Kingdomtide begins Sunday
Archive for the ‘holidays’ Category
Second Suday of Pentecost-Trinity Sunday-June 4
The Second Sunday of Pentecost is Trinity Sunday when Christians celebrate the Trinity, (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). The Jews dealt with God the Father through the priests and prophets, and occasionally through Angels sent to deliver messages. Then Jesus came in bodily form to show us the nature of the Father in a way we could understand. Finally, at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came to guide us and give us power in restoring the Kingdom of God. The disciples were transformed when they received the Holy Spirit and received power to go out and proclaim the Gospel. Many churches ignore the celebration of Pentecost as they no longer emphasize to new birth in Christ and lives of members differ little from unbelievers around them. The church needs to get a new sense of the changing power of the Holy Spirit.
Ascension Sunday-May 21
The seventh Sunday of Eastertide is Ascension Sunday when we celebrate Christ’s return to heaven. When Christ finished giving His disciples their assignment, He ascended into heaven, leaving them to carry on the work until He returns (Acts1:7-11). Many think that Jesus gave the command to make disciples just to the original twelve disciples. However, Jesus makes it clear in the parable of the talents (Math. 25:14-30) that He is talking about all who serve Him. He does not say the master gave his possessions to the head steward or to some of his servants, He says the master gave his possessions to his servants. Apparently, he distributed his possessions among all of them. Jesus was leaving His disciples and entrusted them to carry on His work. He has given everyone talents to help build His kingdom. Some have many talents, some have very few. One day those who are in Christ will stand before Him to give an account of how we used the talents He gave us. How we use those talents will determine our eventual reward. If we use those talents abundantly, He will reward us abundantly but if we squander them, we will receive little or no reward when He returns.
Easter Sunday-April 9
Easter Sunday– Color is White symbolizing the purity of Christ and the new believer, washed in the blood of Christ. Easter was an important time for baptism in the early church because it celebrates the death and resurrection of Christ and reenacts the new believer’s death and resurrection in Christ. It is a new beginning, washed in the blood of Christ, but it is not the end. That new life does not come full blown and complete. We must begin to grow into what Christ wants for us, just as a child grows to maturity.
Fourth Sunday of Lent-Mar 19
Matt. 6: 19-21- True Treasure- The Scriptures say, “Don’t lay up treasures for yourself on earth where moth and rust consume and thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves can not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will be your heart also. Why lay up treasures that won’t last (material goods), when you can stockpile treasures that will last forever (souls saved). Our society measures people by the size of their bank account, which may disappear in an instant but God measures us by our devotion to serving Him. Many Christians will find themselves paupers in heaven because they did not lay up treasures for eternity. You can not take what you gather on earth with you when you go, but you can send treasure ahead for when you get there.
Previous Posts-3/15
This is the Third in the series of previous posts and highlights
Kingdomtide, Final Harvest, meaning of holidays, holiday intro-video
Click on the links below to access those series.