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 16
A Miktam of David.
[1] Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
[2] I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you.”
[3] As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,
in whom is all my delight.
[4] The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply;
their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out
or take their names on my lips.
[5] The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot.
[6] The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
[7] I bless the LORD who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
[8] I have set the LORD always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
[9] Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure.
[10] For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
or let your holy one see corruption.
[11] You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Psalm 17
A Prayer of David.
[1] Hear a just cause, O LORD; attend to my cry!
Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit!
[2] From your presence let my vindication come!
Let your eyes behold the right!
[3] You have tried my heart, you have visited me by night,
you have tested me, and you will find nothing;
I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.
[4] With regard to the works of man, by the word of your lips
I have avoided the ways of the violent.
[5] My steps have held fast to your paths;
my feet have not slipped.
[6] I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God;
incline your ear to me; hear my words.
[7] Wondrously show your steadfast love,
O Savior of those who seek refuge
from their adversaries at your right hand.
[8] Keep me as the apple of your eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wings,
[9] from the wicked who do me violence,
my deadly enemies who surround me.
[10] They close their hearts to pity;
with their mouths they speak arrogantly.
[11] They have now surrounded our steps;
they set their eyes to cast us to the ground.
[12] He is like a lion eager to tear,
as a young lion lurking in ambush.
[13] Arise, O LORD! Confront him, subdue him!
Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword,
[14] from men by your hand, O LORD,
from men of the world whose portion is in this life.
You fill their womb with treasure;
they are satisfied with children,
and they leave their abundance to their infants.
[15] As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness;
when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.
Psalm 18
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD, who addressed the words of this song to the LORD on the day when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said:
[1] I love you, O LORD, my strength.
[2] The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
[3] I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.
[4] The cords of death encompassed me;
the torrents of destruction assailed me;
[5] the cords of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.
[6] In my distress I called upon the LORD;
to my God I cried for help.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.
[7] Then the earth reeled and rocked;
the foundations also of the mountains trembled
and quaked, because he was angry.
[8] Smoke went up from his nostrils,
and devouring fire from his mouth;
glowing coals flamed forth from him.
[9] He bowed the heavens and came down;
thick darkness was under his feet.
[10] He rode on a cherub and flew;
he came swiftly on the wings of the wind.
[11] He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him,
thick clouds dark with water.
[12] Out of the brightness before him
hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.
[13] The LORD also thundered in the heavens,
and the Most High uttered his voice,
hailstones and coals of fire.
[14] And he sent out his arrows and scattered them;
he flashed forth lightnings and routed them.
[15] Then the channels of the sea were seen,
and the foundations of the world were laid bare
at your rebuke, O LORD,
at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.
[16] He sent from on high, he took me;
he drew me out of many waters.
[17] He rescued me from my strong enemy
and from those who hated me,
for they were too mighty for me.
[18] They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
but the LORD was my support.
[19] He brought me out into a broad place;
he rescued me, because he delighted in me.
[20] The LORD dealt with me according to my righteousness;
according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.
[21] For I have kept the ways of the LORD,
and have not wickedly departed from my God.
[22] For all his rules were before me,
and his statutes I did not put away from me.
[23] I was blameless before him,
and I kept myself from my guilt.
[24] So the LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
[25] With the merciful you show yourself merciful;
with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;
[26] with the purified you show yourself pure;
and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.
[27] For you save a humble people,
but the haughty eyes you bring down.
[28] For it is you who light my lamp;
the LORD my God lightens my darkness.
[29] For by you I can run against a troop,
and by my God I can leap over a wall.
[30] This God—his way is perfect;
the word of the LORD proves true;
he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.
[31] For who is God, but the LORD?
And who is a rock, except our God?—
[32] the God who equipped me with strength
and made my way blameless.
[33] He made my feet like the feet of a deer
and set me secure on the heights.
[34] He trains my hands for war,
so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
[35] You have given me the shield of your salvation,
and your right hand supported me,
and your gentleness made me great.
[36] You gave a wide place for my steps under me,
and my feet did not slip.
[37] I pursued my enemies and overtook them,
and did not turn back till they were consumed.
[38] I thrust them through, so that they were not able to rise;
they fell under my feet.
[39] For you equipped me with strength for the battle;
you made those who rise against me sink under me.
[40] You made my enemies turn their backs to me,
and those who hated me I destroyed.
[41] They cried for help, but there was none to save;
they cried to the LORD, but he did not answer them.
[42] I beat them fine as dust before the wind;
I cast them out like the mire of the streets.
[43] You delivered me from strife with the people;
you made me the head of the nations;
people whom I had not known served me.
[44] As soon as they heard of me they obeyed me;
foreigners came cringing to me.
[45] Foreigners lost heart
and came trembling out of their fortresses.
[46] The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock,
and exalted be the God of my salvation—
[47] the God who gave me vengeance
and subdued peoples under me,
[48] who rescued me from my enemies;
yes, you exalted me above those who rose against me;
you delivered me from the man of violence.
[49] For this I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations,
and sing to your name.
[50] Great salvation he brings to his king,
and shows steadfast love to his anointed,
to David and his offspring forever.
Old Testament Reading
Ezekiel 47
[1] Then he brought me back to the door of the temple, and behold, water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar. [2] Then he brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate that faces toward the east; and behold, the water was trickling out on the south side.
[3] Going on eastward with a measuring line in his hand, the man measured a thousand cubits, and then led me through the water, and it was ankle-deep. [4] Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was knee-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was waist-deep. [5] Again he measured a thousand, and it was a river that I could not pass through, for the water had risen. It was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be passed through. [6] And he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen this?”
Then he led me back to the bank of the river. [7] As I went back, I saw on the bank of the river very many trees on the one side and on the other. [8] And he said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, and enters the sea; when the water flows into the sea, the water will become fresh. [9] And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes. [10] Fishermen will stand beside the sea. From Engedi to Eneglaim it will be a place for the spreading of nets. Its fish will be of very many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea. [11] But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they are to be left for salt. [12] And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.”
[13] Thus says the Lord GOD: “This is the boundary by which you shall divide the land for inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph shall have two portions. [14] And you shall divide equally what I swore to give to your fathers. This land shall fall to you as your inheritance.
[15] “This shall be the boundary of the land: On the north side, from the Great Sea by way of Hethlon to Lebo-hamath, and on to Zedad, [16] Berothah, Sibraim (which lies on the border between Damascus and Hamath), as far as Hazer-hatticon, which is on the border of Hauran. [17] So the boundary shall run from the sea to Hazar-enan, which is on the northern border of Damascus, with the border of Hamath to the north. This shall be the north side.
[18] “On the east side, the boundary shall run between Hauran and Damascus; along the Jordan between Gilead and the land of Israel; to the eastern sea and as far as Tamar. This shall be the east side.
[19] “On the south side, it shall run from Tamar as far as the waters of Meribah-kadesh, from there along the Brook of Egypt to the Great Sea. This shall be the south side.
[20] “On the west side, the Great Sea shall be the boundary to a point opposite Lebo-hamath. This shall be the west side.
[21] “So you shall divide this land among you according to the tribes of Israel. [22] You shall allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the sojourners who reside among you and have had children among you. They shall be to you as native-born children of Israel. With you they shall be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. [23] In whatever tribe the sojourner resides, there you shall assign him his inheritance, declares the Lord GOD.
- 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...
Lord, we pray that your grace may always precede and follow us, that we may continually be given to good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
- Commission -
Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever.
(Jude 1:24-25)
Let us go forth in the name of Christ.