May Note from Pastor Jon

Filed Under Archives, Pastor's Notes

In my article last month, I mentioned that we are currently in the Easter Season, the fifty-day season following Easter.  This season ends with the celebration of Pentecost on Sunday, May 11th. 

Pentecost (which literally means “fiftieth day”) refers to the fiftieth day after Easter.  This is when the promise that Jesus makes in John 14:16-17 concerning the gift of the Holy Spirit is fulfilled.  Jesus says, “…I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth.” (NIV).  You may recall that on this day there was the sound of a rushing wind, and tongues of flames appeared on the heads of those gathered, and they all spoke in various languages, hearing each other in their own native tongue. 

Pentecost is a big deal for the Church, this is the day that the waiting by the believers would end, and the spreading of the Good News of Jesus Christ could begin.  You see, the disciples had been waiting in Jerusalem following Christ’s ascension, for a sign from above.  In Acts 1:4 we read that Jesus told the apostles:  “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father has promised, which you have heard me speak about.  For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit”  (NIV). 

This was the birth of the Christian church, this was the time when the gathered believers were set loose to spread the message of Christ to the world, and we still continue to do so today, empowered and stregthened by the Holy Spirit who is still with us to this day.

The celebration of Pentecost is marked with a focus upon the work of the Holy Spirit in the church both historically and in present times.  In the church sanctuary, the color Red is used to celebrate this day.  When we gather on Pentecost, we do so in joyous spirit, and I invite you to wear red on May 11th, as we celebrate the Birthday of the Christian Church.

Pastor Jon

Posted April 29, 2008, 12:57 pm | Comments Off 

Image from Children’s sermon on April 6, 2008

Filed Under Archives

Posted April 6, 2008, 8:24 pm | Comments Off 

April Note from Pastor Jon

Filed Under Archives, Pastor's Notes

It is the Tuesday after Easter as I am writing this article for the newsletter. The week leading up to Easter is a busy time for Christians. From Ash Wednesday through Holy Week we were in the season of Lent, for forty weekdays and six Sundays. The most obvious way that we recognized this in worship was through the use of the color purple as the liturgical color in the sanctuary. We have had services for Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter.

I think many of us breathe a collective sigh when the Monday after Easter arrives, figuring we can take a break from the rapid-fire events that occurred the weeks before Holy Week, and in the weeks leading up to Holy Week. As a pastor, I can say that, after working with the staff to pull together the events of Lent, it is kind of nice to take a deep breath and realize that a number of people found their faith touched by worship at our church in a special way.

That being said, we must be careful not to fall into the trap of resting too long, for Easter is not truly over. We are actually now in the Liturgical Season of Easter.

Now that we have celebrated Easter, we find ourselves in the season of Easter, a fifty-day season of seven Sundays, through Pentecost (May 11), which marks the end of the Easter Season. In the sanctuary you will see the color White to mark this season, except for Pentecost Sunday when you will see the color Red. Easter is not a day which we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and then move on being done with it. No, Easter is a season in our church when we can focus on what it means to be living in the midst of the resurrection of our Lord.

We focus on what it means for us, what it means for our church, and what it means for those around us who are not living in celebration of the resurrection of our Lord. We are in a season of celebration of the resurrection of our Lord, a season when we should be overjoyed at the prospect of sin and death being forever defeated by the act of the resurrection of our Lord. Maybe you have heard the term “Resurrection People” at some point in your life, and wondered what it means. What I believe this term means for us is that we are a people whose lives are impacted in a whole new way by the power of the resurrection, so much so that our identity as Christians is entirely focused upon the power the resurrection of Jesus has for us in our lives. Will you join me this season as resurrection people? A people called to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord, not just on a Sunday morning, but for an entire season that focuses us upon the significance of the resurrection for our lives.

Pastor Jon

Posted April 1, 2008, 8:20 pm | Comments Off