The Day of Pentecost

I shared this post again last year, when we couldn't be together for church because of the "pandemic". Today I am excited to be able to worship in person again in our beautiful sanctuary. Here is a link to our pastor's sermon for today, as well as the choir's anthem: "He Is Here/ Holy Spirit, Thou Art Welcome in This Place".  I was not present at choir practice when they recorded this song, but I will be there today singing it with the choir in person. Wish you could come join us. But hopefully you are also now able to attend church in person at your place of worship.   

Have a blessed Pentecost Sunday! Don't forget to wear red in commemoration of this special day!

This is the original post written last year, which was an update from a previous year:

May 31, 2020

Since we will not be meeting in the traditional way at our church today, I wanted to share the "sermon notes" and post from last year's Pentecost Sunday.  Seeing this again, with the pictures of our dear friends in our church, at first made me a little sad because it has been so long since we have all been together like this, but then it also made me happy to see us in that place, in one accord, and to know that we will be together again, hopefully soon...but also because of the gift of the Holy Spirit to us at Pentecost, the church is still alive and vibrant today...wherever we are.  We carry God's Holy Spirit with us wherever we go, and we are sent out as His ambassadors to spread His love and peace and salvation to everyone.  May we continue to carry out our mission regardless of whether or not we are able to meet within the physical walls of our church buildings.  We are the church! Let us each do our part in this sadly hurting and divided world today.


Original Post 6/9/2019:

Today is Pentecost Sunday...the Sunday set aside in the traditional church calendar to remember and celebrate the day that the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles, who were gathered "with one accord in one place..." (Acts 2:1).  Acts 2:2-3 tells us that

"Suddenly there came a sound from heaven, 

as of a rushing mighty wind,

and it filled the whole house where they were sitting...

Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, 
and one sat upon each of them."

We celebrated Pentecost Sunday in our church in several ways...

Our choir members all wore red in commemoration of Pentecost Sunday:

Here's a few pictures of our choir during the prelude:

Our wonderful choir director, Carol, pictured above

There's always that one who is ready for mischief no matter where we are...  😇  She knows who she is...

Some of my fellow altos

This "banner" below was created especially for today out of various hues of bright orange crepe paper, and it "flickered" like a flame to represent the flame of the Holy Spirit:

We sang many hymns specifically about the Holy Spirit, and as we sang and prayed and listened to the message from God's Word, the thunder pounded, the wind blew and the rain poured down upon our little church in torrents, much like the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. We felt the power and presence of God in our midst today in many ways.

The message came from Acts 2:1-21 in particular, but also included many thoughts from the whole 2nd chapter of Acts.

What was interesting in the beginning of the message was the fact that the Day of Pentecost was only seven weeks after the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. And if you go back to that time, you will remember that Peter had denied knowing Christ three times on the night Jesus was betrayed...and the other disciples also ran and hid for fear of the soldiers and what they would do to them.  And then Christ arose from the dead, and was seen by the disciples and many others during the forty days after His resurrection...and then they beheld him ascending back up into the clouds to heaven just about ten days prior to this day of Pentecost.  He promised them He would send the Holy Spirit to them...and so they were waiting.

So here it is, just seven weeks after the trauma of Christ's death, and they waited and wondered what would happen next. But look at the 2nd Chapter of Acts...As they waited together in one accord, they were all filled with the  Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (verse 4)   And people from everywhere heard them speaking in their own languages, and they understood them...and they were amazed.

And this this same Peter, who had denied Christ seven weeks earlier, now stood up and began to preach...and He read to them from the Prophet Joel, and then explained to them about Jesus, and who He was, and all the prophecies concerning Him...and as Peter preached, the Bible says in Acts 2:41

"Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; 

and that day about three thousand souls were added to them."

The time of "Pentecost" was already a Jewish festival, or a feast of the firstfruits, a time to celebrate the harvest.  And now, at this time, God was adding a new meaning to this festival or time...it was a harvest of souls...Remember when Jesus said to His disciples, in Matthew 9:37-38,

"The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.  Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest"...

Well, here we see the beginning of that great harvest, and it is still continuing today...there were 3,000 souls added that day, and then there were 5,000...and the numbers continued to rise day after day, year after year, until today some 2000 plus years later, and Christianity is the largest "religion" in the world today.  (However, true believers recognize that Christianity is more than just a religion...it is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ)...

The days of signs and wonders are not over. We've just gotten lazy and blind to what God is doing and what He wants to do in our world today.  We, as individuals, need to allow God's Holy Spirit to empower us for service in His kingdom.

Again...just seven weeks after Peter could not even admit he knew Jesus, he was speaking and preaching the Gospel to thousands through the power of the Holy Spirit...

Jesus still offers salvation for all today.  Because of the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Church exists to offer that gift of salvation to all of mankind.

Where are you headed?  Are you feeling life is at a dead end, or do you dream dreams and see visions (Acts 2:17)...

Jesus wants to transform you into the person He desires you to become for His glory, through the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is still alive and active and powerful 2000 + years later. It is our job to proclaim this Good News to all generations.

One of the hymns we sang today was "Breathe on Me, Breath of God".  I love this one, and can remember singing this song as a young person at youth camp:

"Breathe on me, Breath of God,

fill me with life anew,

That I may love what Thou dost love,

and do what Thou wouldst do.

Breathe on me, Breath of God,

Until my heart is pure,

Until with Thee I will one will

To do and to endure.

Breathe on me, Breath of God,

Till I am wholly Thine,

Until this earthly part of me

Glows with Thy fire divine.

Breathe on me, Breath of God.

So shall I never die,

But live with Thee the perfect life

Of Thine eternity."

It was hymns like this, along with the teaching of God's Word, and the power of the Holy Spirit enlightening my eyes and mind to understand, that has brought me this far in my walk with Christ. I pray that He will continue to teach me and help me grow in my faith in Him, and that others will see Christ living in me and seek to know Him for themselves.

Our closing song today was another great benediction of God's grace and love:

Spirit Song, written by John Wimber:

"O let the Son of God enfold you 

with His Spirit and His love;

Let Him fill your heart and satisfy your soul.

O let Him have the things that hold you,

and His Spirit, like a dove,

Will descend upon your life and make you whole.

Chorus:

Jesus, O Jesus,

come and fill Your lambs.

Jesus, O Jesus, 

Come and fill Your lambs.

"O come and sing this song with gladness

as your hearts are filled with joy;

Lift your hands in sweet surrender to His name.

O give Him all your tears and sadness;

give Him all your years of pain,

and you'll enter into life in Jesus' name.

Chorus:

Jesus, O Jesus,

come and fill Your lambs.

Jesus, O Jesus, 

Come and fill Your lambs.

Sermon Notes: FUMC, Interlachen, FL, Pastor A.C. Myers, 6/9/2019

Please Note : I want to repeat this disclaimer here...the notes, outline, and content included here are based upon my own personal understanding of the message that was being given. I am not attempting to completely quote or reproduce this message or any other message I've shared previously. Just as each person reading these notes may glean insights and thoughts that seem to directly apply to one's own situation and interpretation, my own delivery of these messages is skewed by my hearing and translation of what is being said. Some may read my notes here and wonder if they were hearing the same message as I...and I say, God speaks to each of us as He wills...there are things He is trying to get across to each individual that may be entirely different than what the person sitting next to you in the pew is needing to hear... That is how the Holy Spirit works! He knows what we need to hear and how to apply it to our hearts. So it is with that understanding that I present these sermon notes to you.

Friday Foto Friends - Bearly There...

Well, it is Friday Foto Friends day, and perhaps it is time to "bear my soul" and tell all! Ha Ha..

Well, maybe not...but "bear with me", and we'll "bear this burden" together...

Okay, enough...just thought you'd like to see some bear pictures again...it's been a while.

Did I tell you that we had a bear on our front porch one night this past week?

(Some of you may have already heard this story on Facebook earlier this week)

Well, it was probably this fella here...or maybe the second one...I think they are two different bears...can you tell? The first one looks a little skinnier?

I think this one is a little heavier...they were here at two different times early in the morning.

Anyway, my son gets home rather late at night (or early in the morning) from his job, and he had gone out to his car to get something, and when he started back to the house, all the motion lights came on and then he saw a bear standing at the front door.  So he hollered at him and shone his bright flashlight at him, and the bear turned around and ran away into the woods.

The next day our neighbor saw a bear in the early evening in our neighbor's yard, which is behind our house.

Picture taken by my neighbor of the bear in the yard

What was interesting was that I was watching a deer in the front yard at the same time, who kept sniffing the air and looking toward the back yard and making some noises like it was trying to tell me something...

And I thought perhaps there was another deer in the back yard, but when I went back inside I saw the message and picture (see picture above) from my neighbor about the bear in the back yard, and apparently that is what the deer was trying to tell me!  Amazing how God's creatures communicate with us...if we just learn to pay attention to the signs!!

Now, moving right along...Did I show you this picture of the bees all over this Sumac tree flower a week or so ago? I get confused about what I show on Facebook and what I show here, so "bear with me" again please...Anyway, this is the blossom of a sumac tree, and it was covered with all kinds of bees doing their job of pollinating and perhaps making honey somewhere?

Now, this week this is what the Sumac blossom looks like!  It becomes a cluster of rich berries that the birds will just love in a few more weeks as they ripen and begin to dry...There should be plenty enough to go around because I have seen a bumper crop of these trees blossoming this year! I guess all the rain has really helped.

I told you already this week that I joined the choir at our church this week. Well, last Saturday the choir had a "back to choir practice picnic" at one of the member's homes.  We had a great time, and even had a bonfire (in 85 degree temps) so we could toast marshmallows and have s'mores.  Here I am with my s'more, and my new friend Tammy schmoozing behind me, and trying to get my s'more.

All in good fun.

The other morning I posted some pictures of the sunrise on the pond, and in this picture if you look way over there toward the right at that green patch of land, that is the island where the Sand Hill Cranes have nested and slept all year long.

Although this is isn't very clear because it was early morning and this is quite zoomed in, there are all four of the Sand Hill Crane Family on that island, waking up from their sleep and searching for breakfast.  I was so pleased to see that they still roost on that little island every night, and will probably nest there again in the winter...but I wonder what the youngsters will do if the parents start another family? That will be interesting to see if the youngsters are forced off on their own, or if they parents wait another year to have more kids...

I DO hope they will be safe from harm...remember we used to be concerned about an alligator in the pond? Well, that doesn't seem to have been a real issue for them after all, but now I am more concerned about a two legged intruder with a big, noisy, very destructive "Airboat", who has moved into the neighborhood on the weekends from the city and brought his big toys with him and insists on playing with his big noisy, obnoxious airboat in this, what used to be, a peaceful and quiet little cove, filled with native birds, wildlife, and vegetation.  I'm not sure what the rules are against such an intrusion, but I am hoping the residents who actually live on that pond will speak up and ask this newcomer to respect the peaceful coexistence between nature and humans that we have all enjoyed heretofore...  I do not own property on the waterfront, so do not have a voice, however, the noise factor alone is enough to disturb the peace of the whole neighborhood nearby.  I don't know whose idea the invention of airboats was, but I'm definitely NOT a fan.

Okay, enough complaints...thank you for "bearing with me" in this. I had to vent a little...  Pray that I will keep a sweet and positive attitude should I be faced with these new weekend "neighbors"...

Let's end on a positive note, shall we?

Psalm 25

1.  "To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

2.  O my God, I trust in You;

Let me not be ashamed;

Let not my enemies triumph over me.

3.  Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed;

Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause.

4.  Show me Your ways, O Lord;

Teach me Your paths.

5.  Lead me in Your truth and teach me,

For You are the God of my salvation;

On You I wait all the day."

Amen.

Now, let us travel over the Deb's place at Breathing in Grace and visit with our other Friday Foto Friends. Have a blessed and beautiful weekend, my friends.

Little Bits of Fall Appearing

In my humble opinion, Labor Day is the end of summer, and the day after Labor Day is the beginning of Fall...that's just how it is in my mind...September means people go back to work from their vacations, kids go back to school, the air starts a perceptible shift toward "cooler"...(well, here in Florida it may be a bit imaginary, but a girl can hope, can't she?)  and I start to celebrate my favorite season of the year...Autumn, fall...my birth-month (September)!  When I was in school I remember football games and cheerleading,

(for those who do "black and white Wednesday blog posts, this will be my B&W offering for this week...)

bonfires, homecoming...happy days...

But nowadays, I'm just getting a little bit into the spirit of fall...little dabs here and there, nothing quite so active as in days of yore...

 Brought out a few fall things for the table and the china cabinet

And the front door...

The local flea market got a bit more active this past weekend after a sluggish, hot summer...and I found this lovely item that I just couldn't resist:

Yes it is an aluminum old tea kettle...and no, I'm not using it on my stove to boil my water for tea, but I am reserving it for use if we need it for a campfire...or if the power goes out and we need to boil water on the Coleman stove we bought last year for the hurricane...You just never know when you might need it...and I trust there will not be any hurricanes this year...please, Lord?  I know some are already suffering from the effects of tropical storm Gordon, which missed us except for some rain...but I pray for those who are in its path that they will be safe.

Another sign of "fall" are these "Sand Pears", which were given to me this morning by our friends who attend our home Bible Study. 

You can read the link for more information on this type of pear...they are very hard and not quite ripe yet, so they will sit out for a few days and see when they ripen if they are edible.  I understand they are quite crisp and not like the kind you buy in the store...but they should make good pear sauce or maybe even a cobbler once they ripen...I'll let you know...

And fall also means churches get more actively preparing for their fall and winter ministries...the choir resumes practice after a summer break...and hubby and I decided to join our church choir. Last night was the first practice, and this is what I brought home...homework!

These are just a few of the songs we'll be working on...and then we will soon begin practicing for the Christmas Cantata as well. 

I saw this article on Facebook yesterday: "Singing as a Natural Form of Therapy" by Professor Sarah Wilson  and what I gather from this is that singing is really good for your brain and for you personally.  After last night's workout/ introduction of these songs, I can say that I haven't worked my brain quite that hard in a long time...or my voice! This could make for an interesting autumn!!  But singing for the glory of the Lord is something that I have always enjoyed doing, and haven't been able to do much of in a long time, so I am looking forward to the challenge!  May God be glorified and the people be blessed by our choir's offering of praise.  Kudos to our director and our pianist and the sound man! They have a lot to keep up with as well!!

So, what things are you looking forward to this fall?  Taking any trips? I would love to do a fall trip to the mountains, but I'm not seeing it in our foreseeable future.  But I think we will be busy enough practicing our scales and tuning our "instruments'" (voices) for singing...

Whatever you enjoy doing, make it memorable!  Take pictures and share them with us! And have a blessed and happy autumn!!