110612 - Yr A - Pentecost Sunday

This will be the last Porch until September.

It's Pentecost Sunday! Usually, the Acts 2 passage gets all the attention, but we'll be looking instead at 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13
(the particular verses are not all that dense or cryptic so we'll just go to the "Thoughts" questions this week)

12:3b - not really connected to the rest of the reading, but certainly sets the context for Spirit - "Jesus is Lord" is not a head statement, it's a Spirit statement.

• Can you claim the statement "Jesus is Lord"?
• What does that mean for you?

Nothing happens spiritually without the Spirit.

• That seems obvious, but what do you think it means?
• Is the presence of the Spirit something that you identify with?
• Why or why not?

Why do you think Paul uses the phrase "the same Spirit" 4 times in this short passage?

Why call these things "gifts"? Why not call them skills, or competencies, or talents?

12:7 - What good would it be if we all had the same gifts and passions?

Which gifts do you identify with?

• utterance of wisdom, utterance of knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment of spirits, tongues, interpretation of tongues, etc

How do you know what spiritual gifts you've been given?

• (notice that the question isn't "have you been given a gift?" but rather "which gifts have you been given?")

Do you think the list of spiritual gifts in 1 Cor is complete and closed, or are there other spiritual gifts? (see 1Cor12:27, Rom12:6, Eph4:11)

• If so, what are some other spiritual gifts that you would name?

The Holy Spirit is usually depicted as a dove or as little tongues of fire.

• How do you envisage the Holy Spirit?
• What images come to mind?

Holy Spirit Grammar! Discuss:

• The Holy Spirit is a noun.
• The Holy Spirit is a verb.

I have referred to the Holy Spirit as "God's holy rocket fuel" and "God's active ingredient" before - today I'm playing with the image of "animator".

• What do all these things have in common?
• How does Spirit play out in your faith life?

Paul uses the image of the Body of Christ here.

• What makes the body "go"?

Clearly, the church Paul is addressing is having some issues around shared vision. Some folks' passions and giftedness are competing with others'. We saw this at our Conference Annual meeting last weekend. It seems to be human nature.

• How can we, as a church, work toward being the one body that Paul urges us to be?

Shalom, and have a wonderful and re-creative summer!