Fully Alive in God

(Thanks Anthony Guillen+ for the photo!) M. Campbell-Langdell All Santos, Oxnard (Acts 2:1-21; Ps. 104:25-35, 37; Romans 8:22-27; John 15:26-27, 16:4b-15) “Es mejor para Ustedes que yo me vaya.” “It is to your advantage that I go away (John 16:7).” What? This is perhaps the least sensible sentence that Jesus says in the whole of the gospels. ¿Que quiere decir Jesús aquí, “es mejor que se vaya?” No hace sentido. In fact, in the Acts passage of today, you don’t immediately see what Jesus meant. They are in the upper room, trying to be faithful. Todos están en Jerusalén para el festival de Pentecostés, para celebrar cuando recibió Moisés los diez mandamientos. Everyone but everyone is in Jerusalem for the Festival of Weeks or Pentecost, which commemorates when Moses received the Ten Commandments. [1] And the Spirit decides to put on a show. Primero solo están incluidos los discípulos pero por lo milagroso de lo que pasa todos alrededor se dan cuenta y congregan allí cerca ...

(Johannes Wickert, “Philip and the foreigner,” oil on canvas, 200x200 cm, www.johannes-wickert.de) Melissa Campbell-Langdell All Santos, Oxnard (Acts 8:26-40; Ps. 22:24-30; 1 John 4:7-21; St. John 15:1-8) As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, "Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized? (Acts 8:36-37)" Every month, Alene and I receive a newsletter from a singer named Marsha Stevens-Pino, a praise singer, whose ministry we support. And in that newsletter are stories of lives changed. Of people who finally felt acceptance from a God they thought would never welcome them for who they were. And Marsha has touched each of those people with her message of God’s inclusive love, a love she has experienced for herself. The lyrics of her most famous song, “For Those Tears I Died,” go like this: You said You'd come and share all my sorrows, You said You'd be there for all my tomorrows; I came so clos...

(Johannes Wickert, “Philip and the foreigner,” oil on canvas, 200x200 cm, www.johannes-wickert.de - See more at: http://blog.spu.edu/lectio/god-on-the-go/#sthash.WdDI0oCf.dpuf) Melissa Campbell-Langdell All Santos, Oxnard (Hechos 8:26-40; Salmo 22:24-30; 1 Juan 4:7-21; San Juan 15:1-8) M á s tarde, al pasar por un sitio donde había agua, el funcionario dijo: “Aquí hay agua; ¿hay algún inconveniente para que yo sea bautizado? (Hechos 8:36-37)” Cada mes, Revda. Alene y yo recibimos un circular de una cantante de alabanza llamado Marsha Stevens-Pino, quien apoyamos en su ministerio. En esta hoja informativa siempre hay las historias de personas quienes han tenido un cambio en sus vidas como resultado de su ministerio. Pensaban que Dios no les iba a aceptar hasta que escucharon su música, en un concierto o en el internet. Marsha ha tocado cada vida con su mensaje del amor inclusivo de Dios, un amor que ella también ha experimentado. La letra de su canción más famosa, “For thos...