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 Lord is glorious in his saints:
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 140
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
[1] Deliver me, O LORD, from evil men;
preserve me from violent men,
[2] who plan evil things in their heart
and stir up wars continually.
[3] They make their tongue sharp as a serpent’s,
and under their lips is the venom of asps. Selah
[4] Guard me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked;
preserve me from violent men,
who have planned to trip up my feet.
[5] The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,
and with cords they have spread a net;
beside the way they have set snares for me. Selah
[6] I say to the LORD, You are my God;
give ear to the voice of my pleas for mercy, O LORD!
[7] O LORD, my Lord, the strength of my salvation,
you have covered my head in the day of battle.
[8] Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked;
do not further their evil plot, or they will be exalted! Selah
[9] As for the head of those who surround me,
let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!
[10] Let burning coals fall upon them!
Let them be cast into fire,
into miry pits, no more to rise!
[11] Let not the slanderer be established in the land;
let evil hunt down the violent man speedily!
[12] I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted,
and will execute justice for the needy.
[13] Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name;
the upright shall dwell in your presence.
Psalm 141
A Psalm of David.
[1] O LORD, I call upon you; hasten to me!
Give ear to my voice when I call to you!
[2] Let my prayer be counted as incense before you,
and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!
[3] Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth;
keep watch over the door of my lips!
[4] Do not let my heart incline to any evil,
to busy myself with wicked deeds
in company with men who work iniquity,
and let me not eat of their delicacies!
[5] Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness;
let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head;
let my head not refuse it.
Yet my prayer is continually against their evil deeds.
[6] When their judges are thrown over the cliff,
then they shall hear my words, for they are pleasant.
[7] As when one plows and breaks up the earth,
so shall our bones be scattered at the mouth of Sheol.
[8] But my eyes are toward you, O GOD, my Lord;
in you I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless!
[9] Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me
and from the snares of evildoers!
[10] Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
while I pass by safely.
Psalm 142
A Maskil of David, when he was in the cave. A Prayer.
[1] With my voice I cry out to the LORD;
with my voice I plead for mercy to the LORD.
[2] I pour out my complaint before him;
I tell my trouble before him.
[3] When my spirit faints within me,
you know my way!
In the path where I walk
they have hidden a trap for me.
[4] Look to the right and see:
there is none who takes notice of me;
no refuge remains to me;
no one cares for my soul.
[5] I cry to you, O LORD;
I say, “You are my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living.”
[6] Attend to my cry,
for I am brought very low!
Deliver me from my persecutors,
for they are too strong for me!
[7] Bring me out of prison,
that I may give thanks to your name!
The righteous will surround me,
for you will deal bountifully with me.
Psalm 143
A Psalm of David.
[1] Hear my prayer, O LORD;
give ear to my pleas for mercy!
In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!
[2] Enter not into judgment with your servant,
for no one living is righteous before you.
[3] For the enemy has pursued my soul;
he has crushed my life to the ground;
he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.
[4] Therefore my spirit faints within me;
my heart within me is appalled.
[5] I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all that you have done;
I ponder the work of your hands.
[6] I stretch out my hands to you;
my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah
[7] Answer me quickly, O LORD!
My spirit fails!
Hide not your face from me,
lest I be like those who go down to the pit.
[8] Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,
for in you I trust.
Make me know the way I should go,
for to you I lift up my soul.
[9] Deliver me from my enemies, O LORD!
I have fled to you for refuge.
[10] Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God!
Let your good Spirit lead me
on level ground!
[11] For your name’s sake, O LORD, preserve my life!
In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble!
[12] And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies,
and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul,
for I am your servant.
Old Testament Reading
2 Kings 20
[1] In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, “Thus says the LORD, ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die; you shall not recover.’” [2] Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, saying, [3] “Now, O LORD, please remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. [4] And before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the LORD came to him: [5] “Turn back, and say to Hezekiah the leader of my people, Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the LORD, [6] and I will add fifteen years to your life. I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city for my own sake and for my servant David’s sake.” [7] And Isaiah said, “Bring a cake of figs. And let them take and lay it on the boil, that he may recover.”
[8] And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “What shall be the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up to the house of the LORD on the third day?” [9] And Isaiah said, “This shall be the sign to you from the LORD, that the LORD will do the thing that he has promised: shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or go back ten steps?” [10] And Hezekiah answered, “It is an easy thing for the shadow to lengthen ten steps. Rather let the shadow go back ten steps.” [11] And Isaiah the prophet called to the LORD, and he brought the shadow back ten steps, by which it had gone down on the steps of Ahaz.
[12] At that time Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent envoys with letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick. [13] And Hezekiah welcomed them, and he showed them all his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his armory, all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them. [14] Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say? And from where did they come to you?” And Hezekiah said, “They have come from a far country, from Babylon.” [15] He said, “What have they seen in your house?” And Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing in my storehouses that I did not show them.”
[16] Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD: [17] Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the LORD. [18] And some of your own sons, who will come from you, whom you will father, shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” [19] Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the LORD that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “Why not, if there will be peace and security in my days?”
[20] The rest of the deeds of Hezekiah and all his might and how he made the pool and the conduit and brought water into the city, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? [21] And Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and Manasseh his son reigned in his place.
New Testament Reading
Hebrews 2
[1] Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. [2] For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, [3] how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, [4] while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
[5] For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. [6] It has been testified somewhere,
“What is man, that you are mindful of him,
or the son of man, that you care for him?
[7] You made him for a little while lower than the angels;
you have crowned him with glory and honor,
[8] putting everything in subjection under his feet.”
Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. [9] But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
[10] For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. [11] For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, [12] saying,
“I will tell of your name to my brothers;
in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.”
[13] And again,
“I will put my trust in him.”
And again,
“Behold, I and the children God has given me.”
[14] Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, [15] and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. [16] For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. [17] Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. [18] For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
- 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 -
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.