I have posted my sermon from last Sunday on my sermon blog. Based on Genesis 11:1-9, Acts 2:1-21, and John 14:8-17, it is my Pentecost Sermon for this year and entitled “Do You Believe In The Spirit?”.

Here’s a portion of it:

I read about a Sunday School teacher who taught her class the Apostles Creed by giving each child one phrase to learn. When the day came for the class to give their first recitation, they began wonderfully.
“I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth,” said Tommy.
“I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son our Lord,” said Natalie.
And so it went perfectly.
They came to the child who said, “He ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty: from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.”
Then — there was silence.
The next line, of course, was: “I believe in the Holy Ghost . .” but there was only silence.
Finally, a little girl spoke up and said, “Teacher, Sam is the one who believes in the Holy Ghost, and he’s not here today.”
Here we are on this day of Pentecost – the day we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit – or what the Apostles Creed refers to as the Holy Ghost” .. but, sometimes, friends, it may seem like Christians who truly believe in the Holy Spirit and let the Holy Spirit change them and empower them to do the work of God in the Church, the community, and the world are few and far between. It may seem like those who believe in the Holy Spirit are not here.

You can read the sermon here.

I have posted yesterday’s sermon on my sermon blog. Based on Acts 16:9-15 and John 14:23-29, it is my Sixth Sunday of Easter sermon for this year and entitled “Jesus I Calling You — And Sending You”.

Here’s a portion of it:

Robin Williams is a gifted actor – one of my favorites – who can do a masterful job with roles that range from the highly comedic to the highly dramatic. While I enjoy his comedy, it is his dramatic roles I really appreciate. Awakenings is one of my favorite movies he has done. In it he plays Dr. Sayer, a young doctor just out of medical school who is asked to help with patients in a hospital where the patients are not expected to get well. On every chart the diagnosis reads:

HOPELSS CASE – NO CHANGES OR THERAPY RECOMMENDED

Dr. Sayer does not understand why he has been assigned to this hospital. He feels that he went to medical school to make a difference, not be stuck with patients for whom he could not make a difference. He sees no purpose in being there – and hates going to work every day.

Until he begins to notice something.

He notices that even though these patients are catatonic and seem to be unresponsive to any stimulus, they have little “awakenings” from time to time when given the right stimuli.

Lenny, for example, responds to his name.

Lucy responds to the patterns on the floor and walks across the room by the patterns.

Some respond to music.

Dr Sayer becomes intrigued, and even excited about, the fact that, indeed, some stimuli do bring responses from these patients, regardless of what the other doctors think. He begins his mission of finding what it is that brings responses, or what he calls “Awakenings”, from each patient. He is on the verge of finding ways to help each patient, and even extend the “awakenings” for each patient, when his time with them comes to an end. At the end of the movie, one of the patients tells him:

“You might think your supervisors called you and sent you here – but it was God. God called you – and sent you here – to give us our awakenings – and show us who we can truly be.”

You can read the sermon here.