Psalm 104:24-34, Acts 2:1-21 and John 15:26-27

You would have to use some imagination (as well as reading the histories) to get a grasp of the establishment of our congregations Locks Memorial and Kedron back in the early 1800s! The birth of two Methodist churches on the Tennessee frontier. A Pentecost of sorts for the people whom God called to worship and minister in this part of middle Tennessee. And to this day, they worship and serve the people in the name of God.

Any church survives and thrives by being given both the “gifts of the Spirit” and the “fruit of the Spirit.” On the first day of Pentecost Jesus bestows the Spirit on His Church with the expectation it will have the God-given power to continue till the End of Time as we know it.

And this has been the case with the witness of Locks and Kedron over the generations. And alongside hundreds of other Methodist congregations in our District and Conference. And we also share and observe the ministries of numerous other denominations in our community. In spite of alarming reports of church decline, we still see the work of the Sprit in our lives. Where would any of us be without the Spirit?!

Sunday we will celebrate the birthday AND anniversary of the Church and congregational expression of the Church. We are in an Age when the Church takes on many forms and identities. Nevertheless, it won’t be the Church if the Spirit’s fruits and gifts are absent. Let us pray for the Spirit’s presence wherever we walk by faith and live as the Church!

Blessings!

Pastor Barry †