Pentecost
The word ‘Pentecost’ comes from the Greek meaning simply ‘fiftieth.’ Pentecost Sunday ends the season of Easter and symbolizes a new beginning. It celebrates the unleashing of the Holy Spirit on the world and the empowering of the church to reach the world with the gospel. In remembering Pentecost and living in light of this powerful turning point the church expresses gratitude to Christ for sending “another counselor” (John 14:16), celebrates the work of the Spirit in the renewal of all creation, and professes its confidence and security in knowing the Spirit’s power is available for its mission.
- Calling -
O Lord, open our lips.
And our mouth shall proclaim Your praise.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now and will be forever. Amen. Alleluia!
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God:
O come, let us adore him.
- Constitution -
Read/Listen, Meditate, Pray, and Contemplate on God’s Word, remembering that God is with you and ready to speak to you because he loves you.
Isaiah 34
[1] Draw near, O nations, to hear,
and give attention, O peoples!
Let the earth hear, and all that fills it;
the world, and all that comes from it.
[2] For the LORD is enraged against all the nations,
and furious against all their host;
he has devoted them to destruction, has given them over for slaughter.
[3] Their slain shall be cast out,
and the stench of their corpses shall rise;
the mountains shall flow with their blood.
[4] All the host of heaven shall rot away,
and the skies roll up like a scroll.
All their host shall fall,
as leaves fall from the vine,
like leaves falling from the fig tree.
[5] For my sword has drunk its fill in the heavens;
behold, it descends for judgment upon Edom,
upon the people I have devoted to destruction.
[6] The LORD has a sword; it is sated with blood;
it is gorged with fat,
with the blood of lambs and goats,
with the fat of the kidneys of rams.
For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah,
a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
[7] Wild oxen shall fall with them,
and young steers with the mighty bulls.
Their land shall drink its fill of blood,
and their soil shall be gorged with fat.
[8] For the LORD has a day of vengeance,
a year of recompense for the cause of Zion.
[9] And the streams of Edom shall be turned into pitch,
and her soil into sulfur;
her land shall become burning pitch.
[10] Night and day it shall not be quenched;
its smoke shall go up forever.
From generation to generation it shall lie waste;
none shall pass through it forever and ever.
[11] But the hawk and the porcupine shall possess it,
the owl and the raven shall dwell in it.
He shall stretch the line of confusion over it,
and the plumb line of emptiness.
[12] Its nobles—there is no one there to call it a kingdom,
and all its princes shall be nothing.
[13] Thorns shall grow over its strongholds,
nettles and thistles in its fortresses.
It shall be the haunt of jackals,
an abode for ostriches.
[14] And wild animals shall meet with hyenas;
the wild goat shall cry to his fellow;
indeed, there the night bird settles
and finds for herself a resting place.
[15] There the owl nests and lays
and hatches and gathers her young in her shadow;
indeed, there the hawks are gathered,
each one with her mate.
[16] Seek and read from the book of the LORD:
Not one of these shall be missing;
none shall be without her mate.
For the mouth of the LORD has commanded,
and his Spirit has gathered them.
[17] He has cast the lot for them;
his hand has portioned it out to them with the line;
they shall possess it forever;
from generation to generation they shall dwell in it.
Isaiah 35
[1] The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad;
the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus;
[2] it shall blossom abundantly
and rejoice with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the LORD,
the majesty of our God.
[3] Strengthen the weak hands,
and make firm the feeble knees.
[4] Say to those who have an anxious heart,
“Be strong; fear not!
Behold, your God
will come with vengeance,
with the recompense of God.
He will come and save you.”
[5] Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
[6] then shall the lame man leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.
For waters break forth in the wilderness,
and streams in the desert;
[7] the burning sand shall become a pool,
and the thirsty ground springs of water;
in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down,
the grass shall become reeds and rushes.
[8] And a highway shall be there,
and it shall be called the Way of Holiness;
the unclean shall not pass over it.
It shall belong to those who walk on the way;
even if they are fools, they shall not go astray.
[9] No lion shall be there,
nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;
they shall not be found there,
but the redeemed shall walk there.
[10] And the ransomed of the LORD shall return
and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
they shall obtain gladness and joy,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Proverbs 24
[1] Be not envious of evil men,
nor desire to be with them,
[2] for their hearts devise violence,
and their lips talk of trouble.
[3] By wisdom a house is built,
and by understanding it is established;
[4] by knowledge the rooms are filled
with all precious and pleasant riches.
[5] A wise man is full of strength,
and a man of knowledge enhances his might,
[6] for by wise guidance you can wage your war,
and in abundance of counselors there is victory.
[7] Wisdom is too high for a fool;
in the gate he does not open his mouth.
[8] Whoever plans to do evil
will be called a schemer.
[9] The devising of folly is sin,
and the scoffer is an abomination to mankind.
[10] If you faint in the day of adversity,
your strength is small.
[11] Rescue those who are being taken away to death;
hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.
[12] If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,”
does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?
Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it,
and will he not repay man according to his work?
[13] My son, eat honey, for it is good,
and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste.
[14] Know that wisdom is such to your soul;
if you find it, there will be a future,
and your hope will not be cut off.
[15] Lie not in wait as a wicked man against the dwelling of the righteous;
do no violence to his home;
[16] for the righteous falls seven times and rises again,
but the wicked stumble in times of calamity.
[17] Do not rejoice when your enemy falls,
and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles,
[18] lest the LORD see it and be displeased,
and turn away his anger from him.
[19] Fret not yourself because of evildoers,
and be not envious of the wicked,
[20] for the evil man has no future;
the lamp of the wicked will be put out.
[21] My son, fear the LORD and the king,
and do not join with those who do otherwise,
[22] for disaster will arise suddenly from them,
and who knows the ruin that will come from them both?
[23] These also are sayings of the wise.
Partiality in judging is not good.
[24] Whoever says to the wicked, “You are in the right,”
will be cursed by peoples, abhorred by nations,
[25] but those who rebuke the wicked will have delight,
and a good blessing will come upon them.
[26] Whoever gives an honest answer
kisses the lips.
[27] Prepare your work outside;
get everything ready for yourself in the field,
and after that build your house.
[28] Be not a witness against your neighbor without cause,
and do not deceive with your lips.
[29] Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me;
I will pay the man back for what he has done.”
[30] I passed by the field of a sluggard,
by the vineyard of a man lacking sense,
[31] and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns;
the ground was covered with nettles,
and its stone wall was broken down.
[32] Then I saw and considered it;
I looked and received instruction.
[33] A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest,
[34] and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
and want like an armed man.
Psalm 129
A Song of Ascents.
[1] “Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth”—
let Israel now say—
[2] “Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth,
yet they have not prevailed against me.
[3] The plowers plowed upon my back;
they made long their furrows.”
[4] The LORD is righteous;
he has cut the cords of the wicked.
[5] May all who hate Zion
be put to shame and turned backward!
[6] Let them be like the grass on the housetops,
which withers before it grows up,
[7] with which the reaper does not fill his hand
nor the binder of sheaves his arms,
[8] nor do those who pass by say,
“The blessing of the LORD be upon you!
We bless you in the name of the LORD!”
- Communion -
Pray for yourself, others, our church, our neighbors, and the world.
Pray the Lord’s Prayer & the collect of the week:
Our Father who art in heaven...
O God, your never-failing providence sets in order all things both in heaven and earth: Put away from us, we entreat you, all hurtful things, and give us those things which are profitable for us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
- Commission -
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (2 Corinthians 13:14)
Let us go forth in the name of Christ.