As the day of Pentecost approaches, we reflect. The geographical and economic changes to our lives became the physical evidence that we are moved in multitude of ways that keep us holding on to the promises of God all the more.

The challenge of facing the unknown is for the strengthening of our hope in God’s grace; trusting in the power of His word through the life changing resurrection of Jesus Christ. What scriptures says about the working of Christ takes on new deeper meanings when the Incarnate Christ comes alive through our struggles with the everyday. The importance of the Holy Spirit in my self-conscious has taken on greater significance as I prepare myself for sharing this coming Sunday at Eufaula United Methodist Church with Rev. John Breon and the “unsuspecting” congregation. I say unsuspecting because they have no idea what’s going to happen to all of us this Pentecost. Actually, I hope we get blown out of our pews.

That the Holy Spirit would come alive in the most visually stimulating and intimate worship experience is all I ask for:

I believe that we completely underestimate the power of God’s word when we year after year read and hear the “same old” story told the same old humdrum way. Sometimes the public reading of scripture lacks the intimacy to be personal for the liturgist, not to mention the lethargic parishioners’ head-bobbing in the pews. I’ve found making it intimately personal for me makes the hearing of it a surprise that catches the listeners attention. Inserting my own name, the name of the church, or the name of our town in place of those listed in verses can be pleasing to the ear. Being courageous with the imagination that God blessed our minds with could stretch out “that old time religion” in ways that we would have never thought possible, or dared plausible. Something has to push us to that point of experiencing the drastic unknown especially when it comes to our church participation because if left up to us, we would rather not take the trouble to stir ourselves up out of our comfortable predictable religiosity. Awareness of God has diminished so much we think everything is alright between the Creator and creation. We need an experience of going back to that very first day of Pentecost more than once a year, when the Holy Spirit thundered and crackled out of heavens glory and exploded on that mild mannered, well meaning, and fearful congregation of missional do-gooders.

Well, that may not happen to us on Sunday but what if…

There is a new business line just for Padilla of San Felipe: (405) 445-7498. Leave your name, number and message so we would be informed of your call or order whether we are in the studio or on the road doing shows.