Christmas Carols in May?
When you come to church Sunday, you will wonder if you’ve skipped about seven months. You will see candles, hear Christmas carols… and likely be confused. What’s going on?
This Sunday is Pentecost, the celebration of the coming of the Holy Spirit as recounted in Acts chapter 2. Jesus told his disciples to wait in Jerusalem until the Spirit had come upon them with power. Boy, did He! Tongues of fire dancing on heads, people proclaiming the gospel in languages they had never learned, foreigners being converted in droves…. 3000 of them in total. And the Church was launched!
But as we will see in the sermon, if Jesus had not departed, that would not have happened. He told his disciples he must return to the Father so that he could send his Spirit to indwell them. It was a tradeoff: they could have the human/divine Jesus on earth—and hog him to themselves—or they could release him so that he could come again in the Spirit for everyone, everywhere.
You see, it’s not so crazy. Christmas celebrates the first coming of Jesus in human form. Pentecost celebrates the coming of the Spirit of Jesus. So, we will have Christmas on Pentecost. Come, wear red, and be ready to sing your favorite carols. And don’t forget your candle… a candle that will stand on its own. We’ll explain when you get here!
Couple other things: Chapel Hill will be well represented in this year’s Gig Harbor parade on June 1, including the premier of The Chapel Hill-Billies Precision Marching Wheelbarrow Team. Please come in your favorite Chapel Hill tee shirt—Go Sunday, Mexico, Run for Burma… we’ve had a bunch of them—and root on your fellow Chapel Hillbillies as we bless our community!
And finally, great news: 481 completed the survey. Well over the amount needed for a good sample. Nicely done, Chapel Hill. We’ll update you on the results as soon as we get them.
“Joy to the world, the Lord is come!”
Pastor Mark
P.S. Our fiscal year ends June 30. We need a generous surge to meet our ministry goals for the year. Please, if you don’t ordinarily give, take the plunge! And if you do, thanks for prayerfully considering a strong year-end extra donation. We will use your gifts well, I promise!