Spirit Unbounded 05.24.2026

The same spirit still transforms transforms people just like it did way back then, still gives gifts, and the same spirit still sends ordinary people out into the world with an extraordinary calling. The calling of love. And that is why today's theme for Pentecost is spirit unbounded because Pentecost declares that the spirit of God has never been bound and will not be bound. Not by locked rooms, not by familiar languages, not by human fears, not by religious gatekeeping or institutional maintenance, not even by the limits of what we think is possible. [00:35:04] (56 seconds)  #SpiritUnbounded

When you become a part of the church, when you become a baptized follower of Jesus, you become a minister who is sent out into the world with a story and a gospel. It's not about feeling comfortable behind the closed doors. It's about feeling powerful when you go into the world, powerful enough to make a difference in the lives of people who need hope. People from all over the known world hear the good news, and then they finally leave that room, and they witness. [00:44:54] (43 seconds)  #BaptizedAndSent

We all have a past. We've all tripped up. We've all done things. We've all stuck our foot in our mouths. Some of us literally, most of us metaphorically. But god still calls us, and god still gives us the power of the spirit. So today, as a baptized, called, sent, breathed into by the holy spirit, body of Christ. We're done waiting. The wait is over, and now it is time to exit the doors and bring the good news to people who have not yet heard it. [00:51:34] (45 seconds)  #CalledDespitePast

But Pentecost reminds us that the spirit of God is not something that we can box up. It is not something that we can schedule, that we can own, or that we can contain. The spirit comes like a fierce wind, scripture tells us, unpredictable, untamed, powerful. And the spirit rests like a fire, alive, powerful, impossible to hold in your hands. The spirit speaks in languages people didn't expect to hear. After all, in their world, they were the only ones that they thought were saved. [00:32:18] (50 seconds)  #UncontainableSpirit

A lot of a lot of the times, a lot of churches are so inward focused that they make no eternal difference in the world. The power of Pentecost turned those first disciples and every follower of Jesus since out. Because the church is the one institution I said this a million times, but it's the truth, so I'll say it again. It is the only institution created that exists for people who are not a part of it yet. [00:44:20] (35 seconds)  #ChurchForTheWorld

And yet, we're all created in the image of God, And we all have the capabilities of continuing together the work of God in the world. God still calls us. God still equips us. No matter our age, no matter our culture, no matter our abilities or disabilities. Children have gifts. Youth have gifts. Elders have gifts. On that note, you don't retire from Christian ministry. Well, you do, but you die. While you're alive and drawing breath, you have a calling, you have gifts, and you have work to do. [00:55:46] (46 seconds)  #GiftsAtEveryAge

The miracle isn't again that everyone becomes the same, but the miracle is that the differences in the world are honored and gathered into God's mission. Different languages, cultures, different voices, all part of one story. Because oftentimes, the church, just like humanity as a whole, treats difference as something to be feared. But scripture tells us, and the holy spirit tells us that this just isn't so. The most different being that exists in the world is God. No one here today is anywhere close to being God. [00:54:49] (57 seconds)  #ManyVoicesOneStory

If we do these things without the power of the Holy Spirit, we're simply doing the work to make ourselves feel holy. And God looks down and says, I told him to wait for my holy spirit and then go out into the world and be witnesses of my love. What part of that don't they understand? Why do we think we can go into the world and do this work without God? And then we show back up the next week, and we say, god, look what we did. [00:49:29] (41 seconds)  #PoweredByTheSpirit