by Rev. David Gregg

… suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

​There is a certain kind of Christianity that gets labeled “pentecostal.” This branch of Christianity focuses on the presence of God’s Spirit at work in the church, and often features worship practices like speaking in tongues, faith healing, lively contemporary worship music, and even being slain in the spirt. Some of the members of North Shore have experienced this style of Christianity, and others haven’t. For some, it might seem foreign and unknown; for others, it is familiar and spiritually enriching. There are lots of different kinds of spiritual backgrounds here at North Shore — it’s one of our strengths!

By Rev. Rony Reyes
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Easter is a reflection not of the Easter bunny, although our church kids enjoy egg hunting. Nor is it a meditation on a joyful series of events that concluded in a risen Christ. It is preferable to believe in the all-conquering Christ, which depicts the image of a victorious God. One tends to stay away, not to believe in a Christ that becomes the Suffering Servant. There is a painful journey to get to the event of the resurrection (Luke 24). Christ went through agony at the garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-46), a crown of thorns (John 19:2), a spear went through his side (John 19:34), culminating with the event of dying fixed to a cross (Mark 15:33-34), which is equivalent nowadays to dying in the electric chair. Christ endured these awful harmful acts in his emotional and bodily being. Yet there is the tendency to shy away from these topics, because they are not pleasant to reflect on.

Por Rev. Rony Reyes

La Pascua no es una reflexión del conejito de Pascua, aunque los niños de la iglesia disfrutan de la búsqueda de huevos. Tampoco es una meditación sobre una serie de eventos que concluyen en un Cristo resucitado. Es preferible creer en el Cristo conquistador, que representa la imagen de un Dios victorioso. Uno prefiere permanecer lejos de la idea de un Cristo que se convierte en el Siervo Sufriente.  Hay un viaje doloroso, para llegar al evento de la resurrección (Lucas 24). Cristo pasó por la agonía en el jardín de Getsemaní (Mateo 26: 36-46), una corona de espinas (Juan 19: 2); una lanza atravesó su costado (Juan 19:34), culminando el suceso de morir colgado en una cruz (Marcos 15: 33-34), lo que equivale hoy en día a morir en la silla eléctrica. Destacando estos horribles actos dañinos que Cristo soportó en su ser emocional y físico, surge la tendencia de alejarse de estos temas, porque no son agradables para reflexionar.