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!
The mercy of the Lord is everlasting:
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 28
Of David.
[1] To you, O LORD, I call;
my rock, be not deaf to me,
lest, if you be silent to me,
I become like those who go down to the pit.
[2] Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy,
when I cry to you for help,
when I lift up my hands
toward your most holy sanctuary.
[3] Do not drag me off with the wicked,
with the workers of evil,
who speak peace with their neighbors
while evil is in their hearts.
[4] Give to them according to their work
and according to the evil of their deeds;
give to them according to the work of their hands;
render them their due reward.
[5] Because they do not regard the works of the LORD
or the work of his hands,
he will tear them down and build them up no more.
[6] Blessed be the LORD!
For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.
[7] The LORD is my strength and my shield;
in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;
my heart exults,
and with my song I give thanks to him.
[8] The LORD is the strength of his people;
he is the saving refuge of his anointed.
[9] Oh, save your people and bless your heritage!
Be their shepherd and carry them forever.
Psalm 29
A Psalm of David.
[1] Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
[2] Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.
[3] The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the LORD, over many waters.
[4] The voice of the LORD is powerful;
the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.
[5] The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;
the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
[6] He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf,
and Sirion like a young wild ox.
[7] The voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of fire.
[8] The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness;
the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
[9] The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth
and strips the forests bare,
and in his temple all cry, “Glory!”
[10] The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;
the LORD sits enthroned as king forever.
[11] May the LORD give strength to his people!
May the LORD bless his people with peace!
Psalm 30
A Psalm of David. A song at the dedication of the temple.
[1] I will extol you, O LORD, for you have drawn me up
and have not let my foes rejoice over me.
[2] O LORD my God, I cried to you for help,
and you have healed me.
[3] O LORD, you have brought up my soul from Sheol;
you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.
[4] Sing praises to the LORD, O you his saints,
and give thanks to his holy name.
[5] For his anger is but for a moment,
and his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may tarry for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.
[6] As for me, I said in my prosperity,
“I shall never be moved.”
[7] By your favor, O LORD,
you made my mountain stand strong;
you hid your face;
I was dismayed.
[8] To you, O LORD, I cry,
and to the Lord I plead for mercy:
[9] “What profit is there in my death,
if I go down to the pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it tell of your faithfulness?
[10] Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me!
O LORD, be my helper!”
[11] You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
you have loosed my sackcloth
and clothed me with gladness,
[12] that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.
O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever!
Old Testament Reading
2 Samuel 17
[1] Moreover, Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Let me choose twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue David tonight. [2] I will come upon him while he is weary and discouraged and throw him into a panic, and all the people who are with him will flee. I will strike down only the king, [3] and I will bring all the people back to you as a bride comes home to her husband. You seek the life of only one man, and all the people will be at peace.” [4] And the advice seemed right in the eyes of Absalom and all the elders of Israel.
[5] Then Absalom said, “Call Hushai the Archite also, and let us hear what he has to say.” [6] And when Hushai came to Absalom, Absalom said to him, “Thus has Ahithophel spoken; shall we do as he says? If not, you speak.” [7] Then Hushai said to Absalom, “This time the counsel that Ahithophel has given is not good.” [8] Hushai said, “You know that your father and his men are mighty men, and that they are enraged, like a bear robbed of her cubs in the field. Besides, your father is expert in war; he will not spend the night with the people. [9] Behold, even now he has hidden himself in one of the pits or in some other place. And as soon as some of the people fall at the first attack, whoever hears it will say, ‘There has been a slaughter among the people who follow Absalom.’ [10] Then even the valiant man, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, will utterly melt with fear, for all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man, and that those who are with him are valiant men. [11] But my counsel is that all Israel be gathered to you, from Dan to Beersheba, as the sand by the sea for multitude, and that you go to battle in person. [12] So we shall come upon him in some place where he is to be found, and we shall light upon him as the dew falls on the ground, and of him and all the men with him not one will be left. [13] If he withdraws into a city, then all Israel will bring ropes to that city, and we shall drag it into the valley, until not even a pebble is to be found there.” [14] And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel.” For the LORD had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that the LORD might bring harm upon Absalom.
[15] Then Hushai said to Zadok and Abiathar the priests, “Thus and so did Ahithophel counsel Absalom and the elders of Israel, and thus and so have I counseled. [16] Now therefore send quickly and tell David, ‘Do not stay tonight at the fords of the wilderness, but by all means pass over, lest the king and all the people who are with him be swallowed up.’” [17] Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz were waiting at En-rogel. A female servant was to go and tell them, and they were to go and tell King David, for they were not to be seen entering the city. [18] But a young man saw them and told Absalom. So both of them went away quickly and came to the house of a man at Bahurim, who had a well in his courtyard. And they went down into it. [19] And the woman took and spread a covering over the well’s mouth and scattered grain on it, and nothing was known of it. [20] When Absalom’s servants came to the woman at the house, they said, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” And the woman said to them, “They have gone over the brook of water.” And when they had sought and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem.
[21] After they had gone, the men came up out of the well, and went and told King David. They said to David, “Arise, and go quickly over the water, for thus and so has Ahithophel counseled against you.” [22] Then David arose, and all the people who were with him, and they crossed the Jordan. By daybreak not one was left who had not crossed the Jordan.
[23] When Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his donkey and went off home to his own city. He set his house in order and hanged himself, and he died and was buried in the tomb of his father.
[24] Then David came to Mahanaim. And Absalom crossed the Jordan with all the men of Israel. [25] Now Absalom had set Amasa over the army instead of Joab. Amasa was the son of a man named Ithra the Ishmaelite, who had married Abigal the daughter of Nahash, sister of Zeruiah, Joab’s mother. [26] And Israel and Absalom encamped in the land of Gilead.
[27] When David came to Mahanaim, Shobi the son of Nahash from Rabbah of the Ammonites, and Machir the son of Ammiel from Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim, [28] brought beds, basins, and earthen vessels, wheat, barley, flour, parched grain, beans and lentils, [29] honey and curds and sheep and cheese from the herd, for David and the people with him to eat, for they said, “The people are hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness.”
New Testament Reading
2 Corinthians 10
[1] I, Paul, myself entreat you, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I am away!—[2] I beg of you that when I am present I may not have to show boldness with such confidence as I count on showing against some who suspect us of walking according to the flesh. [3] For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. [4] For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. [5] We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, [6] being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.
[7] Look at what is before your eyes. If anyone is confident that he is Christ’s, let him remind himself that just as he is Christ’s, so also are we. [8] For even if I boast a little too much of our authority, which the Lord gave for building you up and not for destroying you, I will not be ashamed. [9] I do not want to appear to be frightening you with my letters. [10] For they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account.” [11] Let such a person understand that what we say by letter when absent, we do when present. [12] Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.
[13] But we will not boast beyond limits, but will boast only with regard to the area of influence God assigned to us, to reach even to you. [14] For we are not overextending ourselves, as though we did not reach you. For we were the first to come all the way to you with the gospel of Christ. [15] We do not boast beyond limit in the labors of others. But our hope is that as your faith increases, our area of influence among you may be greatly enlarged, [16] so that we may preach the gospel in lands beyond you, without boasting of work already done in another’s area of influence. [17] “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” [18] For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.
- 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 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.