This Sunday we celebrated the day of Pentecost. It signifies 50 days following Easter and it is also the occasion at which the gift of the Holy Spirit came upon the followers of Jesus.
For some churches, the significance of Pentecost as a holiday may be the least of all sacred holidays. The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), however, embraces the understanding that because of the gift of the Spirit, the presence of Christ lives on through us.
There is still work to be done, and it is our role to carry it out. With that in mind, Pentecost is a big deal. Often it gets referred to as the birthday of the church. It was the day when the followers of Jesus could see and understand the needs of their foreign neighbor. They could now speak with them in a language of love that not only heard but understood.
Our text is Acts 2:1-21 as we welcome the Holy Spirit into our post-Easter journey!
On May 21st we celebrated Ascension Sunday, the occasion when Jesus physically leaves the earth for good and ascended into the heavens. Earlier in the season we focused upon Matthew’s telling of the final words and encounter with Jesus and this week will hear from Luke in Acts 1:6-11. After resurrecting from the now empty tomb, Jesus had been preparing his disciples one final time for the ministry that awaits them, and us still.
Jesus speaks cryptically of not leaving us alone in serving as church. We will pay particular attention to Acts 1:8, “But 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.’
Jesus’ faithful ones need not wait long, as next Sunday we will celebrate Pentecost, the day when the gift of the Holy Spirit descends upon all who believe.
This gift is a pillar of who we are as the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and this core verse underscores our denominational mission statement, “to be and to share the Good News of Jesus Christ, witnessing, loving and serving from our doorsteps to the ends of the earth.”
In our act of worship, we will also tend to deep understanding of our vision as a denomination, “to be a faithful, growing church, that demonstrates true community, deep Christian spirituality and a passion for justice.”
It is amazing to see things that are good individually, unite, forming something great: peanut butter and chocolate; macaroni and cheese, needle and thread, milk and cookies, Batman and Robin.
Unity is a good thing.
The next pillar that defines us as the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is unity. There are two passages of scripture that we will focus on this Sunday. The importance of unity is highlighted in Psalm 133:1. “How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!”
In John 17:20-24, the author highlights a prayer of Jesus in which he requests: “‘I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one.’” Jesus is offering a prayer of unity that all might be one in God, Christ himself, and each other.
This Sunday we talked about the founding fathers of our movement for wholeness, Alexander Campbell and Barton Stone and the claim being, “unity is our polar star.”
The quilters of Sun City Christian Church delivered five quilts and four crocheted baby blankets to Valley View Community Food Bank to fill their Grandma Boxes.
Pictured from left to right are, Mary Harper, Marcia Blake, and Jesse Ramirez Jr. of the food bank.
On the fourth Monday of each month at 9 am, the Disciples Women’s Ministries (DWM) works on service projects including affirmation cards for school students, sleep mats for the homeless, quilts, and more. Everyone is invited and welcome to join this group!
The current school year may be coming to a close, but the need of socks for school children continues and so does our Socks Drive for school children ages 5 to 15.
The Assistance League of Phoenix provides new clothes for children on their “Delivering Dreams Bus” throughout the school year.
Please help us fill the baskets under the clothesline in Cobbs Hall on our campus at 9745 W. Palmeras Drive, Sun City, AZ 85373.
Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. – Romans 15:7
I can remember spending spring break holidays at the family farm with my grandparents. On the weekends, a treat for us kids was going out to eat followed by stopping at someone’s house for dessert, cards, and conversation. It was always a spontaneous drop-in.
We would drive around a little bit (long before the days of cell phones and texting) to see who was entertaining. The first clue we looked for were the vehicles in the driveway to see if folks were home and if they already had guests. The second signal was if the porch light was on.
That porch light was the small-town welcome sign. If the light is on, all are welcome, stop on by, come on in. It was like those old Motel 6 commercials, “We’ll leave a light on for you, except when we are closed.”
This Sunday was our third installment into our series, “We Call Ourselves Disciples.” We focused our attention this week on our sense of welcome. We claim an open table, to which all are welcome. Showing a wide-open hospitality is a trait the (Disciples of Christ) pride ourselves on.
Romans 15:4-13 reminds us to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with what Christ Jesus would express. So, with that in mind, we can see that the guest list is quite long. We explore together the ways we leave the porch light on, and who it is we welcome.
Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Romans 8:31-35
Like the author of the letter to the Romans in 8:31-35, I too am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from the love of God. As God’s beloved we are never left destroyed. Yes, tragedies hit, life happens, and we are often tossed about like a boat in a storm. In our humanness, we are not exempt from brokenness.
In the presence of God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit we are restored. We find wholeness. Unfortunately, this assurance doesn’t always reveal itself in ways that remind that we are connected to the fullness of God.
This is where Jesus’ resurrection, appearance to his disciples, and the proclamation of the “Great Commission” is important. When Jesus sent out his followers that were with him that day as well as all those who have continued to walk through the waters of baptism or proclaim him as Savior, we became a part of the promise of connectedness.
Our Church takes seriously this role of reminding that world that nothing can come between God and all of God’s people. As our denominational identity statement states:
“We are Disciples of Christ, a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world. As part of the one body of Christ, we welcome all to the Lord’s Table as God has welcomed us.”
We are called to any act of love that connects the wholeness of God through our resurrected Christ, to a broken world. We are not sent to break down, but to build up. We have a purpose to live into, and as Yvonne Gilmore from the Office of General Minister and President reminds us our current mission “We are called to be a new church for a new time.”
I look forward to furthering the role we are to play in extending the wholeness of Christ.
Ladies, it’s your chance to shine! Bake a pie for the contest. Our men of the church will judge and serve the pies during fellowship hour in Cobbs Hall. There is a sign up sheet in the narthex.
We all know what it means when something is “out of commission.” When we face a health condition, illness, or upcoming surgery we know that regular patterns of behavior may not be possible for a while. When the car is in the shop, an appliance is broken, or things aren’t producing as expected, we often turn the phrase “out of commission.”
So then, when something is rip-roaring ready to go, we could assume that it is “in commission.” In the final story in Matthew’s gospel found in Matt 28:16-20, Jesus commissions the disciples. He makes them ready, gets them in the game, throws them into action, and sends them out. He commissions the disciples. Jesus motivates and anoints; he commands and instructs. Jesus puts the disciples into commission with the simple verbs of “go, make, baptize, and teach.”
Well, these instructions may sound simple enough, but we know the reality is a bit more complex. These were the instructions for how to live life and serve faithfully when Jesus is no longer walking the earth. The very last line of Matthew’s gospel are Jesus’ own words, (Matt 6:20b) meant to bring support and encouragement. “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
The Holy Spirit is the gift Jesus will leave with them, as well the memories, example, and scriptural understanding to love as he did. The tools are there. The on-the-job training that the disciples have been going through has reached completion and now the time has come for them to continue on, as Jesus showed them.
This Sunday, April 16th we too wrestled with Jesus commission of “go, make, baptize, and teach.” The joy of Easter continues as we confirm that death did not have the final and we, Sun City Christian Church, will continue serve faithfully for Christ is still with us. I look forward to worshipping with you.
Jesus prepared his disciples and loved ones (and us) as best he could. We know that each of his followers responded in their own ways with doubt and separation being a popular choice but we also know that belief was ever present, especially amongst the women of Jesus’ life.
The women listened and believed and understood Jesus when he said that after the third day he would rise again. Our scripture account for Easter Sunday will come from Matthew 28:1-10.
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary will go to see the resurrection promise fulfilled. A great earthquake will rumble, an Angel will appear, and belief will send the women forth to tell of what they have encountered at the tomb. They will see Jesus for themselves and proclaim to the disciples, “Christ is Risen!”
We too will arrive at the empty tomb and see the promise fulfilled and the glory of Christ all around us!
