Holy Spirit

Sunday Reflection, Trinity Sunday – June 4, 2023

/ thebarefootevangelist / Leave a comment

Baptize and make disciples

Matthew 28 16  Jesus’ eleven disciples went to a mountain in Galilee, where Jesus had told them to meet him. 17 They saw him and worshiped him, but some of them doubted.

18 Jesus came to them and said:

I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth! 19  Go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, 20 and teach them to do everything I have told you. I will be with you always, even until the end of the world.

Kids Korner: Trinity Sunday (June 4th)

/ thebarefootevangelist / Leave a comment

Read Matthew 28:16-20 with your family.

Every Gospel has a slightly different way of telling the story of Jesus, and in Matthew’s Gospel we read that the women told all Jesus’ followers to return immediately to Galilee, and that’s what they did. The verses we read today are the very last words in the Gospel of Matthew, where Jesus tells his followers to go out and tell everyone about God’s promises. They are to baptize people in the name of God the Father, Jesus the Christ, and the Holy Spirit.

Now, this was hundreds of years before the church figured out how the three parts of God fit together, but they knew that God loved them, and that Jesus taught them everything they needed to know, and that the Holy Spirit would help them with anything they had to do in their lives.

And they knew that the best thing in the world to share with both friends and strangers is that God loved them, that they were perfect just the way they were. Everyone today is also perfect and loved by God.

Sunday Reflection, Pentecost – May 28, 2023

/ thebarefootevangelist / Leave a comment

 

Coming Of The Holy Spirit

Acts 2  On the day of Pentecost all the Lord’s followers were together in one place. 2 Suddenly there was a noise from heaven like the sound of a mighty wind! It filled the house where they were meeting. 3 Then they saw what looked like fiery tongues moving in all directions, and a tongue came and settled on each person there. 4 The Holy Spirit took control of everyone, and they began speaking whatever languages the Spirit let them speak.

5 Many religious Jews from every country in the world were living in Jerusalem. 6 And when they heard this noise, a crowd gathered. But they were surprised, because they were hearing everything in their own languages. 7 They were excited and amazed, and said:

Don’t all these who are speaking come from Galilee? 8 Then why do we hear them speaking our very own languages? 9 Some of us are from Parthia, Media, and Elam. Others are from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, 10 Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, parts of Libya near Cyrene, Rome, 11 Crete, and Arabia. Some of us were born Jews, and others of us have chosen to be Jews. Yet we all hear them using our own languages to tell the wonderful things God has done.

12 Everyone was excited and confused. Some of them even kept asking each other, “What does all this mean?”

13 Others made fun of the Lord’s followers and said, “They are drunk.”

14 Peter stood with the eleven apostles and spoke in a loud and clear voice to the crowd:

Friends and everyone else living in Jerusalem, listen carefully to what I have to say! 15 You are wrong to think that these people are drunk. After all, it is only nine o’clock in the morning. 16 But this is what God told the prophet Joel to say,

17 “When the last days come,
I will give my Spirit
    to everyone.
Your sons and daughters
    will prophesy.
Your young men
    will see visions,
and your old men
    will have dreams.
18 In those days I will give
    my Spirit to my servants,
both men and women,
    and they will prophesy.
19 “I will work miracles
    in the sky above
and wonders
    on the earth below.
There will be blood and fire
    and clouds of smoke.
20 The sun will turn dark,
and the moon
    will be as red as blood
before the great
and wonderful day
    of the Lord appears.
21 Then the Lord
will save everyone
    who asks for his help.”

Kids Korner: The Holy Spirit (May 28th)

/ thebarefootevangelist / Leave a comment

Read Acts 2:1-21 with your family.

Pentecost (meaning “50 days” in Greek), was a festival for the Hebrew people where they celebrated the harvest of wheat, read the whole story of Ruth, remembered King David, and recognized the anniversary of Moses getting the 10 Commandments from Mount Sinai. It was an important time and the Hebrew people were expected to travel to Jerusalem to bring their offerings to the Temple.

That was the setting for the followers of Jesus, who were also there to celebrate Shavuot, the Hebrew name for this celebration. This time was different than any Shavuot celebrations in the past. This time the Holy Spirit, the presence of God that Jesus promised, came to the followers of Jesus.

They started talking in different language so all those from foreign countries heard the message of Jesus in their own words. This was overwhelming, and it was the start of what would eventually become the Christian religion. Pentecost is the birthday of Christianity.

Kids Korner: Promise of the Holy Spirit (May 14th)

/ thebarefootevangelist / Leave a comment

Read John 14:15-21 with your family.

Jesus knew he was leaving. His friends knew he was leaving, although they didn’t know the rest of the Easter story like we do. Everyone was sad.

But in the middle of all those feelings of worry and loss, Jesus gave them hope and love. He told them another would come to help them understand God. One who would make them feel better and help them really live the only commandment Jesus every gave his followers – that they love everyone. This was not romantic love or family love, but love for our neighbours and love for the world.

The promise was the Holy Spirit.

Jesus promised we would never be alone, and as long as we lived love for each other, we would always know God.

Sunday Reflection, Trinity – June 12, 2022

/ thebarefootevangelist / Leave a comment

 

Coming Of The Holy Spirit

John 16 12 I have much more to say to you, but right now it would be more than you could understand. 13  The Spirit shows what is true and will come and guide you into the full truth. The Spirit doesn’t speak on his own. He will tell you only what he has heard from me, and he will let you know what is going to happen. 14 The Spirit will bring glory to me by taking my message and telling it to you. 15 Everything the Father has is mine. This is why I have said that the Spirit takes my message and tells it to you.

Performed by Margaret Whisselle

Kids Korner: Jesus talks about the Holy Spirit (June 12th)

/ thebarefootevangelist / Leave a comment

Read John 16:12-19 with your family.

When Jesus left, he promised that the Holy Spirit would come to the people. Last week we celebrated the feast of Pentecost, where the Holy Spirit filled the people with so much energy and excitement they felt like they had flames bursting out of their heads.

This week the scripture reading shows how Jesus explained a bit more about the Holy Spirit to his closest followers. The Holy Spirit would speak to their hearts and minds instead of their ears, and explain more about the world God wanted to create. Jesus told his friends that the Holy Spirit would give the same message that Jesus gave, and the same message God gave, because they were all the one God. They were not three different gods.

This is what Christians call The Trinity. It is how we understand that God created us like a parent, AND God came in human form as Jesus, AND came again in the form of the Holy Spirit. We have a relationship with one God who came to us in three different ways because God wants to be important to us.

Sunday Reflection, Pentecost – June 5, 2022

/ thebarefootevangelist / Leave a comment

 

Coming Of The Holy Spirit

2  On the day of Pentecost all the Lord’s followers were together in one place. 2 Suddenly there was a noise from heaven like the sound of a mighty wind! It filled the house where they were meeting. 3 Then they saw what looked like fiery tongues moving in all directions, and a tongue came and settled on each person there. 4 The Holy Spirit took control of everyone, and they began speaking whatever languages the Spirit let them speak.

5 Many religious Jews from every country in the world were living in Jerusalem. 6 And when they heard this noise, a crowd gathered. But they were surprised, because they were hearing everything in their own languages. 7 They were excited and amazed, and said:

Don’t all these who are speaking come from Galilee? 8 Then why do we hear them speaking our very own languages? 9 Some of us are from Parthia, Media, and Elam. Others are from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, 10 Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, parts of Libya near Cyrene, Rome, 11 Crete, and Arabia. Some of us were born Jews, and others of us have chosen to be Jews. Yet we all hear them using our own languages to tell the wonderful things God has done.

12 Everyone was excited and confused. Some of them even kept asking each other, “What does all this mean?”

13 Others made fun of the Lord’s followers and said, “They are drunk.”

14 Peter stood with the eleven apostles and spoke in a loud and clear voice to the crowd:

Friends and everyone else living in Jerusalem, listen carefully to what I have to say! 15 You are wrong to think that these people are drunk. After all, it is only nine o’clock in the morning. 16 But this is what God told the prophet Joel to say,

17 “When the last days come,
I will give my Spirit
    to everyone.
Your sons and daughters
    will prophesy.
Your young men
    will see visions,
and your old men
    will have dreams.
18 In those days I will give
    my Spirit to my servants,
both men and women,
    and they will prophesy.
19 “I will work miracles
    in the sky above
and wonders
    on the earth below.
There will be blood and fire
    and clouds of smoke.
20 The sun will turn dark,
and the moon
    will be as red as blood
before the great
and wonderful day
    of the Lord appears.
21 Then the Lord
will save everyone
    who asks for his help.”

Performed by Margaret Whisselle

Kids Korner: The Holy Spirit (June 5th)

/ thebarefootevangelist / Leave a comment

Read Acts 2:1-21 with your family.

Pentecost (meaning “50 days” in Greek), was a festival for the Hebrew people where they celebrated the harvest of wheat, read the whole story of Ruth, remembered King David, and recognized the anniversary of Moses getting the 10 Commandments from Mount Sinai. It was an important time and the Hebrew people were expected to travel to Jerusalem to bring their offerings to the Temple.

That was the setting for the followers of Jesus, who were also there to celebrate Shavuot, the Hebrew name for this celebration. This time was different than any Shavuot celebrations in the past. This time the Holy Spirit, the presence of God that Jesus promised, came to the followers of Jesus.

They started talking in different language so all those from foreign countries heard the message of Jesus in their own words. This was overwhelming, and it was the start of what would eventually become the Christian religion. Pentecost is the birthday of Christianity.

Sunday Reflection, Easter VI – May 22, 2022

/ thebarefootevangelist / Leave a comment

 

Promise of the Holy Spirit

23 Jesus replied:

If anyone loves me, they will obey me. Then my Father will love them, and we will come to them and live in them. 24 But anyone who doesn’t love me, won’t obey me. What they have heard me say doesn’t really come from me, but from the Father who sent me.

25 I have told you these things while I am still with you. 26 But the Holy Spirit will come and help you, because the Father will send the Spirit to take my place. The Spirit will teach you everything and will remind you of what I said while I was with you.

27 I give you peace, the kind of peace only I can give. It isn’t like the peace this world can give. So don’t be worried or afraid.

28 You have already heard me say I am going and I will also come back to you. If you really love me, you should be glad I am going back to the Father, because he is greater than I am.

29 I am telling you this before I leave, so when it does happen, you will have faith in me. 

Performed by Margaret Whisselle