June 9, 2019: The Source of Our Power

fire pit

Day of Pentecost

Power from on high: wind, fire, preaching, speaking in tongues—it is the Christian Pentecost, the birth of the church! It involved many different prophecies coming together, and coming true, all at the same time! John the Baptist foretold that Jesus would baptize “with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matthew 3:11). Then before his ascension to heaven, Jesus told the disciples to “wait for the gift my Father promised. . . . in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:4–5).

The source of power in our Moravian Church is not found in our traditions, our history, our theological heritage, or our biblical intellect. It is in the Holy Spirit! When we read about our Moravian brothers and sisters in the eighteenth-century renewal period, we can see that they had an intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit. How much have we drifted from this abiding connection in our churches today? Pastor and author Francis Chan wrote The Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit to highlight our deep need in the American church to get reacquainted with the Holy Spirit.

In our designated Gospel reading for today, Jesus is reminding us as his disciples that we are not alone. The divine gift of the Holy Spirit, our Advocate, is with us! (John 14:16, 26). We can also translate the term “Advocate” as “Helper.” I like that! We all need help, don’t we? The third person of the Trinity—God the Holy Spirit—desires to encounter, fill, and lead us every day.

Pray for the Pentecostal power and empowering help of the Holy Spirit to thrive in our church . . . and in you!

Andy Kilps, pastor, Hope Moravian Church 
Hope, Indiana