Pentecost Blessings

Being a retired preacher means it is not necessary to go to the church where you preach. I suppose after over forty years of listening to myself preach, it was time to listen to someone else have a go at it.  Retirement not only provides the opportunity of choosing, but also of going to more than one service of worship on the same Sunday morning.  Pentecost Sunday seemed like a good Sunday to exercise that privilege.  What was discovered was a Sunday of double blessing.  

The first church visited was one that had no denominational sign out front.  The worship was what is characterized as contemporary worship. The music though not preferred by this lover of the hymn book was good and the preaching was a strong Biblical message about Pentecost.  I saw some old friends there which was a blessing.  Another blessing came when I saw my name on their prayer list.  Once again I was humbled to the point of tears that my name had been called in these recent months of being treated for prostate cancer.  Overwhelmed was I when I introduced myself to someone and was told, "We have been praying for you.  May I share how God has answered our prayers?"  

The second worship service came later in a church where the sign matched my ordination papers.  "People Need the Lord," a favorite song that goes way back in my ministry was sung by the choir.  This preacher, too, thundered the Pentecost text from the second chapter of Acts.  An image he used which I hurriedly scratched on an offering envelope was framed inside the words, "The day when God showed up."  I carried the words home in my shirt pocket and in my heart.  It warms my heart and blesses me greatly to know that there are young preachers in the church where I have preached over forty years who are taking seriously the mantle of preaching for another generation.  "Bless us, O God of wind and fire!"