Pentecost Sunday Sermon Manuscript – May 24

The Church Built by the Holy Spirit

1 Corinthians 12:3b-13 | Pentecost Sunday

A Question on the Church's Birthday

1. Today is Pentecost Sunday. In the church calendar, we can call this the church's birthday. On the fiftieth day after Jesus' resurrection, the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples who were gathered in the upper room, and after Peter preached, three thousand people were baptized that very day.

2. That event marked the beginning of the Jerusalem church. And the church that began on that day has continued all the way to this gathering here today. So today is not simply a holiday commemorating the gift of the Holy Spirit — it is a day to ask again why we exist here at all.

3. Last Sunday we observed Pulpit Exchange Sunday. I preached at Sarang Church, which has relocated to Roseville, just north of Sacramento, and Pastor Hani Hee came from the Korean United Methodist Church of San Francisco to preach here. Truthfully, this kind of pulpit exchange is a practice that has largely faded away.

4. It can be inconvenient, and some congregants feel uncomfortable hearing an unfamiliar pastor. With enthusiasm for it declining, there are times we wonder whether it is really worth doing. And yet we continue to do it, because we believe that the catholicity of the church — the idea that the church belongs to something larger than itself — must remain central to who we are.

5. We tend to call the church we attend "our church," the pastor "our pastor," and the members "our people." But the church, the pastor, and the laity cannot be confined within such a limited boundary as "ours."

6. We are Christians who share one Lord, Jesus Christ, and we are walking through this world together. The pulpit exchange is a small, embodied act of that confession — and today's Word on Pentecost Sunday teaches us where that confession comes from.

The Trap the Corinthian Church Fell Into

7. When Paul wrote this letter to the Corinthians, there was a serious problem inside the church. It was a competition centered on the gift of tongues. The Corinthians had come to see the ability to speak in tongues as a mark of spiritual status.

8. Those with more gifts were considered more spiritual, and those with fewer or none were seen as somehow lacking. An invisible ranking system had taken root in the church — who has the greater gift, who is spiritually ahead. The gifts had become not a tool for building the church, but a means of displaying personal ability.

9. Why does this feel so familiar rather than foreign? Because what happened in Corinth is still experienced in churches today. The idea that building a church ultimately depends on human ability and talent did not stay in Corinth. We hear it now: a church can only grow if it has a preacher who is skilled. A church must be led by a few highly devoted individuals.

10. I have nothing particularly impressive to offer, so it's fine for me to stay in the background. These thoughts settle naturally into us as well. It is precisely these thoughts that Paul confronts and refutes in this letter.

Not Without the Holy Spirit

11. Paul begins with what matters most. "No one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except by the Holy Spirit." This may be the sentence most familiar to us, yet Paul says it with full weight. To simply read the words aloud means nothing.

12. The confession "Jesus is Lord" cannot be made by reading a sentence — it is only possible through the Holy Spirit. Made possible through the Holy Spirit means it must carry within it a confession that stakes one's very life on it. And Paul says that without the Holy Spirit, this confession is impossible.

13. Do you believe that Jesus is Lord? You do, don't you? Then by Paul's logic, everyone here — you and I — are people who have been enabled to make this confession through the Holy Spirit. We have all received the Holy Spirit. And receiving the Holy Spirit is not something measured by whether you can speak in tongues or not.

14. People tend to categorize the Spirit — a little of the Spirit, or filled with the Spirit — based on what gifts someone has. They treat gifts as having levels. But Paul's point is that gifts are something given, something received — a different concept from the power of the Spirit itself.

15. Paul makes this clear in verses 5 and 6.

16. "There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work."

17. All the various gifts come from one source. And the things that happen through those gifts are not the fruit of the individual's effort — they are God, the giver of the gifts, at work.

18. Isn't that remarkable? We do things in the church. We serve in the kitchen, sing in the choir, help with worship. Sometimes someone asks us to, but often we step in because we feel we can do it well. We call that a gift. But what Paul is saying is this: though we thought we were the ones doing the work, it is God — who gave us the gift — who is doing that work through us.

19. And in verse 7, he gives us the conclusion — for what purpose are the things we do? "To each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good." Each of us has gifts. Not necessarily because we are highly skilled, but because there are things that bring us joy and gratitude, things others find burdensome but we carry gladly. That is the gift.

20. And that gift is never meant to be used for oneself. Paul says it plainly: gifts are for everyone. Gifts are not given so that the recipient can use them to elevate themselves — they are given so that God can use them to build up the community, the church.

No One Has Nothing

21. Paul says that everyone who has received the Holy Spirit has also received a gift. If you have received the Spirit and can confess that Jesus is Lord, then you have received a gift. That means you have received a gift. You may not yet see clearly what your gift is — but that does not mean you have none.

22. We carry assumptions about what gifts look like. Some think a gift is only something visible and impressive in the church. But perhaps quietness is a gift. A gentle smile is a gift. The ability to receive a meal with a grateful heart and genuine enjoyment — that too is a gift.

23. This is the heart of how the church is built. The church is not built by a few exceptionally capable people. It is built by the gifts the Holy Spirit has distributed to everyone, coming together. So it is not that I am talented enough to build the church, nor that I am too lacking to be part of it.

24. I sang in the men's chorus in school. When a professor came as a guest instructor, he told us: if you are singing in a choir while trying to hear your own voice above the others, you are ruining the choir — never forget that. With that in mind, we went on to win second place at a national university choral competition.

25. The result came from trying not to stand out, from working to blend and harmonize with every other voice. Using your gift only for yourself is exactly like shouting in a choir just to be heard. With that attitude, the choir falls apart. In the same way, when gifts are not used for the common good, the church falls apart too.

The Church the Holy Spirit Builds — Yeolin Church

26. I want Yeolin Church to be that kind of church. As I have been saying, we too are without exception a church filled with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. When I say "filled with the gifts of the Holy Spirit," there may already be a different image forming in your mind than what I mean.

27. When people hear "Holy Spirit," they often think of loud prayer, speaking in tongues, the kind of church described as "on fire." We use the phrase "filled with the Holy Spirit" to picture something intense. But as I keep saying, being filled with the Holy Spirit applies to everyone who confesses Jesus as Lord.

28. Have I received the Holy Spirit? Do you believe in Jesus? Do you confess him as Lord? Then you are filled with the Holy Spirit. Paul says this again and again: it is through the Holy Spirit that we are able to make this confession.

29. Being "filled with the Spirit" or "full of the gifts of the Spirit" is absolutely not about heat, or visible, unmistakable behavior — shaking your head, crying out, or some particular outward expression. That is not what it means.

30. If you think praying aloud together or praying in tongues makes someone special, please remember: that is simply one of the many gifts God gives us. It is not a mark of superiority.

31. Someone once shared with me something they had heard from Korea. A few years ago, when a new pastor arrived at Yeolin Church, word apparently got around that some rigid, old-fashioned conservative pastor had come. I still don't know what gave that impression — but in their terms, I was described as a pastor who "only talks about being filled with the Spirit," someone chasing enthusiasm and mystical experience.

32. Anyone here at Yeolin would know that simply cannot be right. But people tend to associate being filled with the Spirit with loud prayer, a certain conservative image, an intense atmosphere. We must never understand the Holy Spirit through that lens.

33. The evidence and shape of being filled with the Holy Spirit is found in one place: the confession that Jesus is Lord. We need to step away from the image of Spirit-fullness we have long carried.

34. And being filled with the Holy Spirit also means having received gifts. People say someone is Spirit-filled when they see something striking and unusual, or call something a "special gift." But Paul is saying that everything given through the Holy Spirit is a gift. And it is through those gifts that the church is built.

35. During pastor ordination training, an older pastor came to speak to the candidates and told us: "When you go on a pastoral visit, don't spin your rice bowl." I wasn't sure I heard right, but listening carefully — at twenty-one, he had been sent as a solo associate pastor to a small rural church in Gangwon Province. On a pastoral visit, a senior deaconess had prepared a full meal for him, and he had spun his rice bowl on the table.

36. I couldn't quite understand what spinning a rice bowl meant, or why it got him removed from the church, or even why he was telling us this — half seriously, half as a joke. But watching the way he carried himself in ministry, even at his age, there was always a playfulness he could not quite hide.

37. His church had many young people, and when I asked why, the answer was: because of the pastor's sense of humor, the atmosphere was never stiff — always alive with unexpected moments and laughter. And then he said it again: "When you go on a visit, don't spin your rice bowl."

38. Thinking it over, I realized: this pastor's gift was that he simply could not be serious all the time. He was genuinely cheerful, and he put constant thought into how to lift people's spirits. And so he did things no one expected — things people wouldn't even dare to imagine doing.

39. It's like that with us. We may think gifts have to be grand. They are not. Even sitting quietly is a gift. Someone with the gift of deep understanding of Scripture shares it. Someone with the gift of warmth offers it. Someone with the gift of careful, thorough work serves through it. The church is not built because someone is exceptional — it is built because everyone comes together.

40. And it matters to remember that those gifts did not come from our own ability. In verse 13, Paul closes with this: "For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body — whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free — and we were all given the one Spirit to drink."

41. It all came from one source. Not because we were good enough. Not because we worked hard enough. Which means it is not about how much we can do. What matters is whether we are willing to offer what the Spirit has given us for the sake of the church.

42. So the church is built through the Holy Spirit. And that Holy Spirit is designed to be made visible through us — through the power of the Spirit working in us. What we call gifts is that very power. And if we turn it around: we are here, inside this church. It can seem like it was built by someone else's dedication and effort. And yes — it has been.

43. But what Paul is saying is this: the church has been built through the gifts given to each and every one of you here — through your Spirit-fullness. God gave the gifts. We used those gifts to pour ourselves into the church. But it was God, through those gifts, who built the church. The fruit we see is not the result of our effort and diligence — it is God's work through us.

44. So when someone claims to have received more of the Spirit, or a greater portion of gifts than others, that person does not understand the Holy Spirit, does not understand the church, and does not understand what gifts are. We need to hold onto that clearly.

The Holy Spirit Is Still at Work Today

45. On this birthday of the church, I hope every member of Yeolin Church will confess that this is a church being built by the Holy Spirit — and will give their very best in exercising their gifts to build it up. Not a church built on one person's ability, but a church built as all our gifts come together. And I hope we will remember that the main character is not someone special — it is all of us, together, for the common good.

46. Each one of you sitting here today, confessing "Jesus is Lord," is that main character. The Holy Spirit has already come to you. And it is through you that the Holy Spirit is building this church.

47. The same Holy Spirit who transformed the disciples in that upper room — I believe that Spirit is at work here, in this place, at Yeolin Church, today. As we celebrate the birthday of the church together, I hope with all my heart that the work of that Spirit will bear fruit through each one of us, here in this Yeolin Church where we walk together in faith.

Welcome: We bless all who have gathered to worship with us today.

• Today's service is celebrated as Pentecost Sunday. / Next Sunday we will have Holy Communion. The communion assistants will be Byungjun Park and Suna Kang.

• Today's fellowship meal has been prepared by the families of Deaconess Jisoo Lee, Deacon Yunsung Lee, Deaconess Myunghee Lee, and Deacon Kyungtae Kim. Cleanup will be handled by the Saebbyulbyul Sokwe (Dawn Star Cell Group).

• Walking with Jesus Seminar: May 30 (Saturday, 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM) and May 31 (Sunday, 3:00 PM).

• Cell Group (Sokwe): The May cell group meeting will be replaced by the Walking with Jesus Seminar.

• Sermon Notice – May 31: Pastor Jungho Hong, who is leading the Spiritual Journal Seminar, will be delivering the message.

• New Officers Training – June 7 (Saturday), 10:00 AM: Those who have been newly appointed as Deaconesses (Kwon-sa) are required to take the Deaconess Examination. Please prepare the following: examination fee of $50, one written faith testimony, and study the document "Who Are We?" (provided by the senior pastor). The examination will include a written test and an interview. (Held jointly with Oakland Church and Contra Costa Church.)

• Roseville Sarang Church Relocation Thanksgiving Service: Lincoln Sarang Church has relocated to Roseville and will now be known as Roseville Sarang Church. Sunday, June 7 at 4:00 PM at Roseville First United Methodist Church (109 Washington Blvd, Roseville, CA 95678).

• Church-wide Ping-Pong Tournament: Sunday, June 14, following the worship service. Cash prizes and gifts will be awarded!

• Youth Unity Retreat: The combined youth retreat will be held June 14 (Sunday) – June 17 (Wednesday) at Alliance Redwoods Conference Grounds.

• 40th Church Anniversary Bible Transcription: A Bible transcription station has been set up in the choir loft area. Please join us in transcribing the Scriptures together. (Currently transcribing Genesis.)

• Yeolin Friday Prayer Meeting: Hosted by the Men's Mission Society. In May, the prayer meeting will be held on Friday, May 22 at 7:45 PM.

• World Cup Cheering — Go Korea!: Join us at the church to cheer together!

  • June 11 (Thursday), 7:00 PM — vs. Czech Republic

  • June 18 (Thursday), 6:00 PM — vs. Mexico

  • June 24 (Wednesday), 7:00 PM — vs. South Africa

  대한민국! 짝짝짝! Let's go, Korea! 🇰🇷