Holy Spirit

Creation, Baptism, Restoration

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Creation, Baptism, Restoration

May 31, 2026*

(Trinity Sunday)

By Pastor John Partridge

Genesis 1:1 – 2:4                    Matthew 28:16-20                 2 Corinthians 13:11-13

Last week I said that it is our stories that tell us where we came from and who we are. Do you remember that? Our stories are an important part of us for these, and many reasons, but there are a few stories that anchor us. For some of us, the story of how we came to faith in Jesus Christ is an anchor. Other anchors can be built on our family stories, sometimes our military experiences, key events in high school or college, unfortunately, sometimes unintentionally, we establish an anchor in some trauma that we once experienced but other times we are anchored in times that we experienced wonder, or miracles in our lives. The moment, in an ordinary hotel room in China, that our daughter was placed in my arms, is an anchor that is indelibly burned into my memory. It was a moment of wonder, the moment that Patti and I became parents, and the moment that I became a father.

And so, it is unsurprising that the beginning of things, weddings, births, boot camps, elections, and other “firsts” are memorable enough to become our anchors. And, as believers in God, and in Jesus Christ, and as a church, one of our common anchors lies in the creation of the world. Even if you do not believe in a literal creation and subscribe to something more akin to eons of evolution, as a follower of God, the creation story of Genesis still holds a special place and value. But why is it a topic today, as we celebrate Trinity Sunday? What is the connection to the trinity that is so strong, and so special, that we are invited to read, and remember, the entire first chapter of Genesis? I honestly wondered about the same thing, and did a little study before I decided how much of it I was really going to use. But in the end, I decided that it was important, and I’ll explain why afterward. Reading from Genesis 1:1 – 2:4a, we hear this:

1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

6 And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.

9 And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.

11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.

14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.

20 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” 23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.

24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

27 So God created mankind in his own image,
    in the image of God he created them;
    male and female he created them.

28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.

31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.

2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so, on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.

As I mentioned, the first reason for remembering the creation story is simply because it is one of our most memorable and important anchors. But as we celebrate Trinity Sunday, and as we examine the story in light of our theological trinitarian beliefs, our understanding of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we can see them in the story as well. First, we see that the Spirit of God hovered over the waters of creation, and next we hear God the Father speak the universe into existence saying, “Let there be light.” But we also see Jesus. In this case, since this is a Jewish history, Jesus is not named, but to our understanding of the trinity, when we see a shift in verse six from God speaking “Let there he a vault between the waters…” and then God acting in verse seven “So, God made the vault and separated the water…” our understanding, as trinitarians, and from other passages in the New Testament, is that while God the Father speaks (in verse six), it is Jesus the son who acts as the agent of creation (in verse seven). As such, while several passages in the New Testament say that Jesus was present at the time of creation, this is how we understand his presence.

And even though the word “trinity” appears nowhere in scripture, it is this understanding of the trinity that then leads to Jesus’ instructions to the disciples in Matthew 28:16-20 that includes all three persons of God.

16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

As I mentioned, the word “trinity” does not appear in scripture, but since there are passages like this one, in which Jesus himself uses the phrase ‘Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,’ it didn’t take long for someone to start using a single word to describe it. But since nearly all of us here already believe in the trinity, and I doubt that I have persuaded anyone that did not, what’s the point? What is our goal? And for today we simply end with the Paul’s concluding words from his second letter to the church in Corinth in 2 Corinthians 13:11-13 as he wrote:

11 Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.

12 Greet one another with a holy kiss. 13 All God’s people here send their greetings.

Paul was in Macedonia, and was writing to the church in Corinth, Greece, and his conclusion sends greetings to them from a people in another nation who would have otherwise been strangers, but who now, because of their faith, have become brothers and sisters who care about one another. But Paul also reminds the church that the goal, for all of them, is to move, even to struggle toward restoration. We can easily understand that Paul means that we should work to restore the relationship of ourselves, and the people around us, with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. But because his conclusion also includes the greetings of the people in the church in Macedonia, it isn’t difficult for us to also understand that we should strive for reconciliation between one another, the people around us, and with the people of other nations. We are, in the end, all members of God’s creation. We should seek to encourage one another, be of one mind, and live in peace with all of humanity, but especially with all those who are members of God’s family and followers of Jesus Christ, regardless of their race or nation of birth.

Whenever we remember the unity of the trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we should remember that we are also called to unity, to tell the world about the triune God, the message of the Gospel, and to live in peace with the people around us, with all those who share our faith, and with the people of the world.

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*You have been reading a message presented at Christ United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page.  Rev.  John Partridge is the pastor at Christ UMC in Alliance, Ohio.  Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you.  Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 East Broadway Street, Alliance, Ohio 44601.  These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership.  You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at secretary@CUMCAlliance.org.  These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.com .  All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.comThe “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Gifts of Spirit, Wind, and Fire

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Gifts of Spirit, Wind, and Fire

May 24, 2026*

(Pentecost)

By Pastor John Partridge

John 20:19-23                        Acts 2:1-21                 1 Corinthians 12:1-13

Every family, and every family member, has a story. Our stories tell us who we are, and where we come from. In my family, there are stories, or at least speculation, about the first of the Partridges to come here from England, stories about my grandfather’s time fighting for Germany in World War One and his immigration to the United States afterward. We tell the story of his marriage to my grandmother on the docks of New York after he sent for her to join him, and there are stories of how my parents met in college, of Dad’s time in the Navy during World War Two, his brothers that served in other branches, Dad’s call to ministry, my brother Steve being drafted during Vietnam, my volunteer service in the Army Reserve and eventual call to active duty for Desert Storm and my own call to ministry. There are many more stories from Patti’s side of the family, stories about the miracles that we have seen, how our children joined our family, and many, many more. But it is the telling of those stories that anchor us in history and tell us who we are and how we got here.

Churches have the same stories. Christ Church has stories of beginning downtown, buying property on the hill and, eventually, building the church in which we now worship. There are stories of the Glamorgan family and how they came to donate the bells in our bell tower, stories about how the bells were hoisted, using horses and ropes long before the era of hydraulic cranes. Like biological families, our church has countless stories, passed down from generation to generation, and those stories tell us something about who we are and how we got here. But Christianity itself has stories that are a part of us, some that date back to the very beginnings of our faith, and some which, again, tell us about who we are and how we got here.

In recent months, as we have worked our way through the liturgical year, and through the scriptures highlighted by the lectionary, we have walked through many of those stories. You will remember hearing John the Baptist in Luke 3:16, when he said, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” And those words had to echo in the mind of Jesus disciples after Jesus’ death and resurrection when this happened in John 20:19-23:

19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

We remember that the words that we translate in English as wind, spirit, and breath, are all the same word in Greek. And so, Jesus breathed on them and said, “Receive the holy breath” but also, as the NIV translated, “receive the Holy Spirit,” but also leaving us the option of “receive the holy wind,” which we will see as important in just a moment. Before Jesus ascended into heaven and left the earth, he reminded the disciples of John’s words by giving them the gift of the Holy Spirit. But he wasn’t done. In Luke 1:4-5, Jesus also told his disciples “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days, you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

And so, as we read in recent weeks, the disciples and other followers of Jesus did just that. They stayed together in Jerusalem, worshiping in the temple each day, praying, and sharing meals together until, in Acts 2:1-21, this happened:

2:1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them.

5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own languages!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”

14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

17 “‘In the last days, God says,
    I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
    your young men will see visions,
    your old men will dream dreams.
18 Even on my servants, both men and women,
    I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
    and they will prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in the heavens above
    and signs on the earth below,
    blood and fire and billows of smoke.
20 The sun will be turned to darkness
    and the moon to blood
    before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
21 And everyone who calls
    on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

On the day of Pentecost, the believers and followers of Jesus Christ were gathered eating, socializing, praying, or otherwise being together and suddenly there was wind as Jesus had said, and there was spirit, and there was fire just as John had said several years earlier. But what is also notable, beyond the fulfillment of the words of John and Jesus, was the result of the infilling, and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit in the followers upon whom the flames of the spirit had fallen. Filled with the spirit of God, the followers of Jesus went out into the streets just as the people in the streets gathered and crowded to search for whatever had made the sound of a violent wind on what was likely a calm and quiet day. And each person in the crowd of people who had come to Jerusalem from all over the know world for the Jewish festival of Shavuot, which is also known as the Festival of Weeks, heard the retelling of the story of the good news of Jesus in their own languages. And this from men and women who were uneducated, rural folk, who were considered to be country bumpkins.

The speakers certainly did not know the languages in which they were preaching… and yet they did so because of the power of the Holy Spirit working through them. Peter explains to the crowd that what they were witnessing was not a crowd of drunks, but the miraculous fulfillment of God’s prophecy for the last days of creation, that God was, even now, pouring out his spirit upon the people so that those who called upon his name could be saved.

But still, it was not always clear what the filling and indwelling of the Holy Spirit meant, and the people of the church had questions about what indwelling meant, or what it meant to be baptized by the spirit, or what God’s purpose was in doing so. And so, in 1 Corinthians 12:1-13, Paul writes to the believers in Corinth, and he explains it this way:

12:1 Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. 3 Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.

7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of languages, and to still another the interpretation of languages. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized byone Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

First, Paul clarifies that anyone that says that Jesus is cursed is not a follower of Jesus and is not filled with the Spirit of God. Second, Paul says that anyone who says that Jesus is Lord is indeed permitted to say so by the Holy Spirit. I would caution, however, that other scriptures still indicate that saying this does not automatically ensure all of what they preach is trustworthy. In any case, Paul continues by saying that the gifts that are given to each believer, when they are filled and empowered by the spirit of God, are not the same for each person. There are some common types and some common groupings of gifts, but each person is just as unique as one part of the body is from another. Just as the parts of the body work together to allow humans to do amazing things, our different gifts allow us, as the body of Christ, to work together and accomplish amazing, even miraculous things for the kingdom of God, in the name of Jesus Christ.

Pentecost is one of our key stories that we repeat each year because, just like family stories, it tells us where we came from and who we are, both as a church, and as individuals. We are the body of Christ as we use our gifts, together, to do the work of Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God. Each of us are unique and different from one another, but each of us has been given a specific set of gifts and talents, and then filled with, and empowered by the Holy Spirit, so that we can do our part as God calls us, and leads us as we work to accomplish his mission and ministry.

Remember the stories.

Remember where we came from.

Remember who you are.

And never forget whose you are.

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*You have been reading a message presented at Christ United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page.  Rev.  John Partridge is the pastor at Christ UMC in Alliance, Ohio.  Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you.  Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 East Broadway Street, Alliance, Ohio 44601.  These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership.  You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at secretary@CUMCAlliance.org.  These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.com .  All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.comThe “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Pentecost and the Politics of Pain

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Pentecost and the Politics of Pain

(Pentecost)

May 19, 2024*

By Pastor John Partridge

John 15:26-16:15                   Acts 2:1-21                 Romans 8:22-27

If you have any empathy at all and have watched the news at any time in the last several years, you just might despair for the state of our planet and its people. The United States is struggling with issues of race more than 150 years after the Civil War. South Africa continues to grapple with their racial issues thirty years after the end of Apartheid.  Russia remains intent upon regaining control of Ukraine and other nations over which it once held sway during the years of the Soviet Union. Israel and Hamas continue to fight one another with far reaching calamity in an enormous city filled with civilians. Genocidal acts continue to be perpetrated against Christians and their churches in Nigeria. China continues to persecute ethnic minorities, Christians, and anyone else that might be perceived as a thread to the communist party. Venezuela’s political conflict has so utterly crashed its economy that people are said to be eating rats, pigeons, and dogs to survive. And, unfortunately, that’s just the beginning. The more we read about what is going on, the more we weep over the state of our planet.

But surely it will get better, right? Or maybe we’re just in a bad place at this present moment and it goes in some kind of cycle. And, while that might seem to be true locally, I don’t know that such a thing has ever been true when we look at the world as a whole unless, of course, we simply go back to a time when there weren’t many people at all, but even then life, and survival, was often simply brutal.

That’s a harsh assessment, but is there any good news?

Of course there is. But before we get to the good news, let’s look at the promise that Jesus made to his disciples after the resurrection but before his ascension into heaven. For that, let’s begin with Jesus’ own words carried to us by the Apostle John in John 15:26-16:15, where Jesus says:

26 “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. 27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.

16:1 “All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. 2 They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. 3 They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. 4 I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them. I did not tell you this from the beginning because I was with you, 5 but now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things. 7 But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because people do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”

Jesus foretells of his return to heaven but promises that when he goes, he will send the Spirit of God, the Advocate, to earth in his place. The Advocate, Jesus says, will prove to the world that they were wrong about sin and righteousness, and wrong about judgement. The Spirit will also guide the followers of Jesus toward the truth. That doesn’t mean that Christians will have any sort of monopoly on truth, but that, over time, as we follow him, we will move away from falsehood and closer to the truth.

These are important promises, not only because our world seems to be broken and we need to have some good news, but because both individually and collectively we find that its far too easy to wander into half-truths, falsehood, fake news, propaganda, and delusion and we need help to stay focused and guided toward the truth. But as important as Jesus’ promise was, perhaps even more important is the fulfillment of that promise on the day of Pentecost that we see in Acts 2:1-21, which says:

2:1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tonguesas the Spirit enabled them.

5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”

14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

17 “‘In the last days, God says,
    I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions,
    your old men will dream dreams.
18 Even on my servants, both men and women,
    I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below,
    blood and fire and billows of smoke. 20 The sun will be turned to darkness
    and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Jesus returns to his home in heaven and, in fulfillment of his promise, sends the Spirit of God to earth and in a visible and unmistakable way, the Spirit arrives and enters into the disciples and other followers of Jesus Christ that were waiting for its arrival. Jews from all over the known world had gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate a Jewish holy day, and all of them heard the disciples preaching in their own unique languages and dialects.

This begins the fulfillment of the promise that Jesus made, but it is not the complete fulfillment. An undeniable miracle happens in full view of hundreds of unbelievers and the world sees that the power of God lives in the message of Jesus and the disciples. But has this proven the wrong of sin to the entire world? No. And has it guided them to the truth? Not everyone.

And what about the darkness and evil that we see throughout history and in the world in which we now live? It is obvious that pain and suffering and the politics that often perpetuate it haven’t gone away. And so, it’s fair to ask, “What role does the Spirit have in the world?” “What role does the church, and its members have?”, and “What does God expects of us?” We gain insight into these questions from the words of Paul in his letter to the church in Rome found in Romans 8:22-27 where he says:

22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

Paul openly admits that all of creation groans as if it were in labor and giving birth because of the pain, suffering, injustice, darkness, and evil that is in the world. In short, the world sucks. But amid that groaning of creation is the inward groaning and anticipation of our adoption, redemption, and a new life in God’s recreated and perfect world that is yet to come. Although we live in a world that is suffering and broken, we have hope in what is yet to come. And as we wait patiently in hope, the Spirit of God helps us in all our weaknesses, all our shortcomings, all our faults, and all the places that we just… aren’t enough. Even when we are so frightened, frustrated, angry, confused, irritated, broken, hurt, suffering, or otherwise unable to find words to pray, the Spirit of God intercedes for us and interprets our groans, and the feelings of our hearts, puts words to them, and carries those prayers to the throne of God.

Despite the constant barrage of unwelcome news and the politics of pain, the good news of Pentecost is that God is with us, that God loves us, cares for us, intercedes for us, and even puts words to our prayers of groaning even when we can’t find words for ourselves. In a world full of suffering and pain, the clear message of scripture is filled with hope because it tells us that…

… we… are not… alone.

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*You have been reading a message presented at Christ United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page.  Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Christ UMC in Alliance, Ohio.  Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you.  Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 East Broadway Street, Alliance, Ohio 44601.  These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership.  You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at secretary@CUMCAlliance.org.  These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.com .  All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.comThe “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Baptism 2.0

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Baptism 2.0

January 14, 2024*

By Pastor John Partridge

Genesis 1:1-5             Mark 1:4-11               Acts 19:1-7

If I say the word “baptism” what image comes to mind?

Since we are in church, the odds are good that most of you thought of water. This is even more likely when this is the Sunday that we celebrate the baptism of Jesus, and we have a fountain gurgling in the front of the church.

But when I say the word “baptism,” what else comes to mind other than a baptism in water?

When I entered the words “Baptism by…” in the Google search box, it suggested baptism by fire, baptism by immersion, baptism by desire, baptism by blood, and a few others. In Catholic doctrine, sacramental baptism is by water, the baptism of desire is a person’s desire to join the church, and baptism by blood is a sort of euphemism for martyrdom. Baptism by fire, or trial by fire, is used in the military and in other stressful situations where you are initiated into a group by enduring or surviving a challenging task. You might have been trained for that task, but until you perform that task under a particularly high stress environment, you have not yet been baptized by fire. In the military that might be actual combat, while in retail it might be surviving Black Friday.

But none of those is what I’m talking about in the title of today’s message when I wrote “Baptism 2.0.” Of course, the first baptism is John’s baptism which signifies a baptism of repentance. That baptism isn’t entirely original to John. Immersion in water to symbolize purification was an everyday occurrence in the Jewish world of the first century. Everyone, from the oldest to the youngest and from the least to greatest passed through a mikveh, a ritual bath, before they could enter the temple courts in Jerusalem or often even the synagogues in their local villages.  But there’s another baptism, that goes beyond ritual purification or even John’s baptism of repentance. But… before we get to that, let’s begin at the beginning, the very beginning, and read the first few verses in Genesis chapter one (Genesis 1:1-5)

1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

Genesis tells us that before anything existed, when all that was, was darkness, even then, there was God. It was the Spirit of God that looked over the darkness, spoke into it, and created light.

Why is that important?

Because God’s spirit not only plays a part in creation, but also in Jesus’ baptism, and in the life of God’s people, and God’s church, in the present day.

In Mark 1:4-11, Jesus comes to John in the wilderness to be baptized and as we read, we witness something spectacular.

4 And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 6 John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

9 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

First, John declares that the Messiah, Jesus, would baptize his followers, not with water, but with the Holy Spirit. It is also worth mentioning, I think, that in Matthew’s account, John says that Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire which is the image that we are given at Pentecost.

Second, after Jesus is baptized, heaven opens, the Spirit of God descends upon him, and the Father speaks from heaven declaring that God loves his son Jesus and is pleased with him.

But again, why does that matter?

It matters because we begin to understand that the Spirit of God is not just an agent of creation, but is aware of what is happening on earth, and is an active participant in the events of earthly humanity.

But still, why is that important to us personally or corporately in the present?

And the answer to that is found in Luke’s letter to Theophilus, that we find in Acts 19:1-7 where we hear these words:

19:1 While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples 2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”

They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

3 So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?”

“John’s baptism,” they replied.

4 Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. 7 There were about twelve men in all.

This is important for several reasons. First, if we didn’t understand what John was saying at Jesus’ baptism, it is more obviously presented here and the point is that John’s baptism of repentance, what I’m calling “Baptism 1.0,” and the baptism that Jesus brings, “Baptism 2.0” are two different things. John’s water baptism was symbolic of a person’s desire to repent and make an outward sign that one intended to change the way that they lived. But the baptism of Jesus was, and is, a baptism of the Holy Spirit. This is the “baptism of fire” that was seen on the day of Pentecost when tongues of fire came down from heaven and entered each of the disciples and the others who were there with them. And, we believe, this is the baptism, most often without fire, that we receive, when we choose to follow Jesus and are baptized into his church.  This is much more than just an outward sign of repentance, although water baptism is that, but Baptism 2.0 is not just external and symbolic; it is also internally transformational because the Spirit of the living God enters into us and takes up residence within us. It is because God chooses to inhabit us, that he is daily able to be at work transforming us into the people be wants us to be, and to lead us, guide us, and empower us with his strength, his compassion, his patience, his endurance, and his love, to do the work that he has set before us to accomplish. It is because God inhabits us that we have the strength and wisdom to do things that we would otherwise believe to be impossible. It is God that gives us the courage to share the gospel with others, it is God that leads us to the people who need to hear his message, it is God who leads us to people who can teach us what we need to learn, it is God who gives us the strength to persist and to continue when we come to the end of our human strength, and it is God who goes with us and equips us to do his work in countless other ways.

Baptism 2.0 and the coming of the Holy Spirit is why the church is able to answer the call of God and do the work that God calls us to do, both as individuals and as a gathered church. It is the moment that God’s people move beyond “God with us” and begin a new life as we go into the world with “God in us.”

You wouldn’t send your children outside in the cold without a hat, coat, and gloves.

You wouldn’t leave on a long car trip without a full tank of gas.

You wouldn’t send an army into battle without food and ammunition.

And neither does God send you out into the world to do his work unequipped and unprepared.

That… is Baptism 2.0.

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*You have been reading a message presented at Christ United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page.  Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Christ UMC in Alliance, Ohio.  Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you.  Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 East Broadway Street, Alliance, Ohio 44601.  These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership.  You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at secretary@CUMCAlliance.org.  These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.com .  All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.comThe “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Pastor’s Christmas Letter

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Pastor’s Christmas Letter

by John Partridge

Dear Friends,

This year the Advent season seemed to sneak up on us faster than I remember others in the past and we are already racing towards Christmas. This seems to race even faster when our fourth Sunday of Advent falls on Christmas Eve morning. This feeling of hectic scheduling makes it even more important that we be deliberate in preparing ourselves for the celebration of our Lord’s birth. I don’t just mean buying presents and decorating our homes, but preparing our hearts and our souls so that we can enjoy and appreciate the arrival of the newborn king.

I admit that since I was in my twenties, and in most ordinary years, I struggled (past tense) and still struggle (present tense) with being a humbug. I just don’t “feel” Christmas-y.  Before Patti and I were married, I discovered that one way to fight back, and to start feeling the warmth of the holiday was to start listening to Christmas music after Thanksgiving, even if I didn’t feel like it.  More recently, with the loss of my hearing and music often sounding off-key, music hasn’t been as effective and so instead I make sure to decorate our Christmas tree, turn on the lights, and look at it for a while every evening.

But that isn’t enough. Because the Spirit of God dwells within each one of us as the followers of Jesus, when we are together, we feel the presence, not only of other people, but also the presence of God himself. And so, every Sunday, but especially during Advent, it is important for all of us to worship together, to simply be together, so that we can feel that sensation of closeness to God and prepare our hearts for Christmas. That closeness to God is real and, as important as it is to us personally, it’s important that we don’t keep it to ourselves.

Statistically, about one-third of, or one in three, people say that they would be willing to attend or visit a church if they were invited. That willingness is often highest at Christmastime. Christmas Eve is easily one of the most attended worship services of the year in almost every church in North America. And so, as I have in the past, I hope that each one of you will invite at least five others to join us. Toward that end, we have printed business cards that you can give to your friends, classmates, business associates, barber, hairdresser, grocery store clerk, or anybody else, and invite them to join us as we worship and celebrate Christmas Eve.

Christmas Eve and Christmas are a time when we draw close to one another, and draw close to God, in a way that is both special and memorable not just because of the people, but because it is a time when we encounter the Spirit of God in a special way. Of course, we will share the extraordinary experience of hearing our choirs, bell choirs, pipe organ, and singing traditional and meaningful carols of Christmas together. But most importantly, we will remember the story of God’s invasion of the earth and the arrival of the Christ child, who would become the rescuer and redeemer of all humanity.

I hope that you will join us as we draw closer one another, and closer to God, together.

Blessings,

Pastor John

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Past History, Future Vision

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Past History, Future Vision

(Trinity Sunday)

June 04, 2023*

By Pastor John Partridge

Genesis 1:1 – 2:4a                  Matthew 28:16-20                 2 Corinthians 13:11-13

There’s a phrase that often appears in our conversations, especially when we meet new people, friends that we haven’t seen for a long time, or find ourselves in new situations. This week I was asked, “Why did you go to the Holy Land?” But we’re also asked questions like, “How did you meet your significant other?” or, “How did you choose your career?” Or even as simple a question as, “How did you come to live in this place?” All these sorts of questions boil down to, “How did this start?” or “Tell me about the beginning of the story.” Whenever we struggle to understand, especially when we consider difficult or complex subjects, it almost invariably helps to begin at the beginning. This approach of “begin at the beginning,” is why Vince Lombardi, when addressing several dozen men, who were already professional football players, famously said, “Gentlemen, this is a football.” And so, as we celebrate Trinity Sunday, and consider the difficult meaning of trinity, it might well be helpful to begin at the beginning as we read from Genesis 1:1 – 2:4a.

1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

6 And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.

9 And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.

11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.

14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.

20 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” 23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.

24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

27 So God created mankind in his own image,
    in the image of God he created them;
    male and female he created them.

28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.

31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.

2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so, on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.

In the beginning… God.

In the beginning… God created.

In the beginning… God created the heavens and the earth.

In the beginning the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God hovered over the waters.

From the beginning, and even before the beginning, there was God. And with God, as co-creator of the universe, resided the Spirit of God. We understand that these foundational documents of the people of Israel have always been understood to be describing a single God and not two. From the time of antiquity until this very day, the people known as the Jews regularly recite the Shema, which is from Deuteronomy 6:4, which says, “4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” But even so, even in holding to a firm belief in monotheism, in the belief that there is only one God, Genesis still says that God created… and the Spirit of God hovered over the waters.

Let us consider these things, while we move forward to Matthew 28:16-20, as Jesus commissions his disciples into their life’s work, and offers instruction on the way in which baptism should be done.

16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

I honestly don’t know if there was any part of this that was provocative. Jesus had already died on the cross, been buried, rose from the dead on the third day, and was now making his final preparations to leave the earth. These were his final instructions, his last words, to his followers and as such, Christianity has always regarded them with special meaning, emphasis, and significance. And in these final moments on earth, Jesus says that his followers should “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” At that moment, Jesus, and all his disciples, were still profoundly, unmistakably, and devotedly… Jewish. Jesus was not saying that there was more than one god any more than the writers of Genesis were. It is likely that Jesus still regularly recited the Shema, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one…” Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Although the word that we use to describe it, “trinity” did not appear for another two hundred years when Tertullian began to use it to describe anything that came in sets of three, this understanding of God as three persons is fully formed well before the end of the New Testament. As we saw in Matthew, Jesus used the phrasing of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in his last instructions to the disciples, and it wasn’t an isolated incident. As Paul concludes his second letter to the church in Corinth, in 2 Corinthians 13:11-13, he expresses the same sentiment using the same sort of phrasing, but the way that he uses it seems to indicate that this idea had become normal, accepted, and common among the followers of Jesus Christ.

11 Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.

12 Greet one another with a holy kiss. 13 All God’s people here send their greetings.

14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

We have always been to followers of God. As believers in Jesus Christ, we have always been believers in the trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But as much as we use these words to define us, and as much as we struggle to explain the roles and the personalities of the three persons of the trinity, we continue to believe, as Jesus did, as the disciples did, and as the people of Israel always have, that we are monotheists, that we worship only one God and not three. Although we may not recite it with the regularity of our Jewish friends, we still hold tightly to the ancient phrasing of Deuteronomy and the Shema… “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.”

But let us never lose sight of our mission and the words that were so important, that Jesus used them in his last instructions to his disciples during his last moments on earth:

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

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*You have been reading a message presented at Christ United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page.  Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Christ UMC in Alliance, Ohio.  Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you.  Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 East Broadway Street, Alliance, Ohio 44601.  These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership.  You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at secretary@CUMCAlliance.org.  These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.com .  All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.comThe “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Obsessed With Christ

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Obsessed With Christ

June 06, 2022

Rev. Chris Martin

Always willing to dive back into worship preparation and preaching, my dear friend Rev. Chris Martin jumped at the chance to preach on Pentecost Sunday so he could fill in for me as Patti and I visited our son Jonah in Texas. I do not have the text of this message, but feel free to watch the video or listen to the podcast and find out why we should all be… Obsessed with Christ.

Click here to listen to the podcast

Click here to watch the video: https://youtu.be/1NsihTQKz28

Did you enjoy this?

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An Unexpected, Unconventional, Unorthodox God

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Click here to listen to the podcast

Click here to watch the livestream: https://youtu.be/Ul8hbloPTWA

Click here to watch the week’s Closing Challenge: https://youtu.be/utVLieQnAec

An Unexpected, Unconventional, Unorthodox God

May 22, 2022*

By Pastor John Partridge

John 14:23-29              Acts 16:9-15          Revelation 21:10, 22 – 22:5

Have you ever thought about the gods of the ancient world? 

I remember taking mythology in high school and although many of my classmates didn’t like it, and seemed to think that it was weird, I found it to be interesting, and I enjoyed it.  But, although those ancient Greek and Roman gods, as well as the gods of Israel’s neighbors, are not something we think about often, they can add to our understanding of the God of Israel that we find in the Old and New Testaments.   The reason that the gods of the ancient world add to our understanding, is because when we spend all our time studying and discussing the God of Israel, we are deceived into thinking that Israel’s God was normal.  So, let’s be clear, Israel’s God is not normal.

The gods and goddesses of the ancient world, like Zeus, Poseidon, Demeter, Mars, and the rest, often behaved badly, cheated, had affairs and illegitimate children, acted on whims and were often moody, and unpredictable.  These gods ruled by intimidation and fear and demanded sacrifices and gifts simply to appease them.  Failing to appease them could mean that they would be angry and refuse to help.  The same was true for Baal, the god of the Philistines, as well as other gods of that region such as Chemosh, Dagon, and the fertility goddess Ashtoreth.  These gods demanded sacrifices, sometimes blood or human sacrifices, to ensure safety or a good harvest.

But Israel’s God was different.  From the beginning, particularly as we watch the story of the family of Abraham, the God of Israel begins his relationship with his people from a position of love and compassion.  God cares about his people and their children and does good things for them long before they do anything for him in return.  We see this difference illustrated in the gospel of John 14:23-29 as he shares these words of Jesus:

23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

28 “You heard me say, ‘I am going away, and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe.

Jesus says that if we love him, we will obey his teaching.  Jesus doesn’t say that if we fear him, we will obey, or if we want a successful harvest, or if we want safe travel, or if we want to appease an angry god, then we should do these things.  Jesus says that our obedience should grow, not out of fear or intimidation, but out of love.  And, when Jesus explains that he is leaving, he promises to send the Holy Spirit to teach us all things and remind us of everything that Jesus said to us.  The Spirit of God is sent, and does its work, before we even have the opportunity to do anything in return.  Moreover, Jesus says that the gift that he leaves with his followers, is not a gift of victory, wealth, abundance, or safety, but instead is the gift of peace and the absence of fear. 

In the world of history, and among the gods of the world, our God is unconventional.  In fact, our God is so unorthodox, that even those who have dedicated their lives to following and to studying, are still surprised by the way God chooses to do things.  In Acts 16:9-15, the Apostle Paul, and those who traveled with him, were surprised because, once again, God chose to turn their preconceived notions of orthodoxy on their heads.  Luke records this story:

9 During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

11 From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day we went on to Neapolis. 12 From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony, and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.

13 On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. 14 One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. 15 When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.

There are several things in this story that are surprising and/or unexpected.  In Paul’s vision, he is called to Macedonia by a man and so he almost certainly expects to find one there when he arrives, but no one introduces themselves, and unlike the stories we’ve heard in recent weeks of both Paul’s Damascus road experience and Peter’s call to preach to the Gentiles, no one in Macedonia introduces themselves, and God does not direct them to anyone specifically.  Failing that, Paul and his team wait until the Sabbath and visit the river because traditionally, persons of the Jewish faith would meet at the river, likely because it was peaceful, but also because it was “living water” and provided a means of purification before worship. 

But when they walk along the river, with every expectation that they would find worshiping Jews, they, again, find no men.  They do, however, find some women, and one of them, Lydia, is either Jewish, or was otherwise sympathetic to, and a follower of, Israel’s God.  Lydia also is a business owner, a person of some wealth, and the head of her household.  She listens to Paul’s message, comes to faith in Jesus Christ, asks to be baptized, leads here entire household to faith and baptism, invites Paul and his team to stay in her home, and becomes the leader of the new church movement in Macedonia. 

None of this was what Paul or the other Jewish men expected, none of it was traditional, none of it followed the pattern of orthodox Jewish thinking, but it illustrates that our God often works in ways that are unexpected and unconventional.  And that pattern continues throughout scripture and even to the end of time described by John in Revelation 21:10, 22 – 22:5 where he says:

10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.

22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. 27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

22:1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

Once again, this is a passage that we’ve read so many times that we no longer notice that there is anything unusual in it.  Through sheer repetition, the extraordinary is reduced to boring and yawn-inducing normality.  So, let’s back up and consider why John’s description is so unorthodox and unconventional.  John’s vision begins normally enough as he is carried to a great high mountain to see the Holy City of God.  That was normal.  The Temple in Jerusalem, as well as the Parthenon in Greece, and many other Jewish and pagan temples and places of worship are found on mountaintops because if the gods lived somewhere “up there” in the sky, then, logically, human beings were closer to the gods when they were on the top of a mountain, right?

But this mountain was not stationary but was coming down out of heaven.  Other than superhero movies and other works of fiction, mountains don’t come down out of the sky.  Even stranger, is that the Holy City doesn’t have a temple.  In John’s world, and in ours, every major city had a temple of some sort, and one would assume that a holy city would have one.  But no.  No temples, no synagogues, no cathedrals, no churches, zip, nothing, nada.  And the reason, is because that God himself, and the Lamb, his Son Jesus Christ, are the temple.  Why go to church to worship Jesus when you can meet Jesus face-to-face? 

And if that wasn’t enough, there is a river that flows out of the throne of God, trees that provide food to eat all year-round, gates that never close because there is no fear of an enemy attack, a tree that offers healing to people and nations, a day that never sees nighttime or darkness, and everything about it represents a place of goodness, righteousness, and purity that is without fear, and where life, the city itself, and everything in it, is designed, and expected, to last forever.

In every generation from Adam, to Abraham, to David, to Jesus, the disciples, Paul, and to us today, our God is different.  Human beings have always tried and have always failed to put God in a box.  Our God doesn’t demand obedience, as a payment in exchange for services.  Our God loves us, first, last, and always.  Our God asks us to follow him, asks us to love him, and asks us to serve him, not because we fear him, but because we’ve grown to love him, trust him, and be grateful to him for the love that God has already shown to us even before we knew him, and even when we were completely unlovable.

Our God isn’t like other gods.

Our God isn’t like the box that we try to squeeze him into.

Our God is unexpected, unconventional, unorthodox, and loves us first, last, and always.

And, when we have felt his love for us, only then can we hear him asking if we might love him in return.

And so, the question that I ask you today is this, do you love God?  Do you love God enough to follow him, and to trust him?  Do you love God enough to obey his instructions and commands?

And, if so, will you love the people around you, people you don’t know, people who are different from you, people who think differently than you, people who you might not even like very much, people in other communities, other states, and other countries?  Will you love them so much that they can feel God’s love for them?

Because only then, will they be able to hear his voice.

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*You have been reading a message presented at Christ United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page.  Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Christ UMC in Alliance, Ohio.  Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you.  Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 East Broadway Street, Alliance, Ohio 44601.  These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership.  You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at secretary@CUMCAlliance.org.  These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.com .  All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.

The Fire of Change

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The fire of change (a picture of fire)
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The Fire of Change

May 15, 2022*

By Pastor John Partridge

Acts 11:1-18

Last week I shared a little about what is happening in our United Methodist denomination and what may or may not happen in the future.  We are still at a place where much can change, and the situation could be quite different after the next General Conference in 2024.  In the end, we still have no idea how that might affect us here at Christ Church but regardless of what happens, we can anticipate that whatever happens, there will, eventually, be some significant, and dramatic changes. 

And it was last week’s conversation that struck me as I read this week’s scripture from Luke’s account of the Acts of the Apostles contained in Acts 11:1-18 where he says this:

11:1 The apostles and the believers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him 3 and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.”

4 Starting from the beginning, Peter told them the whole story: 5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance, I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where I was. 6 I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles, and birds. 7 Then I heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.’

8 “I replied, ‘Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’

9 “The voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’ 10 This happened three times, and then it was all pulled up to heaven again.

11 “Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying. 12 The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. 13 He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. 14 He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.’

15 “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. 16 Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?”

18 When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.”

As I read this, I noticed something that we often skip past, and when I thought about it, that one thing reframed how I thought about the entire passage.  The thing that we often fail to notice is in the very beginning when it says who had heard about what Peter was doing.  It says that “the apostles and the believers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles” had received the word of God.  When they heard these stories, they summoned Peter and criticized him for preaching to uncircumcised men or, in other words, Gentiles or, you know, those people.  That doesn’t seem too surprising, but remembering that among the people having this conversation with Peter were the apostles, the eleven disciples of Jesus, and the other believers who were among those men and women who personally knew Jesus, their presence then becomes important to understanding Peter’s explanation of what he did, what he saw, and what happened.

And then we get to verse fifteen, Peter says that as he was speaking to the Gentiles that had gathered in Caesarea and “the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning.”  And this is where it’s important to remember who was there.  It was the disciples and the early followers of Jesus that were listening.  When Peter says that the Spirit of God came upon the Gentiles just as it had come upon them, we remember that on the day of Pentecost, the Spirit came with a “sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.”  And so, when Peter tells them that this is exactly the way that it happened to the Gentiles, this is what they all remember and I’m certain that’s why this passage concludes by saying, “When they heard this, they had no further objections.”

I’m certain, that the day, and the events, of Pentecost were something that none of them could ever forget.  And hearing that the same thing had happened to the Gentiles immediately eliminated any other objections that they might have had as faithful, orthodox, and practicing Jews.  It was obvious that the world was changing in ways that none of them had ever expected, or even imagined.  But the message was also clear, that God was at work and that God could be found within those changes.

Today we are facing profound challenges and a world that is changing in ways that we never expected or imagined.  The Covid-19 pandemic has changed, and continues to change, the world around us.  The war in Ukraine has sent ripples of change around the world that has impacted fuel prices, supply chains, caused shortages in diapers, baby formula, fresh vegetables, sound system components, paper, floor wax, and all sorts of other things.  And as we continue to watch the unfolding drama within our own denomination, regardless of where the future may carry us, the one thing of which we can be certain, is that we will see profound change.

But as we face these changes, and as we leave the old “normal” behind us forever, there remains one thing of which we can always be certain.

God is at work in the world and God can always be found within the changes.

Rather than worrying and living in fear, let us instead look for God, look to see what God is doing in the world, and seek to understand what work that God has for us to do as we move forward into a new normal.

Did you enjoy this?

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*You have been reading a message presented at Christ United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page.  Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Christ UMC in Alliance, Ohio.  Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you.  Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 East Broadway Street, Alliance, Ohio 44601.  These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership.  You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at secretary@CUMCAlliance.org.  These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.com .  All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.

Hope Squared

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Hope Squared

May 23, 2021*

(Pentecost)

 By Pastor John Partridge

John 15:26 – 16:15                 Acts 2:1-21                             Romans 8:22-27

Have you ever experienced a moment in your life when everything changed?

It happens in our personal lives, it happens in warfare, it happens in the lives of nations, and it has happened, just a few times, in the spiritual world as well.

Often, the moment when our first child is placed into our arms changes us forever.  Our goals, our direction, our purpose… everything changes.

In war, we saw moments like those at D-Day, at the battle of Midway, and Tet Offensive.  Something changed in the tempo, the tide, or the will of nations, and the entire war pivoted in those moments.

In scripture we see those same sorts of pivotal moments in the Garden of Eden, God’s covenant with Abraham, the birth and death of Jesus, and on the day we celebrate today, at Pentecost.  It was at Pentecost, with the coming of the Spirit of God, that our relationship with God, and God’s relationship with the world, changed forever.  But before we get too far down that road, let’s remember how it all happened.  Let’s start with the promise that Jesus made to his disciples in John 15:26 – 16:15:

15:26 “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. 27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.

16:1 “All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. 2 They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. 3 They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me.

4 I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them. I did not tell you this from the beginning because I was with you, 5 but now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things. 7 But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because people do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”

Jesus promises that after he returns to heaven, he will send the Advocate, the Comforter, the Holy Spirit of God (whichever adjective you prefer) to testify about him, to encourage us, to help us to remember what we have been taught, to prove to the world that it was wrong when they believed that Jesus was not the Messiah, and to lead us to truths that Jesus didn’t have the time to teach, and which the world was not yet ready to hear.  As if often the case, the disciples had a hard time understanding what any of that meant.  But whether they understood it or not, they did as Jesus told them and, after Jesus ascended into heaven, they stayed together in Jerusalem, worshiping in the temple, and praying together, until the day of Pentecost came… and the world changed… again (Acts 2:1-21).

2:1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tonguesas the Spirit enabled them.

5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”

14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

17 “‘In the last days, God says,
    I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
    your young men will see visions,
    your old men will dream dreams.
18 Even on my servants, both men and women,
    I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
    and they will prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in the heavens above
    and signs on the earth below,
    blood and fire and billows of smoke.
20 The sun will be turned to darkness
    and the moon to blood
    before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
21 And everyone who calls
    on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

Throughout the Old Testament, and up until this moment in the New Testament, the Spirit of God is something that is said to “come upon” a person for a moment in time.  Prophets would occasionally be filled with the Spirit long enough to prophecy, or to perform a miracle, or in the case of Samson, to lift heavy objects.  But suddenly everything changes.  The paradigm shifts.  Jesus returns to heaven and sends the Spirit to earth, not for a moment, and not into a single person, but for every follower of Jesus, for all time.  Not just the eleven disciples, but all the followers of Jesus, men, and women, probably numbering at least seventy, gather in prayer and suddenly witness fire that roars down from heaven and comes to rest on each and every one of them.  And immediately, the get up on their feet, go down in the street, and tell the world about the story of Jesus in every language, of every nation, of every person that is gathered there.  Some people hear the babbling of so many languages and assume that the speakers are just drunk, but Peter, the guy that denied Jesus three times, and who only days before, was practically terrified of his own shadow, stands up in front of the entire crowd and declares that these things are all happening because God is, even at that moment, fulfilling the promises made to the people of Israel through the prophet Joel by pouring out his Spirit on all people.

But, as we seem to ask every week, who cares?  Why does it matter?  How do the events of 2000 years ago have anything to do with us today?  And in anticipation of those exact sort of questions, once again Paul writes this answer in Romans 8:22-27:

22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

The story of scripture is a story of hope.  God’s people always had hope.  They had hope in God.  And, through the prophets, they had hope in a savior, rescuer, and Messiah that would come to save them return God’s favor to Israel.

But Paul says that the whole of creation has been groaning, as if it were in labor to deliver a baby, from the time of creation right up until the present time.  And even though we have faith in Jesus, and have been rescued by him, we continue to wait, expectantly, for something better.  We have hope for a better future.  We have hope for our resurrection and our future life in the perfect home that God is preparing for us.  Our hope lies in our adoption into God’s family but hope for the future and resurrection is not our only hope.  While we are still here, while we are still living in our imperfect physical bodies, the Spirit of God that lives within us helps us in all our weakness.  Even when we are so overwhelmed by grief, pain, suffering, confusion, exhaustion, anger, and other human weaknesses, God’s spirit intercedes for us and lifts prayers to God when our minds fail to string words together with any sense and all we can do is groan.  The Spirit knows us so intimately, that even when we don’t know what to say, or how to say it, even when we can’t form words, that spirit intercedes for us, praying to God for us, forming words from our pain, and praying our prayers to God for us when we cannot.

History pivots at Pentecost.

Throughout scripture, the hope of God’s people was distant.  That somehow, someday, God would rescue them.  That maybe God would send a prophet to give them guidance and wisdom.  That someday, the Messiah would come.

And then Jesus came, and we had the hope of a better future in eternity… someday.

But at Pentecost our hope was multiplied.

Not just hope for the future, but also hope for today.

Hope multiplied.

Hope squared.

From the moment of Pentecost until now we not only have the incredible hope of adoption into God’s family, and not only the hope of redemption and eternity, but the knowledge and the hope that right now, in every moment that we live, the Spirit of God is active in our lives, drawing us closer to Jesus, guiding us, granting us wisdom, revealing truth to us, and even teaching us things that we couldn’t bear to hear even a moment earlier.

Pentecost was a moment that history pivots.

The world changed forever.

Not just hope. 

Hope multiplied.

Hope squared.

So much hope that we just have to share it with others.

You can find the video of this worship service here: https://youtu.be/RobKQxOUi6w

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*You have been reading a message presented at Christ United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page.  Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Christ UMC in Alliance, Ohio.  Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you.  Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 East Broadway Street, Alliance, Ohio 44601. These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership.  You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at secretary@CUMCAlliance.org.  If you have questions, you can ask them in our discussion forum on Facebook (search for Pastor John Online).  These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.wordpress.com/. All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.