Anywhere you go anymore, there will probably be some kind of reminder (verbal or visual) to turn off your cell phones or put them on “vibrate.” We will soon have that kind of reminder here. Don’t ask me how. But we’ll have it, given that several services in a row….before, during and after Easter….were interrupted by ringing cell phones.

As will soon become apparent upon reading the sermon, these words were written in observance of First Church’s annual observance of Pentecost. For those reading them from afar, let me acknowledge my awareness that Pentecost Sunday officially falls on June 8 of this year. As you probably know, Pentecost moves across the calendar in direct relation to the date of Easter. Some years ago, I decided to institutionalize our Pentecost observance on the first Sunday of June.

Every trade has its tools. And one of the tools unique to my trade is a good sermon illustration. Which is why, when a good one surfaces, it becomes an attractive target for thieves. Not that we preachers like seeing ourselves in that light. But when it comes to a good story, we’ll steal from anybody.

In one of their recorded hits the Kingston Trio didn’t sing last Sunday night, one can find the words: