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
Patience and Trust
Sunday, in my benediction (which traditional folks did not hear) I talked about the Marshmallow Test. The original results of that test with children was that those who could delay gratification did better in life than those who could not.
Gandhi and the Sugar
I wasn’t preaching Sunday, Reverend Jackie Chandler was. And she talked about the power of influence you get when you practice what you preach. This famous illustration came to mind. It fits Jackie’s points quite well. Enjoy!
Not Just for Parents
Our current sermon series is about How To Talk Parent, but it doesn’t require any of us to be parents to appreciate the bits of wisdom OUR parents shared with us growing up.
If Not Higher
Here’s a story I wanted to use when talking about ‘what you do when no one is looking’ yesterday. It’s a wonderful illustration of what Jesus was saying in Matthew 6:1-6—do what you do because of who you want to be, not so that others will take notice and praise you.
The Perfect Church
There is an old joke about the perfect church. We talked just a little about the perfect pastor, but turnabout is fair play. It goes like this:
The Clothes You Wear
Sunday I talked about Joshua the High Priest having his filthy clothing replaced by a cleaned and beautiful garments. I also used the illustration of a boy becomes a dragon—who ‘wears’ dragon scales—and is stripped of those scales in order to be restored to a boy. In fact, I could have done the whole sermon around all the clothing imagery in scripture.
What just missed the cut for Sunday’s Sermon
Naaman’s servants may actually become one of the hidden gems of the sermon. They say, essentially: “If the prophet had told you to do something difficult, you would have done it.”