Sun. May 23, 2010 (John Friesen)

On Pentecost Sunday, John Friesen focused on the birth of the Christian church. Jesus had told his disciples “the kingdom of God is at hand.” The disciples, who wanted a political/religious kingdom, were told to wait in Jerusalem. Then, filled with the Holy Spirit, they were given the power to communicate in many languages. The Christian church, born at Pentecost, has been a dominant and constructive force in the world in the last 2000 years. Pentecost signifies the formation of a new social and religious movement, a new ideology, and new worldview. Today former Christian institutions (hospitals, schools, media, government) are increasingly secularized and no longer sympathetic to Christian teachings. Gerhard Lofink says the people of God always stand in sharp contrast to the world. He concludes that perhaps it is a blessing that the Christian faith is no longer is the dominant structure in our society. Jesus calls his followers to go into all the world; this has often been interpreted geographically – how do we do this in a secular society? [HN] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, May. 23rd, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.