The Sunday of Pentecost
|
Prelude, Welcome, and Information Hymn #401 Gracious Spirit, Hear our Pleading |
|
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. And also with you. Psalm: Psalm 104:24-34, 35b O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. Yonder is the sea, great and wide, creeping things innumerable are there, living things both small and great. There go the ships, and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it. These all look to you to give them their food in due season; when you give to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things. When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. When you send forth your spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the ground. May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works— who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke. I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being. May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord. Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless the Lord, O my soul. Praise the Lord! |
|
The Lord be with you. And also with you. Let us pray. God our creator, the resurrection of your Son offers life to all the peoples of the earth. By your Holy Spirit, kindle in us the fire of your love, empowering our lives for service and our tongues for praise, through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. |
Reading: Acts 2:1-21
A reading from the book of the Acts of the Apostles
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And 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.
Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”
But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: ‘In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day. Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
The Word of the Lord
Reading: Romans 8:14-17
A reading from the Letter to the Romans
For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.
The Word of the Lord.
Gospel Verse:
Alleluia! Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, and kindle in us the fire of your love. Alleluia!
Gospel Reading: John 14:8-17 [25-27]
A reading from the Gospel of John
Philip said to (Jesus), “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves.
Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.
”If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.
”I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.]
This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.
Sermon (added at the end of the document)
Hymn #804 Come Down, O Love Divine
Thanks and Offertory
Prayers of the Church:
Come, Holy Spirit. Trusting in the promise that you will lead and guide us, we offer our prayers for the world, the church, and for all people according to their needs.
[Short pause]
Come, Holy Spirit. Teach us what Jesus taught and kindle your love and life in us daily. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Come, Holy Spirit. Lead us and in that let us always be children of God. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Come, Holy Spirit. Be in our homes and families and watch over all those in need, where-ever they may be. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Come, Holy Spirit. Grant peace to the peoples of Ukraine and Russia and wherever there is war and struggle. Inspire leaders with wisdom and a concern for justice and peace. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Come, Holy Spirit. Grant healing where it is needed. Keep all who work in the medical field or who work for the good of the community in health and strength. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Come, Holy Spirit. Give peace to the people where-ever violence has taken place and wipe away their tears. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Come, Holy Spirit. Grant us your grace and hear our unspoken prayers… * … Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
{*Rose Gotzmeister, Gail Mauer, Bill Ungar, Deb Kirschner, Diane Corns, Bonnie & Robert McCrae}
Come, Holy Spirit, and make all things new. Relying on that promise, we commend all for whom we pray, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Hymn #396 Spirit of Gentleness
The Lord’s Prayer
Finally let us pray for all things as our Lord would have us ask:
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power,
and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.
Closing prayer & Benediction
Mighty God,
You breathe life into our bones, and your Spirit brings truth to the world. Send us this Spirit, transform us by your truth, and give us language to proclaim your Gospel.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Hymn #400 God of Tempest, God of Whirlwind
Benediction & Sending
May the Lord bless us and keep us.
May the Lord’s face shine upon us with grace and mercy.
May the Lord look upon us with favor and X give us peace.
Amen.
Go in peace. Walk humbly with God. Thanks be to God.
|
Services for the next few months will be on YouTube and accessible from an email link or our church Facebook page. Services for the months of May and June are as below: June 12 Communion, Saxonia Hall, 11:00am June 19 Communion, Church, 11:00am June 26 No service – Pastor’s vacation |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives.
· This Sunday is Pentecost Sunday, when we remember the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples after Jesus ascended to his Father. The Acts of the Apostles describes the event in rather spectacular terms, especially with the gift of languages.
· Jesus says that the Holy Spirit will be sent to the disciples with a real mission, one with the focus of “loving one another.”
· The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, will remind, teach, empower, and motivate. How that might happen today could be the same, and yet there might be other, less spectacularly wild ways.
· The Spirit of God still works among us to remind us of what Jesus taught and how he is still present to each of us. The Spirit teaches us how to live out our lives as disciples in this present age with all the challenges of our lives today, where-ever and however we might find our lives to be. The Spirit empowers us to live as Jesus would wish and motivates us to do just that.
· That Spirit also reminds us of the forgiveness of God in Christ when we mess up and fall short of what Jesus would want us to do. That same Spirit motivates us to continue to follow despite troubles and even sins. As Peter said on that Sunday, everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
· Jesus also said he would give us peace. That peace of Jesus is not a worldly peace, like some sort of armed and suspicious peace. It is a special and particular peace, beyond us to create and present even in our most anxious times. In the face of fear, of sickness, and even of death, the peace of Christ remains with us and will remain with us along with his faithful presence.
· The sending of the Holy Spirit is more than something to sharpen our individual ministries. The presence of the Spirit is both assurance and a treasure chest (if you’ll permit me to use that idea) of all that is needed for discipleship and the ministry given over to us as disciples. What is needed is given to us. I say to “us” because each of us has their own gifts, gifts of the Spirit by which we compliment, empower, and build up each other. We do more as a community than we might do as individuals.
· There is still more. The words -Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you- are a promise from Jesus. That promise depends on him and not on us. So then, that promise is one that will not be broken by Jesus and will remain as long as HE lives.
the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives.
No comments:
Post a Comment