05/21/2026
Dear Friends and Members of Great Bend First UMC,
In the fourth century, when the desert fathers and mothers sought the heart of God, a young monk approached Abba Joseph and asked how he could do more to find spiritual perfection. The elder stretched his hands toward heaven, and his fingers became like ten lamps of fire. He looked at the young man and said, "If you will, you can become all flame."
This striking moment from our history reminds us that the Holy Spirit is not a distant memory or a polite guest, but an all-consuming fire meant to inhabit our very being. It leads me to ask: If the Holy Spirit is truly a "rushing mighty wind," have we spent our lives building walls to keep it out, or have we finally dared to set our sails?
This Sunday, we gather for Trinity Sunday, a sacred time when we marvel at the mystery of our Triune God. Yet, as United Methodists, this particular Sunday holds a double significance. We also pause to remember Aldersgate Day - marking that pivotal night on May 24th, 1738, on Aldersgate Street in London, when our founder John Wesley sat listening to a reading of Luther’s preface to the Romans. There, Wesley famously felt his heart "strangely warmed." It was the moment a dry, dutiful faith was suddenly set ablaze by assurance and grace.
In our 2026 journey through The Call to Care and Compassion, this dual celebration turns our focus to a vital truth: Care with Power! We are not called to a tepid, fragile kind of sympathy, nor a cold, routine religion. Like Wesley, we are called to a robust, life-altering compassion fueled by the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead.
As St. Irenaeus of Lyons wrote in the second century: "For as a large amount of dry wheat cannot be kneaded into one dough or one loaf without moisture, so we, being many, could not be made one in Christ Jesus without the water that comes from heaven."
Our scripture for the day, John 7:37-39, promises that "out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water." This is the Spirit breaking out! It is a river that refuses to be dammed up by our doubts or contained within our comfort zones. It is a river that flows from the sanctuary into the streets of Great Bend, bringing healing and hope.
I invite you to join us as we seek to "become all flame":
》Traditional Service, 9:00 am: A beautiful, liturgical celebration of the Triune God and our Methodist heritage.
》REVIVE Service + Communion, 11:00 am: A time of modern worship and the breaking of bread.
Whether you are feeling spiritually parched, seeking a "strangely warmed" heart of your own, or ready to overflow, come and experience the transformative work of the Living God.
“The River Within”
The drought is done, the desert starts to bloom,
No longer locked within that upper room.
The Breath of God has cracked the temple floor,
And burst the hinges off the heavy door.
A London street, a heart is strangely warmed,
As by the flame a movement is transformed.
But not in words alone does Spirit move -
It flows in acts of sacrificial love.
From deep within, the living waters rise,
To clear the scales from tired, weeping eyes.
To Great Bend’s streets, the river makes its way,
Turning our shadowed nights to brilliant day.
So let the current carry us along,
To be the witness and to be the song.
Until the world is drenched in grace and might,
And every heart is flooded with His light.
- RSK
In the Person and Power of the Spirit,
Revd. Robert Selvakumar
Pastor, Great Bend First United Methodist Church
