Devotional 6-7-19

This Sunday we will celebrate Pentecost, the birth of the church, the day the Holy Spirit descended upon the Disciples of Christ after his ascension.  But who/what is the church? Who are we today?

As I was contemplating this writing, the song “We are the church” came to mind.  As the song says “we are the church, you are the church”.  The church is not a building; the church is the people.  Many kinds of faces, ages, from many places and from many times.  There are times we march, times we hide but we are always learning.  When we the church gather we sing, pray, laugh and even cry.  But we are always saying WE ARE THE CHURCH!!

We the people of JM or any congregation, are many, we all have many gifts and talents that God has given us to share as one body.  (Romans 12:4-8).  For any church to live out our mission of making disciples for Christ (Matthew 28:19) .  We need to work together, and we are not to expect the clergy to do it all.  Jesus didn’t do his Ministry alone; he called on his disciples as well.

As the church we are called to love all.  “Romans 12:9-17 CEB: ⁹Love should be shown without pretending. Hate evil, and hold on to what is good. ¹⁰Love each other like the members of your family. Be the best at showing honor to each other. ¹¹Don’t hesitate to be enthusiastic—be on fire in the Spirit as you serve the Lord! ¹²Be happy in your hope, stand your ground when you’re in trouble, and devote yourselves to prayer. ¹³Contribute to the needs of God’s people, and welcome strangers into your home. ¹⁴Bless people who harass you—bless and don’t curse them. ¹⁵Be happy with those who are happy, and cry with those who are crying. ¹⁶Consider everyone as equal, and don’t think that you’re better than anyone else. Instead, associate with people who have no status. Don’t think that you’re so smart. ¹⁷Don’t pay back anyone for their evil actions with evil actions, but show respect for what everyone else believes is good.

I believe that our JM Mission statement sums it all up, as a church/people of Christ.

“The mission of Johnson Memorial United Methodist Church is to bring others to Christ, embrace them with love, nurture everyone in faith, worship God joyfully, and reach out in service to the world.”

Let’s pray, God thank you for your love of all persons, thank you for our guide Jesus Christ.  May we be led to be the church for all in the world, as WE ARE YOUR CHURCH. May the Holy Spirit be our driving force.  Amen

The Holy Spirit be with you.

Fred Herr

Hymn “We are the Church”  BY DONALD S. MARSH; RICHARD K. AVERY