06/13/2019
One of our members, a veterinarian, shared with me on Sunday that a nail salon next to her veterinary practice caught fire and burned. She received the emergency call while the fire burned in the salon next door to her practice where pets were boarded. All of the pets were retrieved safely but the nail salon has a board covering the doorway…do not enter. The fire had done its damage.
This last Sunday we celebrated Pentecost which is the birthday of the church. We are reminded each year of the Scriptures in the Book of Acts that describe flames of fire that rested upon the heads of those present as the Holy Spirit descended to dwell within each of them. As thousands were baptized that day, the church was birthed. When I hear this story, I also often think about the time in the life of Moses when a flame came into a burning bush. In both Biblical situations the fire did not consume the persons but instead came to dwell and to be a source of life...not death. The fire did not consume or damage. The fire came to bring life for Moses to move forward in ministry as God was calling him.
God’s church, baptized by the Holy Spirit, is alive in the world today. Who's the church? We are the church. The flame is lit but it needs us to flame the fire so that the fire of the gospel is shared and spread.
We have two mission teams serving this week away from Carmel. One in Frakes, Kentucky and the other in Nashville, Tennessee. My prayer for them is for safety but also that they may be on fire for God and that that flame may spread to all they meet. Each of us in our daily lives has the opportunity to live on fire because of the flame of the Holy Spirit, which is alive in each of us. Think today...how may you spread the fire of God’s love where you are…
Blessings today and always, Pastor Patti
Archived Posts
One More Piece of Unsolicited Advice
I had one too many examples yesterday. Here’s the "Ask Pastor Tim" scenario that didn’t make the cut for Sunday’s sermon: (read more)
Not If, But When, the Crisis Comes
One of the best Bible commentators alive today is N.T. Wright or Tom Wright. When reflecting on the parable of the wise and foolish maidens, he wrote this:...
What I wanted to say
but ran out of time this Sunday
Here is the benediction I was going to use before discovering the excellent MLK Jr. video.
The Storm that Comes To Us as Helplessness
I want to share with you a small portion of my conversation with Artificial Intelligence online. Some of you know, I use Chat-GPT as a thoughtful sounding board for the questions and insights I’m working with on whatever scriptures I’m studying each week. What follows is an example of those discussions...
One Final Scene About Scrooge
There was one more scene in Dickens’s novel that reveals something of what has happened to Scrooge over the years. I did not have time to share it on Sunday, but I believe it reveals a great deal about the regrets in Scrooge’s life....
What Jacob Marley Would Do,
If He Could Do It…
I thought about using the following for a benediction—since Jacob Marley was warning Scrooge about the danger of loving money and what it could buy. Ends up with the Cantata and everything else going on, I didn’t have the time. So here is what you might have heard if the sermon itself was 5 minutes shorter!
A Confirming Word on Old King Herod
I just want to echo what Rick said in his fine sermon yesterday (Nov. 23). Herod was a ruthless tyrant and skilled politician. When the Magi don’t report back to him, he decides to kill all the male children of Bethlehem under the age of 2. That’s one paranoid dude.