The Promise of the Father

SERMON TITLE:   “The Promise of the Father”  (4th in Pentecost series)
SERMON TEXT:    Acts 2:1-4, 14a, 22-24, 29-30, 32-39
PREACHER:           Rev. Kim James
OCCASION:           June 21, 2020, at First UMC
 
 
INTRODUCTION
 
                A couple weeks ago, I was at the grocery store looking for a birthday card for my brother.  While I was there, I couldn’t help but glance at the Father’s Day cards too.  Even though my dad died five years ago, there was something that drew me to look at the section of Father’s Day cards from daughters.  One in particular caught my eye so much that I bought it.  It’s the one I showed you in the Birthday Box. 
                I’m going to read to you what it says.  On the outside, the card declares, “A Dad is a Daughter’s Best Example.”  On the inside it says,
The most important man in my life taught me what matters most in this world--
To always do the right thing.
That your word is your word.
That your legacy reaches farther than you’ll ever know . . .
He taught me that family comes first.
That anything worth having is worth working for.
And how important it is to come through for the people who count on you.
The most important man in my life showed me how to live.
I learned from the best, Dad, because I learned from you.
I love you on Father’s Day and always.
 
                I miss my dad, and I will love him always.  He wasn’t a perfect man.  Of course not; he was human.  But he was a man of his word, reliable and honest, who always delivered on his promises. 
                Today is the fourth of five Sundays in which we are taking a deep dive into what happened on the Day of Pentecost in Acts chapter two.  So far, we’ve encountered the Holy Spirit in the fires of Pentecost, in the winds of change, and in the power of diversity.  Today, on this Father’s Day, we move along in this story a little farther and discover the Holy Spirit in the promise of the Father.  

Continue reading