Sunday, May 19, 2013

Ohio United Presbyterian Church

Today we worshiped at Ohio United Presbyterian Church, 1236 Longvue Avenue, Aliquippa, PA 15001, 724.378, www.ohiopresbyterian.org, Rev. Eric Powell, Interim Pastor.


Scripture:

Joel 2:28-32
“And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the Lord has said, even among the survivors whom the Lord calls.

Acts 2:1-13
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappodocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs – we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”


Bob’s thoughts:

It is always interesting to me how one of us might remember a church we visited while the other has no memory of it. This is a lot of the reason we gave in to doing this blog.

I was hoping we would be led to a church that acknowledges Pentecost, and for a change we were not the only ones wearing red – even the sermon was based on the birth of the Church. It was nice to have more than just a casual mention of the event.

When the screen went up after the announcements, a large cross was revealed, so I was pleased. We arrived early and after a quick look around, we took seats in the sanctuary but no one noticed.

A highlight was a special music piece by the choir; not only did they sound good together but their passion and joy were evident. It was a great addition to the worship service. We also had the joy to witness new members joining church.

The sermon was about Pentecost and started with the condition of the eleven disciples. They had just come from this unbelievable high of seeing and breaking bread with the Risen Christ. To have had this time after witnessing His crucifixion must have been an incredible range of emotions, from the lowest of lows to the highest possible high.

It made me think of new Christians who are on fire with the Holy Spirit, and we are stagnated to the excitement when we should be allowing that fire to rekindle the spirit within us. Ashamedly, we live in one of the fertile mission fields. Our Malawian friends were quick to recognize this when they would visit and bring Christ with them.

If we witness and are mocked for Christ, we should count it as a blessing.

There were no instructions for Communion: the elements were passed silently and taken when received. This made me realize I miss the connection of partaking together. The pastor appeared to offer the bread and cup verbally.

There was a woman nearby with two young children whom I felt God was leading me to pray with and for, but she slipped away before I could ask. I did look downstairs even though we were not invited.


Jan’s thoughts:

We wanted to worship at a church that observes Pentecost so I searched for one that mentioned it on their website. It is surprising how few churches recognize this vital day in the life of our faith.

We last visited this church in May 2010 not long before their current interim pastor began his work here. It’s a pretty church, well kept, and very friendly with each other…only two people spoke to us though.

Little time was spent on announcements since they were displayed on the screen prior to the beginning of worship. The bulletin is full and informative and easy to use.

We were privileged to witness the confirmands taking their public vows, along with the stepdad of one of the confirmands. This brought back fond memories for me of when Bob and one of our daughters joined church together one Pentecost Sunday many years ago.

The volume of the choir took me by surprise as they sang a spirit-filled rendition of “Revive Us Again” with energy and enthusiasm.

The sermon, “The Coming of the Holy Spirit,” detailed the story of Pentecost from the prophecy of Joel to the event itself to the current spiritual lack in Western Europe and North America. He ended by asking those assembled, “How much do you want God in your life?” He declared that “Jesus gave Peter the keys to the Kingdom but we seem to have lost them,” and left his listeners with the admonition that they should “expect to be mocked for their faith, and when they are, to count it as a blessing.” Indeed, that is the promise.


Our prayer for this church:
Lord, we pray You do reignite the Holy Spirit in this church. Let them find You in their hearts and go forth praising You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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