Power

Today is Pentecost Sunday. Pastor Brad welcomed us by stating that today we will focus on this idea of the church... not pews and programs, but the Church, with a capital C, that spreads over all space and time. And the gates of hell will not prevail against it. And it started with twelve followers that continues to this day.

Announcements
1. Two weeks till the bloodmobile is here, June 27. We still need three
2. Seeking volunteers to help with water, etc. at Mile 13 of Grandma's Marathon
3. VBS is in 7 days... We need help with the meal on that Thursday. There will be training this Friday at 9:30 a.m. for all the volunteers.
4. Next week we will give recognition to our grads

Chuck, Ken and Darlene led us into worship singing One Scarred Hand. After several tunes from the new songbook the offering was taken followed by a time of prayer for our many needs and requests.

Power

"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen. Because we know that things that are seen are temporary, but the things that are unseen are eternal." ~ II Corinthians 4:18

The real church is not something you can see, but it's like your soul... It is there but we see one another's faces.

Jesus didn't say, "Go to church." He said, "Follow Me." But then, after the disciples followed Him a while, He gave a further instruction, which is today's passage from Luke 9:1-6.

This is not a call to be a duffer (the person who sits in the middle seat of a canoe and watches). It is a call to actively "do what you saw Me do."

Throughout history, you find that the church flourished best when the people did not have staffs, and buildings and bags.

In verse 10 the disciples returned and told Jesus what they saw and experienced.

But Luke's account is not about perfect people. The stories Luke reports are about imperfect people who make mistakes. No matter how inadequate you might feel, Jesus in inviting you to step out.

Jesus didn't say He was looking for spectators who will watch. He said He was seeking people who would go, people who God could use.

In Luke 10, Jesus now sends out 72. The movement is expanding. But there is still a call for more who can complete the work. "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few."

They are sent two by two because this is not about individual superstars, but a community of faith. He also instructs them not to get distracted from their mission.

There are a hundred ways we get distracted. But we have a mission, that Jesus has given to us.

Brad also shared how Jesus sent them out as lambs among wolves. And when they came back they were filled with joy as they shared the amazing things they experienced. And Jesus told what He saw in the invisible realm while they did this: "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven."

In other words, hell was trembling because the Church was on the move. Despite their shortcomings, the message would go forth. Despite their being lambs among wolves, the message of light would conquer the darkness.

The Lord of the Harvest is looking for workers.