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This Week’s Connection Topic
Salvation by Grace: We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 2:8-9 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast.
We are in week 7 of our 9 week message series entitled “Amazing Grace: Welcome to Graceland.” The goal of this series is to help us understand and experience the grace of God in our lives.
Connecting to Us: What is Pentecost? “One of the principal days of the Christian year, celebrated on the fiftieth day after Easter. The Greek word pentecoste means “fiftieth day.” Pentecost is the day on which the Christian church commemorates the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and others assembled in Jerusalem. It marks the beginning of the Christian church and the proclamation of its message throughout the world and is often referred to as the birthday of the church. The liturgical color for Pentecost is red. Traditionally, Pentecost has been a day for baptisms. Because it was the custom in the early church for persons being baptized to wear white robes or clothing, the day also became known as Whitsunday, a contraction of white Sunday.”
Source: A Dictionary for United Methodists, Alan K. Waltz, Copyright 1991, Abingdon Press.
What are the Symbols: What does the cross and flame, the traditional symbol of the United Methodist Church, mean? It relates The United Methodist church to God through Christ (cross) and the Holy Spirit (flame). The flame is a reminder of Pentecost when witnesses were unified by the power of the Holy Spirit and saw “tongues, as of fire” (Acts 2:3).
Why do we wear red on Pentecost? Why is the church decorated in red on Pentecost? Red helps us remember the Holy Spirit and the tongues of fire.
The Holy Spirit at “It”: Most of us are familiar with the God the Father and Jesus the Son, but many of us are not very familiar with Holy Spirit. It seems that the Holy Spirit is the mysterious member of the Trinity. Perhaps that is because the Father and the Son can be more easily understood on basic level by our flesh or by our intellect. Most of us can imagine a Father who knows best, protects, provides, and loves us even if our biological fathers were less than perfect. Most of us can imagine Jesus the Son because the gospels are full of so many vivid details about his life and ministry. However, we can never truly know the things of the Spirit until we are open to the presence of the Spirit in our lives. Therefore, we will never know the deep things of the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit until we are open to presence and indwelling of the Spirit.
For about 6 weeks Pastor Frank Briggs has been delivering powerful messages about grace. It is through the Holy Spirit that we experience the grace of God. The Holy Spirit and grace go hand and hand like peanut butter and jelly, like ham and cheese, like car and driver. An experience with the Holy Spirit is always transformational. But what else do we really know about the Holy Spirit? My earliest experiences with the Holy Spirit came at Chapel Hill Missionary Baptist Church in a community outside of Hazlehurst, MS called “It.” The community is so small that if you blink while driving through “It” then you have missed “It.” Chapel Hill is where I first experienced and witnessed the joy and the power that comes from the Holy Spirit. I witnessed and experienced their joy expressed in their praise and worship. I witnessed their Spirit given power in their ability to do the work of God with meager resources and overcome the limitations of their socio-economic situation. I believe a close look at Acts chapters 1-2 shows us that both joy and power were poured out by the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. At Chapel Hill we referred to the Holy Spirit as the Holy Ghost. During the course of the worship experience people would shout, “Amen,” others would run up and down the aisles, people fainted, people cried, some laughed, and many others danced. We referred to this outpouring of the Spirit as “catching the Holy Ghost.” To an outside observer the people may have appeared to be drunk or even out of their minds. (Acts 2:13) Those of us who are highly educated and intellectual might surmise that these people had been socialized to behave in this manner. However, I could not disagree more. I believe that these people were instantaneously filled with the love of God through an experience with the Holy Spirit. The people of Chapel Hill were open to receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
Why were they so open to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit? The short answer is that their survival depended on their relationship in with the Holy Spirit. Many of the older members of the congregation had grown up working as share croppers in a society that was governed by Jim Crow. According to www.dictionary.com , Jim Crow laws are “a practice or policy of segregating or discriminating against blacks, as in public places, public vehicles, or employment.” They sang Negro Spirituals as they chopped cotton and cut timber. Their songs, hymns, and prayer meetings served as spiritual disciplines that helped them remain open to the Spirit. During their work and their play they were always aware of the Spirit of the living God working in and through them. I believe that this awareness was transformational and it gave them the ability to overcome and beat the odds. Being connected to the Spirit was part of their rhythm of life. Is the Spirit part of our rhythm of life? The Spirit empowered them to overcome the cruelty of the Jim Crow South. The Spirit gave them joy in the midst of hardship. The Spirit empowered the church to be a place of liberty in the midst of captivity. Perhaps, many of us have been socialized not to be open to the power of the Holy Spirit. I am not suggesting that running up and down the aisles and dancing between the pews is the only evidence that someone has been filled with the Spirit. I am not even suggesting that it is a requirement of necessary at all. If it is not the Spirit at work in us then our shouting, dancing, and praising only amounts to an outside show. I am saying that we should be free to do so if the Spirit moves us. Also, I believe that there should be some evidence of the joy that is produced by the Spirit. Some argue that Methodist don’t behave in this manner. If we look closely at our heritage we will see that Methodists were once known as the “enthusiasts” and the “shouting Methodists.” What happened to us?
Our Key Verse: In our key text today, Jesus tells the disciples, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) This text informs us that we receive the power to witness and make disciples from the Holy Spirit. When we look at the life of Jesus, we see that he was conceived by the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18). Jesus is Son of God and fully human and fully divine. (The Son has always been and shall always be) Before Jesus embarks upon his earthly ministry the Spirit descends on Jesus like a dove during his water baptism. (Mathew 3:16, Mark 1:10, Luke 3:21-22) In this moment Jesus is baptized with both water and the Spirit. We see that the Anointed One is anointed by the Spirit during that baptism. It is only after this occurrence that Jesus Christ goes on to perform his earthly ministry. Therefore, there is a direct correlation between the gospel narratives about Jesus’ anointing by the Spirit and Jesus’ instructions to the disciples in Acts 1:8. After Jesus Christ’s anointing by the Spirit he is led by the Spirit into the desert where he is tempted by Satan. (Matthew 4:1, Mark 1:12-13, Luke 4:1-13) After overcoming the temptation of Satan or the Enemy, Jesus goes on perform many miracles including: dying so that we would receive forgiveness of our sins and rising from the dead so that we might have eternal life. According to Clark H. Pinnock in his book Flame of Love: A Theology of the Holy Spirit, “After the resurrection, God’s kingdom, which had begun to manifest itself in Jesus himself, would continue to transform the world through the community of empowered disciples.” We are that community of empowered disciples. We have received this power through the Holy Spirit.
Like Jesus Christ was conceived by the Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary; the church was conceived by the Spirit on the day of Pentecost. The people were anointed and baptized by the Spirit so that they could carry on the work of Jesus Christ. As a result, they received power to carry on Jesus’ ministry. Thus, the Church is the spiritual body of Jesus Christ here on earth. The term body of Christ no longer refers to the physical body of Jesus Christ, but it refers to the community of faith on its way to Christlike maturity. Like Jesus Christ we are led by the Spirit into the wilderness or desert of the world where we are tempted by the Enemy. We are empowered by the Spirit to overcome temptation and minister to a dying world. However, many of our churches find it difficult to minister to a dying world because they are spiritually dead. We often mistakenly think that human competency and the quality of the membership are the greatest factors in doing effective ministry. On the contrary, what matters most is the power of God working in and through the people. According to Clark Pinnock, “More than churches full of people, God wants (and the world needs) people full of the Spirit.” So our goal should be helping people open themselves up to receive the Holy Spirit.
In Acts 2:1-11, the Holy Spirit enables the Galileans to speak in other tongues. This enables them to communicate the word of God to God fearing Jews from all over the world who were gathered in Jerusalem for Pentecost. These Galileans did not do this miracle by their own strength. They did it by the Spirit of God working in and through them. As a result everyone was able to be on one accord because there was no communication barrier. Now that is power!!! When people receive the Holy Spirit, it gets them on one accord. In other words, the Spirit creates unity and fellowship among believers. When this happens new ministries are birthed, lives are transformed, and we are able to reach more people for the kingdom of God. When this happens the church is able to move forward toward Christlike maturity and complete union with God.
Both my personal experience at Chapel Hill and my study of the biblical witness inform me that the Holy Spirit gives us power. It can give you power as well. This power comes by the transformational grace of God. If we desire to open ourselves up to experience the power of the Holy Spirit here are a few suggestions.
- Ask the Holy Spirit to come upon us and fill us. The Spirit comes to those who invite its presence.
- Intensify our prayer life
- Search the scriptures to learn more about the Spirit.
- Practice fasting
- Participate in public and private worship
- Giving 10% of my money
- Meet in small groups with other believers who desire to be filled and led by the Spirit.
- Acts of compassion
How will I know that I have received the power of the Holy Spirit? You will receive assurance from the Spirit.
Connection Points
Connect Heads: What is Pentecost? Why did the disciples need to the Holy Spirit?
Connect Hearts: Describe how the Holy Spirit has given you power to overcome life’s circumstances. Tell us about a personal experience.
Describe how the Holy Spirit has given you power to carry out ministry. Tell us about a personal experience.
Connect Hands: Join hands and pray that the Holy Spirit falls fresh upon each person in your group.
Connect Homework:
- Read the entire book of Acts
- Practice a spiritual discipline
- Recommended reading: Soul Feast: An Invitation to the Christian Spiritual Life by Marjorie J. Thompson
