A Pentecost Church

I am praying for Pentecost! Pentecost is not simply the church’s birthday; it is the church’s day of power. On Pentecost God came to a frightened and discouraged group of believers and delivered the power to live up to what Jesus did. God’s power is now the church’s power. God’s power to liberate, heal, and redeem is given to us so that we can faithfully fulfill the great commission. Pentecost delivers to the church what it needs to engage in the radical reign of God. Pentecost empowers God’s agenda.

It would appear that the church in the twenty-first century has lost its power to proclaim the reign of God. What has happened to our power? If Pentecost is the power source for faithful action and witness, why does the church seem so powerless when it comes to the poor, the captive, the dispossessed, and the imprisoned?

The loss of power has something to do with our tendency to “identify up” rather than to “reach down”? So much emphasis in contemporary religion is on success and prosperity. According to the leaders of the church growth movement, the faithful church is a growing church. A small church is a sign of an unfaithful church. The television preachers call us to prosperity and material gain, so that even being poor is a sign of God’s disfavor. To be faithful, one must be growing in prosperity, the signs of which have to do with consumption and ownership. Somehow the gospel in the United States has come to be identified with those who have rather than those who have not?

We have lost our power because we are identifying with “haves” and we turn our backs on the poor, the outcast, and the dispossessed? Pentecost power calls the church to difficult action and then gives power to proclaim the message of liberation. It provides the power to stay at the task and to develop communities of faith in the midst of the despair, inequity, injustice and of global terror.

I am praying for Pentecost! It is not so much about people speaking in “a strange tongue” as it is about believers getting power to be faithful. We don’t need power to identify with the rich and privileged. We don’t really need power unless we are standing at odds with the world as it is. If we were to put the “Have Nots” first, would we once again receive Pentecostal power?

I am praying for Pentecost! Maybe we do not desire such power or the consequences of Jesus’ teaching. I cannot help hoping that such power comes and we experience the power of God’s intervention in this congregation.

I am praying for Pentecost! What is a Pentecost Church?
* A Pentecost church will reach out to people of every language and tongue.
* A Pentecost church will call young and old, women and men to prophesy and proclaim Jesus as Lord.
* A Pentecost church will preach and baptize, but the story always ends too soon if a Pentecost church isn't concerned about economics, justice, and the downtrodden.

Derived from sources at http://www.gbod.org/site/c.nhLRJ2PMKsG/b.3784805/k.D1A1/Worship.htm

Eternal Surprise

I was shocked, confused, bewildered
As I entered Heaven's door,
Not by the beauty of it all,
Nor the lights or its decor.
But it was the folks in Heaven
Who made me sputter and gasp--
The thieves, the liars, the sinners,
The alcoholics and the trash.
There stood the kid from seventh grade
Who swiped my lunch money twice.
Next to him was my old neighbor
Who never said anything nice.
Herb, who I always thought
Was rotting away in hell,
Was sitting pretty on cloud nine,
Looking incredibly well.
I nudged Jesus, 'What's the deal?
I would love to hear Your take.
How did all these sinners get up here?
God must have made a mistake.
'And why is everyone so quiet,
So somber - give me a clue.'
'Hush, child,' He said,'they're all in shock.
No one thought they'd be seeing you.'

JUDGE NOT!!

Remember...Just going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in your garage makes you a car.

Every saint has a PAST...
Every sinner has a FUTURE!

Anonymous Source

God Is Love

God is love; We must love
God is Peace; We must be peaceful
God is caring; We must care
God loves the world He created; We must love the world
God loves us; We must love God and ourselves
God is present with us; We must be his presence in the world.

What is Success in Ministry?

Luke 4:25 But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a severe famine over all the land;

4:26 yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon.

4:27 There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."

Ever consider how many failures there are in scripture. Just like today, we only remember the winners. Not many can tell you who lost the past 3 Superbowls, or which horse came in second in the Derby. Jesus calls attention in his home town of Nazareth to those who are not saved in the famous stories. They were very upset that they might be the ones who would refuse to hear God's message or see that he was the Messiah. It begs the question, how many are lost due to the lack of a prophet and how many prophets preach without response. How many Moses refused to go back to Egypt? How many Hoseas just got a divorce. How many Ninivehs didn't respond to their Jonah. Consider Sodom and Lot! The scripture is full of success stories and only John the Baptist and Stephen's martyrdom are well recorded. The Romans destroyed the Essene Community which was the birthplace of the Christian and Rabbinical movements.

Jesus Gospel of Love and Peace is not always accepted. Look what the Temple powers did to him! A true commitment ot the God of Love and total submission to the Lordship of Christ is not a guaranty of success as we imagine it from the stories recorded throughout history. You are more likely to suffer for the Gospel than to prosper from it. It is not a free ride to prosperity. Total submission to Christ does have the promise of "the peace that passes all understanding" which, as my father the evangelist used to say - "enables one to sing 'Amazing Grace' while the lion eats your leg off". It is enough for me.

Continuing in Christ's Service - Even when no one will listen,
Earl G. Presley, A Voice For Today

Faith Without Works is Dead

Faith Without Works is Dead
By Earl G. Presley – Pastor, First Christian Church, Rockdale, TX
James 2:1-10, (11-13), 14-17

My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ?

For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, "Have a seat here, please," while to the one who is poor you say, "Stand there," or, "Sit at my feet," have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?

Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court? Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you?

You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.

For the one who said, "You shall not commit adultery," also said, "You shall not murder." Now if you do not commit adultery but if you murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill," and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.
James begins with commentary on the church's tendency to court the favor of moneyed converts while making poorer converts feel less welcome. James said that such partiality is sin!
I.Relationship between faith and works.
A. Care for the poor (found in verses such as Deuteronomy 15:11 or Proverbs 22:9).
1.Blessed are the Poor
2.“As you have done to the least of these my brethren”
B.By their fruits ye shall know them
II."Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?"-
(The familiar "faith without works is dead" in The Message reads)
A. Look at James 2:17.
1.Commentary in the New Interpreter's Study Bible refutes the notion that James wrote to challenge Paul's teachings on faith and righteousness.
III. What do our actions say about our faith?
A.Have we unintentionally said: "Be warmed; be filled; be gone?"-limiting words of welcome to fellowship hall or the basement?
1.Black Ministers at Southwestern Baptist Seminary Educated in the Basement.
B.Are we cuddled with the moneyed, while the poorest of the poor feel welcome only on the church steps in the middle of the night?
1.Does the world hear our words when we don’t show them our compassion?
C.What do our actions say about our faith?
1.How do we act in public?
2.How do we speak in public?
3.How do we live in public?
IV."Do we, with our acts of favoritism, really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ?"
A.The question raised in James 2:1 is timeless
B.Hate and Bigotry are the antithesis of Christianity
1.You cannot hate and be Christian.
2.You cannot be apathetic and Christian
3.You cannot be intentionally immoral and Christian
4.You cannot live in ignorance without compassion and be Christian.

Hold On

Dan Hill has captured the frustration of those of us who remember how we used to be when we cared about the plight of the impoverished, the refugees of war, those disenfranchised by race, gender, socio-economic status, and stereotypical stigma. I have added some images to convey my feelings that the song brings out. I hope you enjoy it and you can find it on YouTube as well. Feel free to comment or share your stories and feelings about the issues that the song raises. Feel free to fling your fist high in the air again. My father, Evangelist Greg Presley said it well, "It never occurred to me that me and Jesus couldn't change the world".

Hold On (By Dan Hill)

So you flung your fist high in the air
But the world remained the same
And all the demonstrations filtered out through graduation
And the times that were a changeing never changed.

Freedom takes on new meaning
When you have a family of five
Peace and revolution dissolved in its own solution
When your fighting for your life just to survive

It's then you gotta Hold On,
For what you believe in
Hold On, don't let it fade

Still you gotta Be Strong;
Find yourself a reason
You'll never change the world but just the same
You gotta hold on stronger each and every day.

When the night creeps in so hollow
When the silence makes you scream
When you're so damned scared of failure
When the world's burned out of saviors
When you're feeling too vulnerable to dream

It's then you gotta Hold On,
For what you believe in
Hold On, don't let it fade
Still you gotta Be Strong;
Find yourself a reason

No one changed the world
But just the same
you gotta hold on to yourself or else you'll fade.

Faith, Works, and Conflict

James 1:17-27

Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. In fulfillment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God's righteousness.
Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.

For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act--they will be blessed in their doing.

If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

Faith without Works

James' teachings are relevant for today. We are called to remember God's generosity (verse 17) and God's constancy. Other gods were known to be changeable, inconsistent, capricious, and even deceptive. Any god made by human beings take on these human weaknesses.
The image of being "born of God" appears frequently in the New Testament. The activity that brings sinners to faith is no accident; it is the result of God's purposeful work (verse 18). The implanted word (verse 21) is an agricultural image that implies that God's word is sown into the "soil" of our hearts with the potential to produce righteous fruit.
For James, a person whose behavior does not "reflect" the word that he or she has heard is deceived. Modern social psychologists would probably use the term in denial.

Looking in the Mirror (verses 22-25)

In James' discourse, God's Word is likened to a mirror, and Christians are measured against its standard of beauty. Those who see no need for adjustment are like people who look in the mirror and forget what they were like. James' expectations are clear: Christians live transformed lives. What do we see when we look in the mirror, and how do we respond to what we have seen? Michael Jackson sang it well in “man in the mirror”. We should be able to look in the mirror and be brought into conflict by what we see (ourselves) vs. what we should see (Christ living in us).

Got Religion?

Religion is such a loaded word that we often avoid it. In James, religion is defined by the ways that believers responded to teachings of the faith in their personal lives and in their communities. Several of the illustrations that James uses point to personal piety issues such as self-control and to social responsibility issues, such as care for the defenseless (widows and orphans. We need to teach and encouraged personal holiness and social transformation. We must be able to reframe our concepts of "religion" in ways that encourage us to practice what we profess.

A Lost World is Watching!

When we look in the mirror, we see what those yearning for a meaningful relationship with God see. We are called to let them see Christ in us, through us, and because of us.
When those who profess Christ see other Christians who reflect Christ and are brought into conflict with their own lack of commitment, faith, or compassion – they either repent and renew their zeal for transformation or strike out at the one who causes their inner conflict. As a result, those who try to live Christ before the world are most often struck down by other “Believers”.

“Lord, protect me from your followers!”.