“God Dwells in You”Main point: BLESSING THE CHILDRENSERMONOn this Great Feast Day, the story stands on its own two feet.On the Day of Pentecost the disciples were gathered in a closed room. The doors were locked, the windows were shut, and they were faithfully waiting, just as they were told to do. They were waiting for what God would do next.New things were about to happen. Things they could not imagine. The promise was given by Jesus that he would send the Spirit of Truth as their helper. What did this mean? They didn’t know. So they waited. As they waited and prayed, a mighty, violent wind blew through the closed room and fire appeared above each person there. The elements were breaking out in symbol and in power. Wind is like breath, is like spirit - which hovered over the deep at the creation of the world. Fire is like power, is like terror, is like fear - which surrounded Mt. Siani when God gave Moses the Law.God was doing a new thing. Something they could hardly imagine or understand.We see in the wild story of Pentecost, God bringing capital “L” LIFE to God’s people through creative, explosive, even terrifying new ways - as the Spirit blows through with a mighty rushing wind and pillars of fire appear over each person’s head. God is not finished doing these things. The Day of Pentecost was just the beginning.God is still doing a new thing in us today. Last night, five of our precious children were baptized into Christ through water and the Spirit down in Duck Creek. They are saying yes to God in response to the great yes that God has said to all of us through the Spirit. For in Christ everything is “Yes” and “Amen.” Today, three people said yes to being a part of this body as they continue to move with what the Spirit is doing in them and in us. But we may still wonder - what does it mean? Why do we tell this story? What is the big deal?This is the great message of Pentecost: God, who formerly made his presence in the world known through the brick-and-mortar Temple in Jerusalem and the Torah which he gave to Moses on tablets of stone, has now taken up residency in the hearts of his people by his Spirit and by his Spirit has written his Law on our hearts. In a word, God dwells in you. Not a piece of God. Not a trickle or taste. God. God dwells in you.This is a marvelous mystery. If you have been a Christian for some time like I have, it may be a feature of our faith that we take for granted. But I pray we will remind ourselves of this deep mystery today and stand in awe. The God who made the universe lives inside of me.The implications of this mystery are rich. I’ll share two of them with you today.Two Indwellings: Individual and CollectiveFirst, the Scriptures tell us that God resides in each of us individually and each of us, individually, are a temple of God’s Spirit. St. Paul, in the sixth chapter of his first letter to the Corinthians, says, Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.Because God is in you…You are never alone. In the loneliness of your home or the loneliness in the middle of the grocery store, God is with you. You can talk to God and God promises to hear your prayer. You can turn to God any time and all the time. At your lowest moment or at the height of ecstasy. Every moment you live, God is present with you.God will guide you through all things into the Way of Life. There is an itch in all of us that tells us things aren’t the way they are supposed to be - no in our world and not in ourselves. But because God is in you, you have an advocate/friend/helper who is the Giver and Author of Life. And this friend pushes, encourages, and comes alongside of us to lead us into the path that is full of LIFE. 

Ver todos los episodios