"Alternative Fuel"

Pastor Laura Guy

May 23, 2010

Here's an instant replay of what happened in worship:

We watched a video with a dramatic reading of the story of Pentecost from Acts 2.
We thought about the search for alternative fuels, and even heard about a promising future fuel that would be made from carbon dioxide in the air! Making fuel out of air is nothing new for the Holy Spirit! That's what happened at Pentecost.
We thought about Peter and how the last words he spoke in Luke's Gospel were the words that denied Jesus. Yet, here he is in Acts 2, preaching about Jesus on a streetcorner. When he was out of spiritual steam, the Holy Spirit became his alternative fuel. The photo in the corner reminds us what can happen when the living water of Jesus is set over the flame of the Holy Spirit - something is cooking!
We heard about churches in the middle ages who had Holy Spirit holes in the ceiling to remind people that we need to be open to the Spirit. On Pentecost, they would release doves through the holes and people would drop rose petals from the holes to symbolize the tongues of fire that came down on the disciples.
We heard a quote that said, "If the Holy Spirit were taken out of the Church, 95% of what we're doing would go on." In other words, we're only using 5% Spirit power! We pray that isn't true for Living Water or for us as individuals, but what if it is? Do we need to punch some Holy Spirit holes in our lives?
We acknowledged the work of the Spirit especially in the life of Bethany Guy as she begins a summer of mission work in Haiti. Accepting this opportunity for ministry was not the easy choice or the convenient one, and she will need the alternative fuel of the Spirit to get her through. We prayed a commissioning prayer for her. But what about us? Would we say "yes" if the Spirit blew a ministry opportunity into our laps?
We prayed that we would tap into the power of the Spirit.
We celebrated communion, praying that the Holy Spirit would fill the bread and cup and fill us.