Monday Musings ...

Yesterday was a very interesting day. I realized toward the end of last week that I seem to struggle with my message every year the Sunday after Easter and I kept that tradition going this year. As expected our attendance was below Easter Sunday, but it was a reasonable number. We did have a few visitors from Easter Sunday return to worship with us, that is always encouraging. We had a very good number of teens in worship again this week, that really encourages me.

The message was once again entitled "It's Not Over", it actually looks like this is developing into a series of messages. There was a song that was popular some years ago that had a line it that said, "this is the song that never ends" (sing along if you would like). It is possible that this is the sermon that (almost) never ends. We looked at Acts 1:7-11 and Acts 2. When Jesus rose from the grave he spent a few weeks with the disciples and other followers and this is at the end of that time. He reminded his disciples that the mission is not over, he gave them a game plan and then he was taken from them, this time by the Father. The appropriate question, then and now, is "Now What?".

In answering this question, the first point from this passage is Don't Just Stand There. Verse 11 of Acts 1 the disciples were asked, "why do you stand here looking into the sky?". Jesus went up in the clouds and the disciples were just standing there looking up. Remember that Jesus had just given them some marching orders that matched the Great Commission from Matthew 28:18-20. Instead of getting to work on the call of Christ, they were just standing there looking up. It seems to me that too many of us are standing around. That is not what we have been called to do. Then we need to get the power. Not our own power, that is never enough for the mission Christ has given us. We need the power of the Holy Spirit that Christ promised. We need to surrender ourselves completely, give God permission to cleanse anything and everything that is not following his will and be filled with the Holy Spirit. We need to do God's will. This will is the same for all of us in the big picture, see the Great Commission. However we all have different parts of service in fulfilling this call. One body, but many parts. Lastly, we are do it boldly. Look at the disciples after receiving the power of the Holy Spirit. They did not live passively, they lived with compassionate boldness. We cannot do this in our own power and we cannot do this if we only clump together with others who believe and look like us.

What are you doing? Whose power are you living in? What will you do now? It's not over, so let's get to it!