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Resurrection and Pentecost
The call to Christianity is the call to community. It is not a community we get to pick. It is the Kingdom of God. We WANT to pick it, and therein lies the rub. It is probably why we are all so divided all the time. We want to PICK our “neighbors” and the Kingdom of God just doesn’t play…
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Receive the Holy Spirit
21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” (Jn. 20:21-23, NIV) The resurrection is not about apologetics. It is not about superior reasoning skills…
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Prayer for the Day as We Head into Pentecost Sunday
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your people and kindle in us the fire of your love. All who are led by the Spirit are children of God and fellow-heirs with Christ. Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your people. Renew the face of your creation, Lord, pouring on us the gifts of your Spirit. and kindle in…
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Catching the Wind of the Spirit
I am praying for a new dependence on the Holy Spirit in my own life. As I walk through the Acts story again in a sermon series for my church, I am disappointed in my own life. How many times I miss the wind of the Spirit! How many times I could have listened… stopped… then moved in a new…
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The Power of the Spirit and the Great Commission
21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” (Jn 20:21-23, NIV) We are new creations in Christ. Jesus didn’t save us to send us to…
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The Power of Pentecost and the Call for Self-Sacrifice
Mark Stevens has a series of interviews with Jack Levison over at his blog. The interviews talk about Levison’s book Fresh Air: The Holy Spirit for an Inspired Life. I have the book and need to read it. I’m still getting over the decision to not capitalize Holy Spirit. (I’m Pentecostal. Sue me.) Mark asked Jack what he thought were the…
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No Other Name
12 Salvation can be found in no one else. Throughout the whole world, no other name has been given among humans through which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12, CEB) “People say this is arrogant, or exclusive, or triumphant. So, indeed it can be, if Christians use the name of Jesus to further their own power or prestige. But for many…
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The Ordinary Life
In Acts 3, Peter and John were on their way to prayer. They were doing the ordinary stuff of life when the extraordinary happened: the healing of the lame man. They were not on their way to a healing crusade, so they brought the man with them (or gave him a flier hoping he would attend). God is ready to…
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The Dream in My Heart
This particular article by Richard Stearns captures the dream that has been stirring in my heart. I only wish I had been able to find a way to act on the stirring as well as the pastor in the story. But that dream is still there. I’ve known in my heart the shift that has been happening and I’ve known…
Category: Holy Spirit
