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 117
[1] Praise the LORD, all nations!
Extol him, all peoples!
[2] For great is his steadfast love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.
Praise the LORD!
Psalm 118
[1] Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!
[2] Let Israel say,
“His steadfast love endures forever.”
[3] Let the house of Aaron say,
“His steadfast love endures forever.”
[4] Let those who fear the LORD say,
“His steadfast love endures forever.”
[5] Out of my distress I called on the LORD;
the LORD answered me and set me free.
[6] The LORD is on my side; I will not fear.
What can man do to me?
[7] The LORD is on my side as my helper;
I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.
[8] It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in man.
[9] It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in princes.
[10] All nations surrounded me;
in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
[11] They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side;
in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
[12] They surrounded me like bees;
they went out like a fire among thorns;
in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
[13] I was pushed hard, so that I was falling,
but the LORD helped me.
[14] The LORD is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.
[15] Glad songs of salvation
are in the tents of the righteous:
“The right hand of the LORD does valiantly,
[16] the right hand of the LORD exalts,
the right hand of the LORD does valiantly!”
[17] I shall not die, but I shall live,
and recount the deeds of the LORD.
[18] The LORD has disciplined me severely,
but he has not given me over to death.
[19] Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter through them
and give thanks to the LORD.
[20] This is the gate of the LORD;
the righteous shall enter through it.
[21] I thank you that you have answered me
and have become my salvation.
[22] The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
[23] This is the LORD’s doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
[24] This is the day that the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
[25] Save us, we pray, O LORD!
O LORD, we pray, give us success!
[26] Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD!
We bless you from the house of the LORD.
[27] The LORD is God,
and he has made his light to shine upon us.
Bind the festal sacrifice with cords,
up to the horns of the altar!
[28] You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
you are my God; I will extol you.
[29] Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!
Psalm 120
A Song of Ascents.
[1] In my distress I called to the LORD,
and he answered me.
[2] Deliver me, O LORD,
from lying lips,
from a deceitful tongue.
[3] What shall be given to you,
and what more shall be done to you,
you deceitful tongue?
[4] A warrior’s sharp arrows,
with glowing coals of the broom tree!
[5] Woe to me, that I sojourn in Meshech,
that I dwell among the tents of Kedar!
[6] Too long have I had my dwelling
among those who hate peace.
[7] I am for peace,
but when I speak, they are for war!
Psalm 121
A Song of Ascents.
[1] I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
[2] My help comes from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
[3] He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
[4] Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
[5] The LORD is your keeper;
the LORD is your shade on your right hand.
[6] The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.
[7] The LORD will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
[8] The LORD will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore.
Old Testament Reading
1 Samuel 20
[1] Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah and came and said before Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my guilt? And what is my sin before your father, that he seeks my life?” [2] And he said to him, “Far from it! You shall not die. Behold, my father does nothing either great or small without disclosing it to me. And why should my father hide this from me? It is not so.” [3] But David vowed again, saying, “Your father knows well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he thinks, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved.’ But truly, as the LORD lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death.” [4] Then Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you say, I will do for you.” [5] David said to Jonathan, “Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit at table with the king. But let me go, that I may hide myself in the field till the third day at evening. [6] If your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David earnestly asked leave of me to run to Bethlehem his city, for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the clan.’ [7] If he says, ‘Good!’ it will be well with your servant, but if he is angry, then know that harm is determined by him. [8] Therefore deal kindly with your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the LORD with you. But if there is guilt in me, kill me yourself, for why should you bring me to your father?” [9] And Jonathan said, “Far be it from you! If I knew that it was determined by my father that harm should come to you, would I not tell you?” [10] Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father answers you roughly?” [11] And Jonathan said to David, “Come, let us go out into the field.” So they both went out into the field.
[12] And Jonathan said to David, “The LORD, the God of Israel, be witness! When I have sounded out my father, about this time tomorrow, or the third day, behold, if he is well disposed toward David, shall I not then send and disclose it to you? [13] But should it please my father to do you harm, the LORD do so to Jonathan and more also if I do not disclose it to you and send you away, that you may go in safety. May the LORD be with you, as he has been with my father. [14] If I am still alive, show me the steadfast love of the LORD, that I may not die; [15] and do not cut off your steadfast love from my house forever, when the LORD cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.” [16] And Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May the LORD take vengeance on David’s enemies.” [17] And Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul.
[18] Then Jonathan said to him, “Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty. [19] On the third day go down quickly to the place where you hid yourself when the matter was in hand, and remain beside the stone heap. [20] And I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as though I shot at a mark. [21] And behold, I will send the boy, saying, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you, take them,’ then you are to come, for, as the LORD lives, it is safe for you and there is no danger. [22] But if I say to the youth, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you,’ then go, for the LORD has sent you away. [23] And as for the matter of which you and I have spoken, behold, the LORD is between you and me forever.”
[24] So David hid himself in the field. And when the new moon came, the king sat down to eat food. [25] The king sat on his seat, as at other times, on the seat by the wall. Jonathan sat opposite, and Abner sat by Saul’s side, but David’s place was empty.
[26] Yet Saul did not say anything that day, for he thought, “Something has happened to him. He is not clean; surely he is not clean.” [27] But on the second day, the day after the new moon, David’s place was empty. And Saul said to Jonathan his son, “Why has not the son of Jesse come to the meal, either yesterday or today?” [28] Jonathan answered Saul, “David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem. [29] He said, ‘Let me go, for our clan holds a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has commanded me to be there. So now, if I have found favor in your eyes, let me get away and see my brothers.’ For this reason he has not come to the king’s table.”
[30] Then Saul’s anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse, rebellious woman, do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame, and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness? [31] For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom shall be established. Therefore send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die.” [32] Then Jonathan answered Saul his father, “Why should he be put to death? What has he done?” [33] But Saul hurled his spear at him to strike him. So Jonathan knew that his father was determined to put David to death. [34] And Jonathan rose from the table in fierce anger and ate no food the second day of the month, for he was grieved for David, because his father had disgraced him.
[35] In the morning Jonathan went out into the field to the appointment with David, and with him a little boy. [36] And he said to his boy, “Run and find the arrows that I shoot.” As the boy ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. [37] And when the boy came to the place of the arrow that Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called after the boy and said, “Is not the arrow beyond you?” [38] And Jonathan called after the boy, “Hurry! Be quick! Do not stay!” So Jonathan’s boy gathered up the arrows and came to his master. [39] But the boy knew nothing. Only Jonathan and David knew the matter. [40] And Jonathan gave his weapons to his boy and said to him, “Go and carry them to the city.” [41] And as soon as the boy had gone, David rose from beside the stone heap and fell on his face to the ground and bowed three times. And they kissed one another and wept with one another, David weeping the most. [42] Then Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, because we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, ‘The LORD shall be between me and you, and between my offspring and your offspring, forever.’” And he rose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city.
New Testament Reading
1 Corinthians 2
[1] And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. [2] For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. [3] And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, [4] and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, [5] so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
[6] Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. [7] But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. [8] None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. [9] But, as it is written,
“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him”—
[10] these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. [11] For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. [12] Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. [13] And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.
[14] The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. [15] The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. [16] “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
- 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...
Let your continual mercy, O Lord, cleanse and defend your Church; and, because it cannot continue in safety without your help, protect and govern it always by your goodness; 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.