Acts 2

Call on Jesus

/ The Pastor

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Amen!
Praise be to God!
Alleluia!

But this verse is not hocus pocus.
It’s not a magical incantation.
The name of Jesus is not some name to be used to get what you want.

This verse is an act of worship; an act of submission. Notice that it does not say, “calling on the name of Jesus” but rather “Lord”. It is definitely referring to Jesus but instead uses the title that describes Jesus’ relationship to you.

To call on a lord is to recognize their authority over you. You aren’t going to call on a lord if you don’t think they can save you. But in this case, calling on THE Lord, Jesus, is something one does because they already know Jesus can and has saved them through faith. A person is not going to do this willy nilly because they want to save their butts from the eternal flames, but one does this out of love for the one who forgives sin through amazing grace.

But also, one doesn’t not submit to a lord if they still want freedom over their own life. You don’t submit to a lord if you’re too proud to admit you need help. You don’t submit to a lord if you want your cake and eat it too. But the fact of the matter is we need help and with Jesus you get something better than the proverbial cake. With Jesus you get THE Lord of lords who takes great joy in saving your life.

Amen!
Praise be to God!
ALLELUIA!

So go on, call on Jesus, submit to him and praise his Holy name.

Father God, you’re an awesome God. Thank you for sending Jesus to be Lord of my life to save me from myself. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Don’t wear red

/ The Pastor

I saw a question on Twitter this morning that asked:

“Are you wearing red today?”

To some of you this may seem like a strange question so allow me to put it into context.  Today is Pentecost Sunday (liturgical color: Red).  This is the Sunday when we recognize the giving of the Holy Spirit to the disciples in Acts 2.  A great story of the birth of the church and the work of the Holy Spirit. But I have serious problems with this question and the encouraging of people to wear red today (other than the fact that we don’t encourage people to wear clothing to match other liturgical colors throughout the year).

Think about it:  If you were to visit a church on Pentecost Sunday (not knowing what this day was or forgetting it was Pentecost) and upon entering the church you notice a sea of people wearing red, what would your first thoughts be?

For me I would:
(1) Start to wonder if there was a special celebration going on that I wasn’t invited to. I might be a little leery about going in; thinking I was crashing a party.

(2) Wonder if people were looking at me wondering why I didn’t wear red today. Kind of like going to a Vikings tailgate party and not wearing purple and gold.

(3) Feel like an outsider; not part of the group.  Kind of like wearing a Packers jersey to a Vikings tailgate party.

(4) Feel left out; like I am not wanted in this group…like a Packers fan at a Vikings tailgate party 🙂

(5) Probably not return to that church…because I would not want to feel like this again.

The encouraging of people to wear red on Pentecost (and Reformation Sunday…the other Sunday people are encouraged to wear red) is done in order to give those Sundays a special emphasis; not to isolate visitors.  But it does have that effect.  So I have stopped inviting people to wear red.  If they do…great.  Will I wear my red stole today?  Absolutely.  But I want ALL people to feel welcome.

Think about that today and other Sundays:
~ Are there things that we do in our churches that might cause people to feel like outsiders?
~ Are we truly welcoming communities?
~ When visitors walk into the church do they feel like they are wanted?
~ When visitors attend worship do they feel self-conscience about not knowing the “rules” of the church?

Let’s not become so comfortable that we exclude others.  Make it a point to say “hi” to someone who is visiting and befriend them.  Don’t let your church become an exclusive club but an inclusive family…the Body of Christ.

So don’t wear red today…wear the love of Christ.

edh -|—