Welcome Holy Spirit

Yesterday as pastor was preaching to us he led us to a passage in Acts. He was talking about community and how the Holy Spirit builds community inside of us as Christians.

The actual verses he referenced was Acts 2:42-47. As I read these verses and saw through pastor's teaching I realized that there was a direct link between the work of the Holy Spirit and the community of believers.

This got me thinking! What does the church community look like without the Holy Spirit? Do we experience true community without the activity of the Holy Spirit in our churches? And do we rely too much on our own means to build community within the church rather than the Holy Spirit?

I think that all these questions can have a laundry list of answers but here is my succinct response. I think that community without the Holy Spirit would look disjointed. Not necessarily unorganized but probably uncertain of how to interact with each other outside of cordial conversation. I believe that it is impossible to experience true community without the activity of the Holy Spirit in our churches or in our lives. I think we can attempt it but we will leave us feeling an urge for our relationships to be more than they are, more connected. And I believe that we do rely solely on our own efforts at times to build community. I think this is where the Lord was leading me in this whole train of thought. So here is what I wrote down Sunday about it all.

"The Holy Spirit builds community and when we build it by ourselves we rob the Holy Spirit of his function and feel we have no need for him in our community gatherings."

God is communal. Look at the Lord's prayer. The disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray and he began with, "OUR Father..." (thanks Chris Owens for that thought) Not "my" Father but "our". Even in teaching them about prayer he taught them about community.

How do we focus on our church, the body, a community of believers, without focusing on the Holy Spirit?

So in response I say, "Welcome Holy Spirit," in my personal life, but also in my community of believers. You are welcome here because you are the builder of community.