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 89
A Maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.
[1] I will sing of the steadfast love of the LORD, forever;
with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.
[2] For I said, “Steadfast love will be built up forever;
in the heavens you will establish your faithfulness.”
[3] You have said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
I have sworn to David my servant:
[4] ‘I will establish your offspring forever,
and build your throne for all generations.’” Selah
[5] Let the heavens praise your wonders, O LORD,
your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones!
[6] For who in the skies can be compared to the LORD?
Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD,
[7] a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones,
and awesome above all who are around him?
[8] O LORD God of hosts,
who is mighty as you are, O LORD,
with your faithfulness all around you?
[9] You rule the raging of the sea;
when its waves rise, you still them.
[10] You crushed Rahab like a carcass;
you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.
[11] The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours;
the world and all that is in it, you have founded them.
[12] The north and the south, you have created them;
Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name.
[13] You have a mighty arm;
strong is your hand, high your right hand.
[14] Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.
[15] Blessed are the people who know the festal shout,
who walk, O LORD, in the light of your face,
[16] who exult in your name all the day
and in your righteousness are exalted.
[17] For you are the glory of their strength;
by your favor our horn is exalted.
[18] For our shield belongs to the LORD,
our king to the Holy One of Israel.
[19] Of old you spoke in a vision to your godly one, and said:
“I have granted help to one who is mighty;
I have exalted one chosen from the people.
[20] I have found David, my servant;
with my holy oil I have anointed him,
[21] so that my hand shall be established with him;
my arm also shall strengthen him.
[22] The enemy shall not outwit him;
the wicked shall not humble him.
[23] I will crush his foes before him
and strike down those who hate him.
[24] My faithfulness and my steadfast love shall be with him,
and in my name shall his horn be exalted.
[25] I will set his hand on the sea
and his right hand on the rivers.
[26] He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father,
my God, and the Rock of my salvation.’
[27] And I will make him the firstborn,
the highest of the kings of the earth.
[28] My steadfast love I will keep for him forever,
and my covenant will stand firm for him.
[29] I will establish his offspring forever
and his throne as the days of the heavens.
[30] If his children forsake my law
and do not walk according to my rules,
[31] if they violate my statutes
and do not keep my commandments,
[32] then I will punish their transgression with the rod
and their iniquity with stripes,
[33] but I will not remove from him my steadfast love
or be false to my faithfulness.
[34] I will not violate my covenant
or alter the word that went forth from my lips.
[35] Once for all I have sworn by my holiness;
I will not lie to David.
[36] His offspring shall endure forever,
his throne as long as the sun before me.
[37] Like the moon it shall be established forever,
a faithful witness in the skies.” Selah
[38] But now you have cast off and rejected;
you are full of wrath against your anointed.
[39] You have renounced the covenant with your servant;
you have defiled his crown in the dust.
[40] You have breached all his walls;
you have laid his strongholds in ruins.
[41] All who pass by plunder him;
he has become the scorn of his neighbors.
[42] You have exalted the right hand of his foes;
you have made all his enemies rejoice.
[43] You have also turned back the edge of his sword,
and you have not made him stand in battle.
[44] You have made his splendor to cease
and cast his throne to the ground.
[45] You have cut short the days of his youth;
you have covered him with shame. Selah
[46] How long, O LORD? Will you hide yourself forever?
How long will your wrath burn like fire?
[47] Remember how short my time is!
For what vanity you have created all the children of man!
[48] What man can live and never see death?
Who can deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah
[49] Lord, where is your steadfast love of old,
which by your faithfulness you swore to David?
[50] Remember, O Lord, how your servants are mocked,
and how I bear in my heart the insults of all the many nations,
[51] with which your enemies mock, O LORD,
with which they mock the footsteps of your anointed.
[52] Blessed be the LORD forever!
Amen and Amen.
Psalm 90
A Prayer of Moses, the man of God.
[1] Lord, you have been our dwelling place
in all generations.
[2] Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
[3] You return man to dust
and say, “Return, O children of man!”
[4] For a thousand years in your sight
are but as yesterday when it is past,
or as a watch in the night.
[5] You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream,
like grass that is renewed in the morning:
[6] in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
in the evening it fades and withers.
[7] For we are brought to an end by your anger;
by your wrath we are dismayed.
[8] You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your presence.
[9] For all our days pass away under your wrath;
we bring our years to an end like a sigh.
[10] The years of our life are seventy,
or even by reason of strength eighty;
yet their span is but toil and trouble;
they are soon gone, and we fly away.
[11] Who considers the power of your anger,
and your wrath according to the fear of you?
[12] So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom.
[13] Return, O LORD! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
[14] Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
[15] Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
and for as many years as we have seen evil.
[16] Let your work be shown to your servants,
and your glorious power to their children.
[17] Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,
and establish the work of our hands upon us;
yes, establish the work of our hands!
Old Testament Reading
1 Kings 18
[1] After many days the word of the LORD came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth.” [2] So Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria. [3] And Ahab called Obadiah, who was over the household. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly, [4] and when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water.) [5] And Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs of water and to all the valleys. Perhaps we may find grass and save the horses and mules alive, and not lose some of the animals.” [6] So they divided the land between them to pass through it. Ahab went in one direction by himself, and Obadiah went in another direction by himself.
[7] And as Obadiah was on the way, behold, Elijah met him. And Obadiah recognized him and fell on his face and said, “Is it you, my lord Elijah?” [8] And he answered him, “It is I. Go, tell your lord, ‘Behold, Elijah is here.’” [9] And he said, “How have I sinned, that you would give your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me? [10] As the LORD your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent to seek you. And when they would say, ‘He is not here,’ he would take an oath of the kingdom or nation, that they had not found you. [11] And now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord, “Behold, Elijah is here.”’ [12] And as soon as I have gone from you, the Spirit of the LORD will carry you I know not where. And so, when I come and tell Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me, although I your servant have feared the LORD from my youth. [13] Has it not been told my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the LORD, how I hid a hundred men of the LORD’s prophets by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water? [14] And now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord, “Behold, Elijah is here”’; and he will kill me.” [15] And Elijah said, “As the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today.” [16] So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him. And Ahab went to meet Elijah.
[17] When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is it you, you troubler of Israel?” [18] And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you have, and your father’s house, because you have abandoned the commandments of the LORD and followed the Baals. [19] Now therefore send and gather all Israel to me at Mount Carmel, and the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
[20] So Ahab sent to all the people of Israel and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel. [21] And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word. [22] Then Elijah said to the people, “I, even I only, am left a prophet of the LORD, but Baal’s prophets are 450 men. [23] Let two bulls be given to us, and let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it. And I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood and put no fire to it. [24] And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the LORD, and the God who answers by fire, he is God.” And all the people answered, “It is well spoken.” [25] Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many, and call upon the name of your god, but put no fire to it.” [26] And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made. [27] And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.” [28] And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them. [29] And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention.
[30] Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” And all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that had been thrown down. [31] Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD came, saying, “Israel shall be your name,” [32] and with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD. And he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two seahs of seed. [33] And he put the wood in order and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” [34] And he said, “Do it a second time.” And they did it a second time. And he said, “Do it a third time.” And they did it a third time. [35] And the water ran around the altar and filled the trench also with water.
[36] And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. [37] Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” [38] Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. [39] And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The LORD, he is God; the LORD, he is God.” [40] And Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape.” And they seized them. And Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon and slaughtered them there.
[41] And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of the rushing of rain.” [42] So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel. And he bowed himself down on the earth and put his face between his knees. [43] And he said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” And he went up and looked and said, “There is nothing.” And he said, “Go again,” seven times. [44] And at the seventh time he said, “Behold, a little cloud like a man’s hand is rising from the sea.” And he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down, lest the rain stop you.’” [45] And in a little while the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel. [46] And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah, and he gathered up his garment and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
New Testament Reading
1 Thessalonians 1
[1] Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
Grace to you and peace.
[2] We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, [3] remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. [4] For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, [5] because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. [6] And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, [7] so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. [8] For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. [9] For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, [10] and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
- 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 us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall endure; 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.