Pentecost Sunday - Grace Gifts

Send us Fan Mail24 May 2026It is Pentecost Sunday. We remember that first astonishing coming of the Spirit that set in motion a vast global and timeless new creation community, of which we are a part.This is the victorious King Jesus now ascended to his throne of grace sharing the spoils of his victory. Praise the Lord!It is not always easy to rejoice in other people’s giftedness. The temptation is to get ahead by being super-competitive, or opt out and miss out on or feel inferior even though you do have your own gifts.How can we freely accept and enjoy other people’s gifts and not dismiss our own, but thank God for them all? Paul speaks into that today.We are back in that rather interesting Christian community in Corinth as we hear Paul responding to their questions, and their troubles with the many spiritual gifts they seem to have received. They don’t seem to be doing a good job on handling these gifts. There is that old human problem of comparison, competition and therefore, conflict leading to faction within the Body. Never good.We will hear some home truths about who we are and who God is and what those gifts he gives actually are – all grace.We might also ponder how we are going when it comes to feeling inferior or superior in terms of gifts.Paul is pretty clear that the main thing about any spiritual gift is not so much the gift itself, but what the gift proclaims about the Giver of those gifts.Pastor Adrian