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!
Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness:
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.
Praying the Psalms
Psalm 63
A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.
[1] O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
[2] So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
beholding your power and glory.
[3] Because your steadfast love is better than life,
my lips will praise you.
[4] So I will bless you as long as I live;
in your name I will lift up my hands.
[5] My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,
and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,
[6] when I remember you upon my bed,
and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
[7] for you have been my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.
[8] My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.
[9] But those who seek to destroy my life
shall go down into the depths of the earth;
[10] they shall be given over to the power of the sword;
they shall be a portion for jackals.
[11] But the king shall rejoice in God;
all who swear by him shall exult,
for the mouths of liars will be stopped.
Psalm 64
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
[1] Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint;
preserve my life from dread of the enemy.
[2] Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked,
from the throng of evildoers,
[3] who whet their tongues like swords,
who aim bitter words like arrows,
[4] shooting from ambush at the blameless,
shooting at him suddenly and without fear.
[5] They hold fast to their evil purpose;
they talk of laying snares secretly,
thinking, “Who can see them?”
[6] They search out injustice,
saying, “We have accomplished a diligent search.”
For the inward mind and heart of a man are deep.
[7] But God shoots his arrow at them;
they are wounded suddenly.
[8] They are brought to ruin, with their own tongues turned against them;
all who see them will wag their heads.
[9] Then all mankind fears;
they tell what God has brought about
and ponder what he has done.
[10] Let the righteous one rejoice in the LORD
and take refuge in him!
Let all the upright in heart exult!
Psalm 65
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song.
[1] Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion,
and to you shall vows be performed.
[2] O you who hear prayer,
to you shall all flesh come.
[3] When iniquities prevail against me,
you atone for our transgressions.
[4] Blessed is the one you choose and bring near,
to dwell in your courts!
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
the holiness of your temple!
[5] By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness,
O God of our salvation,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas;
[6] the one who by his strength established the mountains,
being girded with might;
[7] who stills the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
the tumult of the peoples,
[8] so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs.
You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy.
[9] You visit the earth and water it;
you greatly enrich it;
the river of God is full of water;
you provide their grain,
for so you have prepared it.
[10] You water its furrows abundantly,
settling its ridges,
softening it with showers,
and blessing its growth.
[11] You crown the year with your bounty;
your wagon tracks overflow with abundance.
[12] The pastures of the wilderness overflow,
the hills gird themselves with joy,
[13] the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,
the valleys deck themselves with grain,
they shout and sing together for joy.
Old Testament Reading
Jeremiah 52
[1] Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. [2] And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. [3] For because of the anger of the LORD it came to the point in Jerusalem and Judah that he cast them out from his presence.
And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. [4] And in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came with all his army against Jerusalem, and laid siege to it. And they built siegeworks all around it. [5] So the city was besieged till the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. [6] On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. [7] Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war fled and went out from the city by night by the way of a gate between the two walls, by the king’s garden, and the Chaldeans were around the city. And they went in the direction of the Arabah. [8] But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him. [9] Then they captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he passed sentence on him. [10] The king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and also slaughtered all the officials of Judah at Riblah. [11] He put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him in chains, and the king of Babylon took him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of his death.
[12] In the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month—that was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon—Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, who served the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem. [13] And he burned the house of the LORD, and the king’s house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down. [14] And all the army of the Chaldeans, who were with the captain of the guard, broke down all the walls around Jerusalem. [15] And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive some of the poorest of the people and the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, together with the rest of the artisans. [16] But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen.
[17] And the pillars of bronze that were in the house of the LORD, and the stands and the bronze sea that were in the house of the LORD, the Chaldeans broke in pieces, and carried all the bronze to Babylon. [18] And they took away the pots and the shovels and the snuffers and the basins and the dishes for incense and all the vessels of bronze used in the temple service; [19] also the small bowls and the fire pans and the basins and the pots and the lampstands and the dishes for incense and the bowls for drink offerings. What was of gold the captain of the guard took away as gold, and what was of silver, as silver. [20] As for the two pillars, the one sea, the twelve bronze bulls that were under the sea, and the stands, which Solomon the king had made for the house of the LORD, the bronze of all these things was beyond weight. [21] As for the pillars, the height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, its circumference was twelve cubits, and its thickness was four fingers, and it was hollow. [22] On it was a capital of bronze. The height of the one capital was five cubits. A network and pomegranates, all of bronze, were around the capital. And the second pillar had the same, with pomegranates. [23] There were ninety-six pomegranates on the sides; all the pomegranates were a hundred upon the network all around.
[24] And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest and the three keepers of the threshold; [25] and from the city he took an officer who had been in command of the men of war, and seven men of the king’s council, who were found in the city; and the secretary of the commander of the army, who mustered the people of the land; and sixty men of the people of the land, who were found in the midst of the city. [26] And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. [27] And the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was taken into exile out of its land.
[28] This is the number of the people whom Nebuchadnezzar carried away captive: in the seventh year, 3,023 Judeans; [29] in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar he carried away captive from Jerusalem 832 persons; [30] in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the Judeans 745 persons; all the persons were 4,600.
[31] And in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth day of the month, Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, graciously freed Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison. [32] And he spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat above the seats of the kings who were with him in Babylon. [33] So Jehoiachin put off his prison garments. And every day of his life he dined regularly at the king’s table, [34] and for his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king, according to his daily needs, until the day of his death, as long as he lived.
- 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...
Grant, O merciful God, that your Church, being gathered together in unity by your Holy Spirit, may show forth your power among all peoples, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
- Commission -
The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.
(Numbers 6:24-26)
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord and our neighbors.