PENTECOST SUNDAY, MAY 31 - "PEAS AND CARROTS"
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If you are worshiping with others, please feel free to read responsively.
GOOD MORNING, YOU BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE OF GOD!
Special Music: "Holy Spirit Song -- Pentecost Song"
Call to Worship: (Psalm 104)
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.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. Bless the LORD, O my soul. Praise the LORD!
Yonder is the sea, great and wide, creeping things innumerable are there, living things both small and great.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. Bless the LORD, O my soul. Praise the LORD!
Hymn:
“Spirit,
Spirit of Gentleness”
Opening
Prayer Perplexing, Pentecostal God, you infuse us with your Spirit,
urging us to vision and dream. May the gift of your presence find
voice in our lives, that our babbling may be transformed into
discernment and the flickering of many tongues light an unquenchable
fire of compassion and justice.
As
you guided the Israelites through the wilderness, guide us through
this pandemic wilderness. By your Spirit, open us to the lessons and
discoveries you bring to us. Forgive us for our grumbling and
murmuring and make us stronger, bolder and more tenacious in our
faith. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ who first taught us
to pray:
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. Amen.
Good
News: We have been forgiven and we are always loved.
Special
Music: “Send
Down the
Fire”
Children’s
Message: “Pentecostal
Power”
Source:
www.sermons4kids.com
On
a hot summer day, an electric fan can really help to keep us cool.
How does a fan help to keep us cool? That's right, it keeps us cool
by blowing air. I think I will turn the fan on now. Do you see any
air coming out of the fan? Well, if we can't see the air, how do you
know the fan is working? There are several ways we can tell that this
fan is working.
One
way that we can tell that the fan is working is that I have tied some
bright red streamers on the front of the fan. Even though we can't
see the air, we can see the air blowing those streamers. That is one
way we know the fan is working.
Another
way we can know that the fan is working is that we can feel the air
from the fan blowing against our faces. We can't see the air, but we
can feel it.
Finally,
we know that the fan is working because we can hear the sound of the
air and the rattling sound of the streamers as they blow. We can't
see it, but we can hear it.
Today
is a special day which many churches celebrate. It is called the day
of Pentecost. Here is the story of how it all began.
The
Bible tells us that on the day of Pentecost, the Jesus' followers
were all gathered together in one place and God sent the Holy Spirit
to give them the power to teach others about Jesus. Now, they
couldn't see the Holy Spirit, so how did they know the Holy Spirit
was there?
The
Bible says that they knew the Holy Spirit was there because they
could hear the sound of a mighty rushing wind coming from heaven.
They couldn't see the Holy Spirit, but they could hear the sound of
the wind just as we can hear the air blowing from this fan.
Then
the Bible tells us that they saw what seemed to be flaming tongues of
fire that came and rested on their heads. They couldn't see the Holy
Spirit, but they knew that the Holy Spirit was there because they
could see the flaming tongues of fire just as we can see these red
ribbons on our fan.
Finally,
the Bible tells us that they knew the Holy Spirit was there because
they could feel his power. When they were filled with the Holy
Spirit, he gave them the ability to speak in languages that they
didn't even know, so that they could tell everyone about Jesus. They
couldn't see the Holy Spirit, but they could feel his power in their
life just as we can feel the air from this fan.
The
Holy Spirit is still with us today. We can't see him, but we can hear
him as he speaks to our hearts, we can see his moving in our life,
and we can feel the power of his presence as he guides us through
each day.
Dear
Father, thank you for sending your Holy Spirit to be our teacher and
guide. Help us to listen and obey as he teaches us how to tell others
about Jesus. Amen.
Giving Thanks: Even though we are not able meet together, please continue to financially support the mission of God and the ministry of Christ through your gifts and offerings by contributing either through the mail or by electronic giving. Thank you.
Giving Thanks: Even though we are not able meet together, please continue to financially support the mission of God and the ministry of Christ through your gifts and offerings by contributing either through the mail or by electronic giving. Thank you.
Special
Music: “You are Mine”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GReBL0Qnfyg
Let us pray:
Holy Spirit breathe into our lungs so that we may feel your peace with us. Holy Spirit breathe into the lives of those people who are touched by the ministries of this church so they, too, may feel your peace. Holy Spirit receive the outpouring of these generous gifts offered unto you. In the name of the One who first offered the gift of the Holy Spirit, we pray. Amen.
Let us pray:
Holy Spirit breathe into our lungs so that we may feel your peace with us. Holy Spirit breathe into the lives of those people who are touched by the ministries of this church so they, too, may feel your peace. Holy Spirit receive the outpouring of these generous gifts offered unto you. In the name of the One who first offered the gift of the Holy Spirit, we pray. Amen.
Song
to Prepare Our Hearts: “Spirit
Song”
Scripture
Reading:
Acts
2: 1-21
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.”
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
Message: “Peas and Carrots Pastor
Dave
GOD
IS GOOD! ALL
THE TIME!
AND
ALL THE TIME! GOD
IS GOOD!
Recently
the CBS television network began programming blockbuster or favorite
movies on Sunday evening. A few weeks ago CBS showed the movie
Forest Gump. Forest
Gump is a favorite
in our house as we visited Forest’s famous park bench in Savannah,
Georgia two years ago.
My
favorite Forest Gump lines is “We were just like peas and carrots”.
It is a simile Forest states every time his relationship with Jennie
is positive.
This
scripture lesson for today, Pentecost Sunday, reflects the warm,
loving and positive relationship between the Holy Spirit and the
church. They are just like peas and carrots.
Let’s
take a look at the scripture lesson for today. It is the Pentecost
story, which is the arrival of the Holy Spirit and the beginning of
the church. The story occurs exactly ten days after Christ ascends
into heaven. The story takes place in Jerusalem, as Christ has
instructed his disciples to wait there for the arrival of the Holy
Spirit. The story is named Pentecost after the Jewish holiday of the
same name. The holiday is a celebration of the spring grain harvest
and occurs exactly fifty days after the Passover. Therefore, putting
all of this together, the disciples are in Jerusalem, a large group
of Jews are in Jerusalem and a festival is occurring; something is
going to happen.
The
Holy Spirit arrives!
Notice
the two main attributes of the Holy Spirit: wind and fire.
Luke
describes it as a howling or violent wind which swept through and
filled the house where the disciples were sitting. Wind is the
presence of the Holy Spirit. Notice that in Genesis, it is denoted
that wind swept over the water. That is the presence of the Holy
Spirit. But here today in this scripture lesson, at Pentecost, it is
the Holy Spirit which has arrived, is seeking, and sweeping over the
disciples.
Luke
describes the fire as divided tongues which appeared on the disciples
and rested upon each of them. Fire is the presence of the Holy
Spirit. Notice that in Exodus, it is through the fire of the burning
bush that God speaks to Moses. It is also a pillar of fire which
protects the Israelites as they leave Egypt. That is the presence of
the Holy Spirit. But here today in this scripture lesson, at
Pentecost, it is the Holy Spirit which has arrived, is seeking, and
rests upon the disciples.
There
are three lessons which are to be considered from this story.
The
first lesson is the spiritual power of the Holy Spirit. It is the
spiritual power of the Holy Spirit which permits each of us to speak
and to share with others about God. It is this power within us that
makes us gifted preachers and teachers for God. Often times we view
preachers as not only well educated in theology and understanding of
God’s ways; but also gifted with talents that enable them to
present that information and provide a greater understanding of God’s
ways for the people whom sit in the pews.
What we fail to understand is that every gifted preacher is giving themselves over to the power of the Holy Spirit. It is this spiritual power that permits them to preach. It is this power that preaches. It is this power that carries the message. If a preacher attempts to compose and deliver a sermon without this spiritual power, there is nothing, except a flat, dull, lifeless message.
What we fail to understand is that every gifted preacher is giving themselves over to the power of the Holy Spirit. It is this spiritual power that permits them to preach. It is this power that preaches. It is this power that carries the message. If a preacher attempts to compose and deliver a sermon without this spiritual power, there is nothing, except a flat, dull, lifeless message.
There
is a current you-tube video which I think reflects spiritual power.
It was recorded through a doorbell camera of a delivery person
bringing a package and placing it on a front porch. The full detail
of the story is about a severely ill child living within the house
who needs to be quarantined. However, the child is in need of daily
medical deliveries. In the video, the delivery person places the
package on the front porch very near the door. The delivery person
then steps back to the edge of porch, stands and prays. Following
the prayer, the delivery person crosses herself and leaves. That is
the spiritual power of the Holy Spirit within the delivery person
which caused her to seek physical healing for that child.
The
second lesson is the uniting power of the Holy Spirit. It is the
power to reverse the story of the Tower of Babel. In the Babel story
found in Genesis 11, originally everyone spoke one common language.
However, God mixes up the language and disperses the people
throughout the earth because of their actions.
The uniting power of the Holy Spirit as shown in the Pentecost story brings the people back together again. Although it does not restore one common language, it does permit them to speak to each other and share the good news of Jesus Christ. Furthermore, it not only extends the ability to share the good news with other Jew; but also permits the disciples to share the good news with Gentiles. The uniting power of the Holy Spirit is the very essence of church establishment and church growth.
The uniting power of the Holy Spirit as shown in the Pentecost story brings the people back together again. Although it does not restore one common language, it does permit them to speak to each other and share the good news of Jesus Christ. Furthermore, it not only extends the ability to share the good news with other Jew; but also permits the disciples to share the good news with Gentiles. The uniting power of the Holy Spirit is the very essence of church establishment and church growth.
The
final lesson is the identifying power of the Holy Spirit. This power
is evidenced by the presence of the tongues of fire upon the
disciples. This presence marks them as disciples of Jesus Christ.
We too have that mark. We too are marked as disciples of Jesus
Christ. While you and I may not see those tongues of fire resting
upon us, we have them within us. We are marked as disciples of Jesus
Christ. We have that fire within our hearts.
The
second part of the Pentecost story and the scripture lesson is
Peter’s sermon. It is a powerful sermon because it so beautifully
establishes these two major points. The sermon explains in detail
what the people are witnessing and what they should do. Peter’s
message reaffirms that they are witnessing the presence of the Holy
Spirit and they are to seek the Lord. Because in seeking the Lord,
Peter explains they shall be saved.
We
have to believe that this sermon comes as a result of Peter giving
himself fully to the power of the Holy Spirit. And we have to
believe that those whom sought the Lord that day were saved.
Hence,
the presence of the Holy Spirit and the establishment of the church
on Pentecost is just like peas and carrots.
Amen.
Let us pray:
Lord
we pray that the Holy Spirit come to us and be in us each and every
day. We pray that the Holy Spirit enable us to not only reach out
and share your word with each other; but also strengthen us in our
ability to seek you. Amen.
Song
of Sending: “Make Me a
channel of Your Peace”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7itP2pVL05M
Benediction:
May
the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face to shine
upon you, and be gracious onto you. May the Lord lift up the light
of His love upon you and give you peace. Go in peace. Serve the
Lord.
GOING FORTH
“God Will Take Care of You”
“Go Now in Peace”
Remember how much God loves you!
"Reckless Love"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sc6SSHuZvQE
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