church

A Glorious Unity!

/ pastorpete51 / 3 Comments 
The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one. John 17:22 ESV

It is quite poplar at church to say that we should be one in the Spirit, but much as I have tried to get a hold of that unity, it seems elusive at best. Singing about it, having communion together and shaking hands after church feels great, but my sense of unity seems to evaporate somewhere in traffic on the way home. Part of the problem is that many of us don’t understand that first part of the verse. When Jesus talks about glory, I get this weird image of God giving us a standing ovation in heaven or perhaps Jesus pulling the Father aside and whispering, “See Pete over there – isn’t he great!”

The problem we then run into is that we try to work up Christian unity by our own efforts. I don’t know how that works for you, but the sad truth is that I am incapable of doing it. Unity comes only from God’s glory and one of the most glorious moments in Jesus’ life, happened at His baptism. Then the Heavens opened, and the Spirit descended like a dove. That is a glory that only comes as a gift (Just like Salvation). We can’t work it up, plan it into existence or take credit for it. It is a unity that only comes from heaven, and it is God’s gift. To live in His unity and His glory will only happen when we place our lives as living sacrifices on His altar. Then we need to wait for His Spirit to come and bring about what only He can do. That way, when unity really does happen, even for a moment, Jesus gets all the glory, right now and forever Amen!

A Prayer for My Pastor

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment 
Lord I’m praying for my pastor
Cause he really needs a bump
You know he's not too stylish
And he preaches like a shlump

I confess I like the coffee
And the donuts when they’re free
But I don’t like the sermons
When they name the sin in me

Sometimes I’ve even thought about
The church just up the street
Where the pastor wears an earing
And his messages are sweet

But at my suggestion
My dear wife began to cry
So, help me Lord be patient
With this homely little guy!

A Prayer for My Pastor
by Peter Caligiuri
Copyright © 2025 - all rights reserved


Photo by Arina Krasnikova on Pexels.com

What’s Good in Contemporary Worship? Day 2- Bilingual

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

Holding her hand, he said to her, “Talitha koum,” which means “Little girl, get up!” Mark 5:41 NLT

I have always been intrigued at the various times within the Gospels that Jesus switched from one language to another. After all, why would Mark tell us in today’s verse that these specific words were spoken in Aramaic, if that were not the language Jesus was already using? Hebrew was the language Jesus would have been spoken earlier, and ironically the Gospel of Mark was then recorded in Greek. Throw a little Latin into the mix, as the tongue of the ruling authorities in Judea, and you will begin get the idea of the linguistic world that Jesus lived in.

Having attended a Brazilian church in Pennsylvania for sixteen years and serving on the worship team there for several of those years, I had to learn to move from one language to another daily. Quite often the set of worship songs we practiced included both English and Portugues as well a few that had verses which flowed from one to the other. What I learned in those days was that while praising God this way, our differences didn’t disappear, but that we began to mirror the verse in Revelation of people worshipping from every nation, tribe and tongue. (Revelation 5:9)

Today in America, there are over 43 million people whose native tongue is Spanish, and that number is growing rapidly, both through immigration as well as by birth. While the primary language of our nation remains English, it certainly won’t hurt, especially in the church if a few more of us could at least blunder along a bit in Spanish. Remember, Jesus commanded (not suggested) that we make disciples of ALL nations (Matthew 5:19). I have found that one way of making disciples is through bi-lingual worship. Our churches should not be where we battle, over which language is better. Rather, the Church of Jesus Christ is where including everyone means being able to communicate with them, and what better place to begin than during our times of worship? One of my favorite examples of this is called Be Alright (“Todo va a estar bien”). In this delightful song, Danny Gokey, Evan Craft and Willy González Cruz, combine to present the message that we can trust God’s goodness in the midst of difficulties and changes. With everything going on in the news lately, their message is never more important than right now. Once again, I welcome everyone’s input, but I do suggest that your comments will be more helpful if you listen first. Thanks so much! Be blessed, Dios lo bendiga, and Deus te abençoe!