Category: Sermons

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The gift of the Holy Spirit

close up of the holy spirit stained glass painting

When Peter was preaching on the day of Pentecost, the crowd was cut to the heart and asked what they should do next. Peter said, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord calls to himself” (Acts 2:38-39). We know that we receive the Holy Spirit at baptism because Paul asked the Ephesians, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” (Acts 19:2).

They answered no and explained that they received John’s baptism of repentance, not a baptism for forgiveness. On hearing what Paul said, they were baptized again and they received the Holy Spirit. The word for spirit means breath, wind, or spirit (ghost). Our spirit is the animating life force–the breath or principle that gives living beings life, energy, and will. It is the inner, core character of an individual. God’s Spirit (the breath of God which gives us life) is what guides and sustains us and keeps us in alignment with God’s will.

John calls the Holy Spirit our Helper. Jesus said, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14:26). Finally, Paul told the Galatians to “walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh (Galatians 5:16). The desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh. When we keep in step with God’s Spirit, the Helper will keep us on the right path! This is the gift of the Holy Spirit.

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The great banquet

a table in a restaurant

In Luke 14, he records a series of parables. First, Jesus talks about a wedding feast when he noticed some people were choosing to sit in seats of honor. He told his disciples to take the lowest seat so that they will be asked to move up higher. “Then,” Jesus said, “you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you” (Luke 14:10). Jesus was telling them to always remain humble, for “he who humbles himself will be exalted” (vs. 11).

Then he shifted the conversation to the man who had invited him. Jesus said, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid” (vs. 12). He continued, “But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just” (vs. 13-14).

Then Jesus shifted to the kingdom banquet, where we all eat together in the kingdom of God in Heaven. He said that a man threw a great banquet and invited many people. When the meal was ready, people began making excuses and this was reported to the host. He replied, “Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame” (vs. 21). His point was that God wants Heaven to be full and we shouldn’t only reach those who look like us. We must minister to the poor, the sick, and those who are outcasts.

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Shine as lights in the world

woman holding glass jar with light

With Mother’s Day here, we honor our mothers who passed their faith down to us. Paul told Timothy, “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure dwells in you as well” (2 Timothy 1:5). Like Timothy, many of us have a fath that dwells in us that first dwelt in our mothers and grandmothers. Passing our faith down is a blessing.

In his letter to the Philippians, Paul spoke about the importance of shining as lights in the world: “Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain” (Philippians 2:14-16)

In other words, we have a command to live out our faith for the wold to see. This is not a “family only” event. Christianity might begin in the family, but it certainly should never end there. We are called to be bold and courageous as we profess our faith. May we always shine as lights in the world!

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The gift of encouragement

don t quit message

The gift of encouragement is just that–it’s a gift! It’s a gift that we can and should give to others. God created us to respond to positive encouragement. Think about the way Jesus asked people to pray. He didn’t reprimand or shame them into praying. Instead, he said, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (Mark 11:24). He encouraged them to have faith in God. Jesus was constantly encouraging his disciples and never stopped doing so.

Encouragement in the Bible literally means to call someone near (for the purpose of imploring, entreat, or comfort them). 1 Thessalonians 5:11 says, “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” The word for building up (one another) comes from two words, house and rooftop. It means to build someone (as a house), brick-by-brick until the house reaches its fullness to the tipy top. In other words, your building one another up isn’t completed until that person is whole. It’s not a partial encouragement. Instead, we are edifying the person until they become whole again.

Hebrews 10:24-25 says, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” In both this passage and 1 Thessalonians 5, the motivation for encouraging one another is that the Day is drawing near. Judgement day should not catch us off guard. We need to always be prepared for it and we need to always prepare others for it by encouraging them and building them up to serve in the Lord.

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Giving honor to whom is is due

elderly veteran saluting outdoors in uniform

Romans 12:10 says, “Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.” The word for honor in the Greek language literally means to fix value to someone. 1 Peter 2:17 says, “Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.” Literally, Peter is saying, “fix value to everyone.” “Fix value to the emperor.”

Paul addressed the Roman church and told them not to resist the governing authorities. He told them that they were instituted by God and that “rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no rear of the one who is in authority? Do what is good, and you will receive his approval” (Romans 13:3). Paul also says to “Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed” (vs. 7).

Yes, we give honor to everyone, but we also give honor to whom honor is owed. These statements are not in conflict with one another. Everyone should be honored, and we also must give honor to the one whom honor is owed. This means we don’t brush off the importance of fixing value to people who were created in God’s image! If ever there’s something we shouldn’t hesitate to do, it’s to give honor to our fellow man.

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The ministry of presence

silhouette of couple walking at sunset in uzbekistan

Job lost everything. It’s hard to imagine losing one child. But Job lost all ten of his children at once. He lost all of his thousands of sheep, camels, and servants. He lost 500 yoke of oxen and 500 female donkeys. He lost his health and his wife told him to curse God and die. It’s impossible to imagine the magnitude of that loss and trauma. His friends made an appointment to see him, knowing that he was distraught. They came to comfort him.

Job reads, “And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven. And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great” (Job 2:12-13). This is the ministry of presence–simply being present for people who are suffering. We all know the story and that they began to lecture and criticize Job.

The ministry of presence is a gift that God gives us. Jesus himself did it reapeatedly. When Mary and Martha’s brother died, Jesus was with Mary. “When Jesus saw her weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled” (John 11:33). When he asked where they laid Lazarus, Jesus wept. This act of compassion and Jesus’ ministry of presence brought healing to Mary and Martha. This is a ministry that should never be overlooked.

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Easter: The gift of new life

human standing beside crucifix statue on mountain

As Christians celebrate the resurrection of our Savior around the world, we reflect on God’s grace and mercy, and the gift of new life that we have through Jesus. 1 Peter 1:3-4 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. . . ” Our living hope comes through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The resurrection is essential to our faith. Paul said, “But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain” (1 Cor. 15:13-14). Paul continued, “For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are stil in your sins” (vs. 16-17).

Paul links the resurrection directly to baptism. In Romans 6:4 he says, “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” When we are baptized, we are baptized into both his death and resurrection and upon emerging from the water we are given the gift of a new life.