Several years ago I read a book by Lloyd John Ogilvie called The Bush is Still Burning. It is his commentary on the Book of Acts. Let me share his opening words...

"Everywhere I go these days I hear the same urgent appeal from Christians. They want their lives to count. Their greatest fear is that they might live their lives in ineffectiveness, ineptness, or insipidness. They long for a challenge big enough to demand their allegiance, exciting enough to rally their enthusiasm, and crucial enough to warrant their time. A restlessness pervades both clergy and laity today, an impatience with 'business as usual' and dull churchmanship... The problem is that the Faith has been domesticated to suit our culturally conditioned lives rather than dramatized as the ultimate purpose which gives meaning and direction to all other secondary loyalties. That may have satisfied people in the past, but the restlessness among contemporary Christians in the Church is demanding a freshness, a vitality, an authenticity unknown in recent years. There has never been a more exciting time to be alive than now. I believe these stirrings are from God!"

That was written more than thirty years ago, but it feels like it was written this morning. Ogilvie is pointing us to the power that the Holy Spirit brought to that first century church. Of course, his feeling and ours is that this same Spirit wants to work in His church today.

On Wednesday, the 16th, we'll be going into more detail about the second chapter of Acts - Pentecost. But take some time to read that chapter. It's fascinating.

There's a new wind blowing!