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 Word was made flesh and dwelt among us:
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 71
[1] In you, O LORD, do I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame!
[2] In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;
incline your ear to me, and save me!
[3] Be to me a rock of refuge,
to which I may continually come;
you have given the command to save me,
for you are my rock and my fortress.
[4] Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,
from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man.
[5] For you, O Lord, are my hope,
my trust, O LORD, from my youth.
[6] Upon you I have leaned from before my birth;
you are he who took me from my mother’s womb.
My praise is continually of you.
[7] I have been as a portent to many,
but you are my strong refuge.
[8] My mouth is filled with your praise,
and with your glory all the day.
[9] Do not cast me off in the time of old age;
forsake me not when my strength is spent.
[10] For my enemies speak concerning me;
those who watch for my life consult together
[11] and say, “God has forsaken him;
pursue and seize him,
for there is none to deliver him.”
[12] O God, be not far from me;
O my God, make haste to help me!
[13] May my accusers be put to shame and consumed;
with scorn and disgrace may they be covered
who seek my hurt.
[14] But I will hope continually
and will praise you yet more and more.
[15] My mouth will tell of your righteous acts,
of your deeds of salvation all the day,
for their number is past my knowledge.
[16] With the mighty deeds of the Lord GOD I will come;
I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone.
[17] O God, from my youth you have taught me,
and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.
[18] So even to old age and gray hairs,
O God, do not forsake me,
until I proclaim your might to another generation,
your power to all those to come.
[19] Your righteousness, O God,
reaches the high heavens.
You who have done great things,
O God, who is like you?
[20] You who have made me see many troubles and calamities
will revive me again;
from the depths of the earth
you will bring me up again.
[21] You will increase my greatness
and comfort me again.
[22] I will also praise you with the harp
for your faithfulness, O my God;
I will sing praises to you with the lyre,
O Holy One of Israel.
[23] My lips will shout for joy,
when I sing praises to you;
my soul also, which you have redeemed.
[24] And my tongue will talk of your righteous help all the day long,
for they have been put to shame and disappointed
who sought to do me hurt.
Psalm 72
Of Solomon.
[1] Give the king your justice, O God,
and your righteousness to the royal son!
[2] May he judge your people with righteousness,
and your poor with justice!
[3] Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people,
and the hills, in righteousness!
[4] May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,
give deliverance to the children of the needy,
and crush the oppressor!
[5] May they fear you while the sun endures,
and as long as the moon, throughout all generations!
[6] May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass,
like showers that water the earth!
[7] In his days may the righteous flourish,
and peace abound, till the moon be no more!
[8] May he have dominion from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth!
[9] May desert tribes bow down before him,
and his enemies lick the dust!
[10] May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands
render him tribute;
may the kings of Sheba and Seba
bring gifts!
[11] May all kings fall down before him,
all nations serve him!
[12] For he delivers the needy when he calls,
the poor and him who has no helper.
[13] He has pity on the weak and the needy,
and saves the lives of the needy.
[14] From oppression and violence he redeems their life,
and precious is their blood in his sight.
[15] Long may he live;
may gold of Sheba be given to him!
May prayer be made for him continually,
and blessings invoked for him all the day!
[16] May there be abundance of grain in the land;
on the tops of the mountains may it wave;
may its fruit be like Lebanon;
and may people blossom in the cities
like the grass of the field!
[17] May his name endure forever,
his fame continue as long as the sun!
May people be blessed in him,
all nations call him blessed!
[18] Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,
who alone does wondrous things.
[19] Blessed be his glorious name forever;
may the whole earth be filled with his glory!
Amen and Amen!
[20] The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended.
Old Testament Reading
1 Kings 10
[1] Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with hard questions. [2] She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels bearing spices and very much gold and precious stones. And when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind. [3] And Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king that he could not explain to her. [4] And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, [5] the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the LORD, there was no more breath in her.
[6] And she said to the king, “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom, [7] but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report that I heard. [8] Happy are your men! Happy are your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! [9] Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel! Because the LORD loved Israel forever, he has made you king, that you may execute justice and righteousness.” [10] Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold, and a very great quantity of spices and precious stones. Never again came such an abundance of spices as these that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
[11] Moreover, the fleet of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought from Ophir a very great amount of almug wood and precious stones. [12] And the king made of the almug wood supports for the house of the LORD and for the king’s house, also lyres and harps for the singers. No such almug wood has come or been seen to this day.
[13] And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all that she desired, whatever she asked besides what was given her by the bounty of King Solomon. So she turned and went back to her own land with her servants.
[14] Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, [15] besides that which came from the explorers and from the business of the merchants, and from all the kings of the west and from the governors of the land. [16] King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold; 600 shekels of gold went into each shield. [17] And he made 300 shields of beaten gold; three minas of gold went into each shield. And the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon. [18] The king also made a great ivory throne and overlaid it with the finest gold. [19] The throne had six steps, and the throne had a round top, and on each side of the seat were armrests and two lions standing beside the armrests, [20] while twelve lions stood there, one on each end of a step on the six steps. The like of it was never made in any kingdom. [21] All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. None were of silver; silver was not considered as anything in the days of Solomon. [22] For the king had a fleet of ships of Tarshish at sea with the fleet of Hiram. Once every three years the fleet of ships of Tarshish used to come bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
[23] Thus King Solomon excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. [24] And the whole earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his mind. [25] Every one of them brought his present, articles of silver and gold, garments, myrrh, spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year.
[26] And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen, whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. [27] And the king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stone, and he made cedar as plentiful as the sycamore of the Shephelah. [28] And Solomon’s import of horses was from Egypt and Kue, and the king’s traders received them from Kue at a price. [29] A chariot could be imported from Egypt for 600 shekels of silver and a horse for 150, and so through the king’s traders they were exported to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria.
New Testament Reading
Philippians 1
[1] Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,
To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons:
[2] Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
[3] I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, [4] always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, [5] because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. [6] And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. [7] It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. [8] For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. [9] And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, [10] so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, [11] filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
[12] I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, [13] so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. [14] And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
[15] Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. [16] The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. [17] The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. [18] What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.
Yes, and I will rejoice, [19] for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, [20] as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. [21] For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. [22] If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. [23] I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. [24] But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. [25] Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, [26] so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.
[27] Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, [28] and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. [29] For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, [30] engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.
- 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, because without you we are not able to please you, mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. 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.