NOTES: Here's a Pentecost Poem from the Words for Worship Website. It is a poem written by Andrew King, a minister in the United Church of Canada. King has challenged himself this year to do a poem a week on the Sunday lectionary texts. The poem places the sights and sounds of Pentecost in context of our own experiences of sound and feeling by focusing on the wind. This sweeping breath of God which filled the lungs and the sails of the ancient Christians, breathes among us now. Let us ponder what it means for us to breathe deeply and set sail, to be inspired by God's Holy Spirit today.
SUDDENLY THERE CAME A SOUND. . .
(Acts 2:1-21)
It was one of those days where
leaves are thrashed
from tree branches writhing
under a racing sky,
and my childhood friend playing
outdoors with me wondered:
does the wind ever stop blowing?
And does it stop somewhere, he asked again,
or just keep going around and around the world?
Back then I said I didn’t know
but now I know there came a day
when a wind began in a certain house
that filled with a light like flame,
and that wind had the roar of justice,
and that wind had the rush of love,
and that wind had the whisper of peace and compassion,
and it carried the words of hope and joy
to an anxious and needy world,
and it was gentle enough to touch the wounded soul
and strong enough to stir the ever seeking hearts
of women and men, young and old,
from city to distant shores,
and it pulled down walls of distrust and fear
and threw open doors of possibility,
and oaks of hatred have bent in its path
and palisades of pain have fallen to its strength
and new life has spread like scattered seed
and yes, my friend, that wind
circles the world
and no,
it has never stopped blowing.
Copyright 2016 Andrew King
Scripture: Acts 2:1-21
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 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. 3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
5 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6 And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. 7 Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” 12 All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”
Peter Addresses the Crowd
14 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. 15 Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. 16 No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
17 ‘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.
18 Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
and they shall prophesy.
19 And I will show portents in the heaven above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
20 The sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.
21 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
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.
18 Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
and they shall prophesy.
19 And I will show portents in the heaven above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
20 The sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.
21 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
8:30 am Order of Service
We Gather in God's Presence
WelcomePrelude
Lighting the Christ Candles
Praise Hymn#267 "Blessed Quietness" (verses 1, 3, & 4)
Call to Worship
One: Let us give a thoughtful response
to this day’s call to worship.
For today we ask God’s Spirit to fill us,
that we may prophesy,
and dream dreams, and see visions.
The call to worship today
is a summons to be touched by holy fire.
All: Even now the flames may dance above our heads,
One: Igniting passions and inspiring thoughts
that can blaze into commitment.
All: Even now the flames may be burning into our hearts,
One: animating us,
leaving us no peace as individuals or as a community
until God’s justice and peace fill the earth
as the waters fill the seas.
All: Prophets, visionaries, dreamers!
Let us all worship with courage and with hope!
One: Let us worship God!
—posted by the The First Presbyterian Church of West Seneca.
https://re-worship.blogspot.com/2011/06/pentecost-call-to-worship.html
Invocation
Spirit…
Wind…
Breath…
fill our lungs and lives with your energizing presence;
refresh our stale minds;
and stir our slowly-beating hearts;
so that we may humbly and courageously
be your breathing, gusting, good presence in the world.
Amen
~ written by Scott Cervas, pastor at Meadowthorpe Presbyterian Church (Lexington, KY). Posted on LiturgyLink. http://www.liturgylink.net/
We Contemplate God's Word
ScriptureSermon
We Pray Together
Joys & ConcernsPrayer Hymn#254"Breath On Me, Breath of God"(verses 1, 2, & 3
Praying Together
Prayers of the People
(inspired by the events of Acts 2:1-13)
God of wind and flame,
blow into our lives.
Ignite the fire of hope, fan the flames of possibility.
Transform us into a people who share your love with a world in pain,
a people who proclaim your hope into a world given to despair,
a people who live as though the world can be changed
into the kingdom that is to come.
Baptizing God, who calls us to be a baptizing community,
you speak to us in many languages over the course of our lives:
the burbles and laughs and wails of infancy,
the indistinct speech and partial words of toddlerhood,
the strange syntax and slang of late childhood and adolescence,
the full language of adulthood,
the quavering speech and muted tones of old age.
Speak to us in the language that we need to hear today,
hear us in the language that we speak.
God of many languages.
You sing the language of joy with us, you join us in the dance of life.
Hear all of your children who sing and dance and praise this morning,
those who celebrate new life with all the possibilities of the future,
those who celebrate relationships,
both the new and exciting and the long-term yet still exciting,
those for whom the wonder of life fills their being to the limit,
may they hear your voice joining in the singing and the shouting...
...time of silence...
And yet, God of life,
you also speak the languages of pain, of sorrow, of fear, of despair.
Hear all your children who speak, who wail,
who whisper in these languages this day:
those who find themselves in hospital beds, or waiting anxiously beside those beds,
those who gather to say farewell to one who is traveling, or one who is moving,
those who gather at graveside to say that longer farewell,
those who worry about where the next meal, or the next rent cheque, will come from,
those who live in places where peace is just a word, a faint hope, a distant dream,
May all those whose language is rent by pain hear you lamenting with them,
...time of silence...
God of Pentecost,
God who speaks with many tongues,
God who makes God-self known in many ways,
fill us with Your Spirit this and every morning,
hear the prayers we share using many different languages,
we pray in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, the one we call Christ, whose life,
death and resurrection show us the path to the Kingdom.
We pray as people of the Spirit,
who lights our fires, who fills our lungs with air,
who blows us out into the world to live and serve.
Amen.
~ written by Rev. Gord Waldie and posted on Worship Offerings. http://worshipofferings.blogspot.ca/
We Come to the Lord's Table
Invitation to the TableCommunion Hymn#249 "Spirit" (verses 1, 3, & 4)
Elder's Prayer
Words of Institution
The Lord's Supper with instrumental meditation
Prayer of Thanksgiving
We Go Forth into the World
Challenge for DiscipleshipDiscipleship Hymn#253 "Spirit, Come Dispel Our Sadness"(all verses)
Blessing
10:40 am Order of Service
We Gather in God's Presence
WelcomePrelude
Call to Worship
One: Let us give a thoughtful response
to this day’s call to worship.
For today we ask God’s Spirit to fill us,
that we may prophesy,
and dream dreams, and see visions.
The call to worship today
is a summons to be touched by holy fire.
All: Even now the flames may dance above our heads,
One: Igniting passions and inspiring thoughts
that can blaze into commitment.
All: Even now the flames may be burning into our hearts,
One: animating us,
leaving us no peace as individuals or as a community
until God’s justice and peace fill the earth
as the waters fill the seas.
All: Prophets, visionaries, dreamers!
Let us all worship with courage and with hope!
One: Let us worship God!
—posted by the The First Presbyterian Church of West Seneca.
https://re-worship.blogspot.com/2011/06/pentecost-call-to-worship.html
Praise Hymn#267 "Blessed Quietness" (verses 1, 3, & 4)
Lighting of the Candles
Invocation
Spirit…
Wind…
Breath…
fill our lungs and lives with your energizing presence;
refresh our stale minds;
and stir our slowly-beating hearts;
so that we may humbly and courageously
be your breathing, gusting, good presence in the world.
Amen
~ written by Scott Cervas, pastor at Meadowthorpe Presbyterian Church (Lexington, KY). Posted on LiturgyLink. http://www.liturgylink.net/
Passing of the Peace
Faith Hymn#261" Sweet, Sweet Spirit" (sing once)
We Contemplate God's Word
ScriptureChoir Anthem
Children's Sermon
Sermon
We Pray Together
Joys & ConcernsPrayer Hymn#254"Breath On Me, Breath of God"(verses 1, 2, & 3
Praying Together
Prayers of the People
(inspired by the events of Acts 2:1-13)
God of wind and flame,
blow into our lives.
Ignite the fire of hope, fan the flames of possibility.
Transform us into a people who share your love with a world in pain,
a people who proclaim your hope into a world given to despair,
a people who live as though the world can be changed
into the kingdom that is to come.
Baptizing God, who calls us to be a baptizing community,
you speak to us in many languages over the course of our lives:
the burbles and laughs and wails of infancy,
the indistinct speech and partial words of toddlerhood,
the strange syntax and slang of late childhood and adolescence,
the full language of adulthood,
the quavering speech and muted tones of old age.
Speak to us in the language that we need to hear today,
hear us in the language that we speak.
God of many languages.
You sing the language of joy with us, you join us in the dance of life.
Hear all of your children who sing and dance and praise this morning,
those who celebrate new life with all the possibilities of the future,
those who celebrate relationships,
both the new and exciting and the long-term yet still exciting,
those for whom the wonder of life fills their being to the limit,
may they hear your voice joining in the singing and the shouting...
...time of silence...
And yet, God of life,
you also speak the languages of pain, of sorrow, of fear, of despair.
Hear all your children who speak, who wail,
who whisper in these languages this day:
those who find themselves in hospital beds, or waiting anxiously beside those beds,
those who gather to say farewell to one who is traveling, or one who is moving,
those who gather at graveside to say that longer farewell,
those who worry about where the next meal, or the next rent cheque, will come from,
those who live in places where peace is just a word, a faint hope, a distant dream,
May all those whose language is rent by pain hear you lamenting with them,
...time of silence...
God of Pentecost,
God who speaks with many tongues,
God who makes God-self known in many ways,
fill us with Your Spirit this and every morning,
hear the prayers we share using many different languages,
we pray in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, the one we call Christ, whose life,
death and resurrection show us the path to the Kingdom.
We pray as people of the Spirit,
who lights our fires, who fills our lungs with air,
who blows us out into the world to live and serve.
Amen.
~ written by Rev. Gord Waldie and posted on Worship Offerings. http://worshipofferings.blogspot.ca/
We Come to the Lord's Table
Invitation to the TableCommunion Hymn#249 "Spirit" (verses 1, 3, & 4)
Elder's Prayer
Words of Institution
The Lord's Supper with instrumental meditation
Prayer of Thanksgiving
We Go Forth into the World
Challenge for DiscipleshipDiscipleship Hymn#253 "Spirit, Come Dispel Our Sadness"(all verses)
Blessing
Closing Hymn $472 "Pass it On" (verse 1)
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