind me and the hand in front of me. We made it back to camp by holding onto one another.
I learned more that day about the importance of building healthy relationships with others, than on any other event in my life! Not to mention the Boy Scout motto of “Be Prepared”!
Having healthy relationships with others in the church is crucial as well. It gives us a community of faith to hold onto , a hand behind us and a hand in front of us… but, also, a hand above us.
The Pentecost Story reminds us that all of us in the world are family. On that Pentecost Day, all those people were drawn together. People from different nations, different cultures, different languages, different backgrounds were all united that day by God’s Holy Spirit. They communicated that day because of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit of God.
The sign that day of a healthy relationship with others, was not a clenched fist to fight off, but an open hand to take hold of and celebrate.
Well, how is it with you? Do you have a healthy relationship with God built on trust in Him? Do you have a healthy relationship with others built on love and respect?
III. THIRD AND FINALLY, DO YOU HAVE A HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP WITH YOURSELF?
We all know that if we feel good about ourselves, we are much more likely to become happy, productive people who make this world a bright and better place. On the other hand, those with an unhealthy relationship with themselves, those who don’t like themselves, are much more likely to have problems, and be problems in the world.
If you find people who are always negative, always complaining, always unhappy, always criticizing, you can be sure that they have a self-esteem problem. Their bitterness is within. They are unhappy with themselves.
One of the best ways to have a healthy relationship with yourself is to affirm your real worth. You may ask;”What do you mean, affirm your real worth?”
According to the dictionary the definition of affirm is;(1) State as a fact; assert strongly and publicly. (2) to offer emotional support or encouragement.
Our real worth is in our faith.
The day of Pentecost came so that we may have that faith. Pentecost means; “God in Us”!
It’s only “God in us”, that give us worth. To have a healthy relationship with yourself you need to affirm your relationship with God and give Him the glory.
Dr. Luke tells us;” When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.” They we’re waiting and praying to have a healthy relationship with God and holding each other up in prayer building a healthy relationship with other believers.
Then in verse 4, Dr. Luke tells us;”All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”
They had real worth and they should affirm their worth, their faith and have a healthy relationship with themselves by affirming their faith by giving glory to God.
Remember only when the Holy Spirit comes into our hearts, can we truly celebrate, Pentecost, The Birthday of the Church.
Take time today for a “FAITH CHECK-UP”.
Do you have;
- A Healthy Relationship with God
- A Healthy Relationship with Others
- A Healthy Relationship with Self.
I pray you do.
In His Service,
Pastor Joe
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Pastor Joe will be available at the church on Thursday afternoon from 2 to 4. If you need to speak to him, contact Pastor Joe at
570-267-4570 (cell) or Email: joe.s.travis@gmail.com
Loose change goes to General Fund.
Sunday School starts at 8:30am with a study of the book of Galatians. A good time to join us.
PW is gathering recipes for a church/community cookbook. If you have a favorite recipe you would like to share, it can be emailed to Bonne, or give it to her handwritten.
Session meets 9:00 A.M. Tuesday May 25, 2021
Newsletter Deadline – Tuesday June 1, 2021
EMAIL address for the church has been changed to:
If you are in the parking lot, PLEASE TUNE YOUR RADIO TO 89.5 FM TO HEAR THE CHURCH SERVICE.
Trinity Sunday – May 30, 2021
Please give a list of your graduates to Carolyn White to be included in the next Newsletter.
Aubrey would like you to give him names of any service people who made the ultimate sacrifice after the service today.
