This year, Pentecost Sunday, the birthday of the Church of Jesus Christ, and my birthday fall on the same Sunday, June 5th. Pentecost is the celebration of the coming of the Holy Spirit.
This day has always been a special day for me. I was ordained to the Gospel Ministry on Pentecost Sunday, May 26, 1985. It was the “birth” of my life as a minister. The story of Pentecost is found in Acts 2. The coming of the Holy Spirit is described as a rush of fierce wind and tongues of fire. Wind and fire both are sources of energy. The Holy Spirit is the power source for the church. We are to rely on God’s power to fulfill our mission. Because the Holy Spirit resides in the soul of every believer, we rely on God’s Spirit to guide us in all of life’s decisions and the decisions we make as a congregation. Christ, through the Holy Spirit, empowers us to do the Divine Will of our Heavenly Father. Most of us have experienced a time when our cell phone died because we forgot to charge it. In the same way, the church can be in danger of “dying” if we do not stay plugged into our energy source, the Holy Spirit. We stayed spiritually charged through worship, daily prayer, Bible study and the fellowship of believers. When we are spiritually charged, the Fruits of the Spirit ripen within us. They are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Just as it did at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit sets our hearts ablaze so that others see Christ living in us. They see Christ’s never stopping, never giving up, unbreaking, always and forever love. The church is called to always be pointing others to Jesus. I will be away the first two weeks of June visiting family and attending graduations. I look forward to returning to Paris on Thursday, June 16th and being with you for Father’s Day. Here is a list of our Sunday Services for June: ▪️Sunday, June 5: Jeanette Levellie, guest speaker 🔥 Pentecost and The Lord’s Supper ▪️Sunday, June 12: Bill Minnis, guest speaker ▪️Sunday, June 19: The Compassionate Father —Luke 15:11-24 👨👧👦 Father’s Day ▪️Sunday, June 26: The Angry Brother — Luke 15:25-32 🗣 Congregational Meeting @ 10:30 AM I Count It All Joy, Pastor Vallerie
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