Preach Magazine Issue 3 - Preaching and the Holy Spirit | Page 51

SERIAL

baptism in the name of Jesus, before
finally reaching the Gospel – Mark
1:4–11. Here, she focused on verses
9–11, these being most relevant to
her theme. This passage concerns
the baptism of Jesus. Recalling
the drama of Psalm 29, the vicar
immediately homed in on the
tearing open of the heavens (v 10). I
loved that – it gave the impression
of God’s excitement at revealing
his Messiah at last, like an eager
child ripping off wrapping paper.
The preacher made the necessary
point that the Holy Spirit is not a
dove, but he descended on Jesus
with the softness and gentleness
of a bird. She then drew attention
to the voice of God that spoke from
heaven, and invited the comparison
to the thundering voice of the Psalm.
Here, then, we had the Triune God –
Father, Son and Spirit – setting the
scene for Jesus’ earthly ministry.

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The preacher, contrasting Christian
baptism with the baptism of John from
Acts 19, made the helpful point that it is
no longer a holy washing, symbolising
repentance, but, through the crucial
work of the Holy Spirit, it changes
us from within, and the infilling of
the Holy Spirit must be a continuous
experience for Christians.

THE PREACHER MADE THE
NECESSARY POINT THAT THE
HOLY SPIRIT IS NOT A DOVE,
BUT HE DESCENDED ON JESUS
WITH THE SOFTNESS AND
GENTLENESS OF A BIRD.

This sermon made a coherent whole of
the three Bible passages. Towards the
end of the sermon, the preacher quoted
from Spiritual Formation – Following
the Movement of the Spirit by Henri
Nouwen; ‘Without silence the word of
God cannot bear fruit…’, and called on
us to allow God to guide us in Christian
living. She reminded us of the constant
chatter and electronic noise with which
we live in our present way of life, and
which could be blocking the word of God.
We must make time and space to listen
to him, through prayer and Bible study.

I usually lighten the load of my
sermons with an amusing story or an
extended illustration, but sometimes
that would be out of place, and this
sermon was one such example. The
speaker held our attention (mine,
anyway), simply explaining and
applying the scriptures, leaving us with
a sense of awe regarding our God, with
good reasons to worship him, with
determination to listen for his voice
and with the desire for God’s word to
bear fruit in our lives. Riveting!

17/04/2015 15:43:16