The church of the Holy Spirit

In the flesh Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, And breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. Genesis 2:7   Read John 6:44—51 I love being human. It is the only way I know how to be. It is good to come to the end of a day…

The church of the Holy Spirit

Come to the light But those who do what is true Come to the light. John 3:21   Read John 3:16—21 Why should I ever want to hide from God? Why hide from Jesus? From the searching gaze of the Spirit? Why, when I read of the clear and outright boldness of God, committing himself…

The Day of Pentecost

The outpoured Spirit Then afterward I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh. Joel 2:28   Read Acts 2:1-12 This Pentecost night I am drawn to re-live the story. I am in a room. Waiting. Jesus has promised power from on high. I will then be a witness to him. So I wait for…

The ascended Lord. The waiting church

The rebel race A generation whose heart was not steadfast, Whose spirit was not faithful to God. Psalm 78:8   Read Genesis 11:1-9 Here tonight I read of my place in a race that wants to be great against God, that will use its technology and its politics to write our personal defiance large, that…

The ascended Lord. The waiting church

The Spirit-filled heart As a deer longs for flowing streams, So my soul longs for you, O God. Psalm 42:1   Read Ezekiel 11:14–20 I stand in a different place from Israel, Israel in exile, yet I feel as though the word spoken to them still needs to be spoken to me. So much has…

The ascended Lord. The waiting church

When even God seems unreasonable Can he also give bread, Or provide meat for his people? Psalm 78:20   Read Numbers 20:3,9–13 Poor Moses! Isn’t this just how it goes sometimes? I think of his plight, how he has to lead these people, not through his own choice. God put him in the situation. They’re…

The ascended Lord. The waiting church

Going deeper into the beginning I was to them like those who lift infants to their cheeks, And I bent down to them and fed them. Hosea 11:4   Read 1 John 2:24—29 My life experience may have been a little different from those this letter was first written to. I mean that my earliest…

The ascended Lord. The waiting church

On standing firm Search me, O God, and know my heart; Test me and know my thoughts. Psalm 139:23   Read Luke 12:8—12 Perhaps I have been able to close the front door tonight and get out my prayer book and be quite secure against any challenge that would tempt me to deny my faith…

The ascended Lord. The waiting church

A future with hope The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in From this time on and forevermore. Psalm 121:8   Read Jeremiah 29:11—14 These words have a reassuring ring in my ears, ‘a future with hope,’ ‘I will hear you,’ ‘I will let you find me,’ ‘I will restore your fortunes,’…

The ascended Lord. The waiting church

When the advocate comes The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And his ears are open to their cry. Psalm 34:15   Read John 15:26—16:4 Tonight I am told by my Lord that I am to take to myself the help given by the Holy Spirit. In a quite unabashed way I am…