Sermons for the Month

It Only Takes A Spark To Get A Fire Going
DATE: May 30th, 2004
SERVICE: The Day of Pentecost
TEXT: Acts 2:1-21

“To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN

"It only takes a spark to get a fire going…." Those are the opening lyrics of a song that was considered contemporary in church circles more than 20 years ago. I know that they have religious significance, but when I hear those words I think of July 4 on the farm.

I don't know if it's still true in Nebraska, but in my childhood a person could buy fireworks of every variety and shoot them off at will. However, if we happened to be visiting my grandparents' farm there were strong admonitions concerning where and when fireworks could be launched.

The stated concern did not have to do with lost fingers - I guess we were given more credit than we might have been due when it came to common sense. Instead, the fear had to do with burning down the wheat field just as it was ready to be harvested. One little spark and who knows how many acres could be set aflame. There would be no way to stop it.

In a way, that's a good image for what happened on Pentecost. Those divided tongues that appeared among the followers of Jesus indicated the presence of the Holy Spirit. The fire was lit. Since Easter we have been talking about what happened when those first believers were filled, that is fired up by the Holy Spirit. Not only on the day of Pentecost when they were given the ability to proclaim God's deeds of power in a variety of languages, but as the days and weeks and years wore on, the Christian faith did not just sizzle, it exploded.

The church expanded during the first 30 years beyond Palestine to Italy and Spain. As one writer described it, "From farm to farm, village to village and town to town, it was absolutely incredible, (the word) spread across the whole known world." It was not just those who were closest to Jesus who proclaimed the Good News, but people who had never seen the Lord, who had not talked with him in person, they too were filled with the Holy Spirit and kept the fire burning.

So it has been through the ages, and it is still true in this century. Especially in Africa and South America the Christian church is expanding. I remember reading a few years ago that in one day on this planet 63,000 people are baptized into the Christian faith and that 1600 new congregations are formed. Who knows if those numbers are accurate, but if they are even close we can rejoice that the fire has not gone out.

However, in the United States, the Christian faith has not been expanding and our country is now considered a mission field for people coming from around the world. I guess that's good news and bad news. It's bad news because there are many, many people who have not been impacted by the grace of God in Jesus Christ, and it is good news because there are abundant opportunities for that love to be shared. But, where does one start?

Do you remember that song I mentioned earlier? The first verse goes like this, "It only takes a spark to get a fire going, and soon all those around are warmed up in its glowing, that's how it is with God's love, once you've experienced it, you share his love with everyone, you want to pass it on." The sharing of God's love starts with the spark of the Holy Spirit creating a fire within the people of God. Those two things - the Holy Spirit and people - are the starting point.

Well … we have people who are filled with the Holy Spirit, so what's next as we pass on the Good News? I've been reading a book about an ELCA congregation that asked, "What's next?" It's titled, Reclaiming the "L" Word: Renewing the Church from its Lutheran Core" by Kelly A. Fryer.

The book tells the story of Cross of Glory Lutheran Church in Lockport, Illinois where the author is pastor. One of the truths that she discovered in the midst of congregational transition, and conflict, was, to quote her, "What we do as God's people through Jesus and what we do as a church together has to start with a solid understanding of who we are." So, that Church Council spent a lot of time and energy talking about the things that were important to them. They studied scripture, reviewed the ancient creeds and the Lutheran confessions.

Out of all that they came up with five guiding principles that are purposely simple so that even the children can memorize them. These principles provide direction at every turning point, Pastor Fryer said.

I'm going to share them with you, but let me note that they are copyrighted by Kelly Fryer and Cross of Glory Lutheran Church, so we cannot use them without their permission. They are: 1. Jesus is Lord. 2. Everyone is welcome. 3. Love changes people. 4. Everybody has something to offer. 5. The world needs what we have.

It seems to me that those five guiding principles pretty much sum up what we've been talking about during this Easter season. The resurrected Jesus is our Lord; he's is our first priority and he's the one in charge. The forgiving grace of God in Jesus is God's gift to all people, and those who are touched by God's grace are transformed. They are transformed to live and to give of themselves for sake of a world that desperately needs the life-changing power and presence of our living Lord. Or, to put it more simply, Jesus is Lord. Everyone is welcome. Love changes people. Everybody has something to offer. The world needs what we have.

Now it seems to me if you take the spark of the Holy Spirit burning within the people of God who know who they are and devote themselves to basic guiding principles the result would be not just a fire, but an explosion.

That's what we are praying for, working toward, looking forward to here at Faith Lutheran Church - an explosion . We should expect it if we really put Jesus first and act as if all are welcome, as if people need us and as if everyone has something to offer. (Remember … do not get too comfortable.)

So … in order to survive the explosion we need some guidance in how to act. Pastor Fryer recommends doing what the early church did, as it's described in the Book of Acts. (What a relief that that's what we've been focusing on for seven weeks!) Cross of Glory Lutheran Church developed five strategic behaviors (which also are copyrighted) based on Acts. They are: 1. Pray always. 2. Set people free. 3. Take action. 4. Expect surprises. 5. Be hopeful. In other words, we put everything in God's hands, we empower people, we stop hesitating and are prepared for the unexpected as we respond to God's call. And, always, always we trust in God.

These behaviors, and others like them, will create a life-giving rather than destructive explosion, like the one which set the world on fire with the Good News on Pentecost.

All that I've been talking about today is nothing new, these principle and behaviors come right from scripture and reflect what happened when the Christian church was born. It only took a spark then - the spark of the Holy Spirit - to get the fire going. That flame of the Good News continues to burn through us … pass it on.

AMEN

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