THE DAY OF PENTECOST

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June 5, 2022

The Power of God Comes to those Who Wait on Him

God made the earth with His hands. Then He made our first parents, breathing new life into their clay bodies. When the Church rebelled, our heavenly Father sent His Son, the Word, who became clay Himself. Now another breath of fresh air, as it were, the Holy Spirit, builds and enlivens the Church by water and the Word. God has made us, and by the Holy Spirit’s use of Baptism, has remade us as well. We are people judged worthy for Jesus’ sake, people who have heard the Gospel, people sent out with the news everyone needs. The promise is sure that “everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2:21). And by that promise, God builds His living house.

+ Preparation +

OPENING HYMN: #913 – O Holy Spirit, Enter In

INVOCATION

Pastor: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

People: Amen.

OPENING SENTENCES Genesis 11:7; Acts 2:7a, 8, 17a, 21

Pastor: And the Lord said, “Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.”

People: They were amazed and astonished, saying, “How is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language?”

Pastor: In the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,

People: and it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION

Pastor: The Holy Spirit has worked faith in our hearts so that we may hear the good news about our Savior, but our sins are always before us. Let us therefore confess our sins to God our Father.

People: Most merciful God, we confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean. We have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We are helpless to amend our sinful lives without You, gracious God. For Jesus’ sake, forgive us, renew our faith, and turn our feet to paths pleasing to You.

Pastor: In Eden, God created our first parents from the clay of His good earth. When they ate the forbidden fruit, the Word became clay Himself to pay for our sins and to rise victorious. Our heavenly Father has molded you, Christ’s peace is with you, and the Spirit is in you to enkindle your faith. I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

People: Amen.

+ SERVICE of the WORD +

PSALM Psalm 143 (spoken responsively by verse)

¹Hear my prayer, O Lord;

give ear to my pleas for mercy!

In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!

²Enter not into judgment with your servant,

for no one living is righteous before you.

³For 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.

⁴Therefore my spirit faints within me;

my heart within me is appalled.

⁵I remember the days of old;

I meditate on all that you have done;

I ponder the work of your hands.

⁶I stretch out my hands to you;

my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.

⁷Answer me quickly, O Lord!

My spirit fails!

Hide not your face from me,

lest I be like those who go down to the pit.

⁸Let 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.

⁹Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord!

I have fled to you for refuge!

¹⁰Teach me to do your will,

for you are my God!

Let your good Spirit lead me

on level ground!

¹¹For your name’s sake, O Lord, preserve my life!

In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble!

¹²And 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.

KYRIE

Pastor: Lord,

People: have mercy on us.

Pastor: Christ,

People: have mercy on us.

Pastor: Lord,

People: have mercy on us.

SALUTATION and PRAYER OF THE DAY

Pastor: The Lord be with you.

People: And also with you.

Pastor: Let us pray.
O God, on this day long ago, Your Holy Spirit used the apostles to preach in power. Breathe new life in us today. Use us, clay vessels though we are, to build the Church upon the foundation of those apostles, with Christ as our cornerstone; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

People: Amen.

OLD TESTAMENT READING Genesis 11:1–9

(God confuses the people’s language to stop them from building a great tower.)

¹Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. ²And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. ³And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. ⁴Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” ⁵And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. ⁶And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. ⁷Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” ⁸So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. ⁹Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth.

Lector: This is the Word of the Lord.

People: Thanks be to God.

GRADUAL Acts 2:17b; Romans 10:10

I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,

and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.

With the heart one believes and is justified,

and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

SECOND READING Acts 2:1–21

(Fifty days after Easter, the Holy Spirit enables the apostles to be heard in many languages.)

¹When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. ²And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. ³And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. ⁴And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

⁵Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. ⁶And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. ⁷And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? ⁸And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? ⁹Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, ¹¹both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” ¹²And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” ¹³But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”

¹⁴But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. ¹⁵For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. ¹⁶But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:

¹⁷“‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,
     and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
     and your old men shall dream dreams;
¹⁸even on my male servants and female servants
     in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.
¹⁹And I will show wonders in the heavens above
     and signs on the earth below,
                 blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;
²⁰the sun shall be turned to darkness
     and the moon to blood,
                 before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.
²¹And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’”

Lector: This is the Word of the Lord.

People: Thanks be to God.

ALLELUIA and VERSE

People: Alleluia. Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of the faithful, and kindle in them the fire of Your love. Alleluia.

HOLY GOSPEL John 14:23–31

(Jesus says that the Spirit will teach and remind His followers of what He has said.)

Pastor: The Holy Gospel according to St. John, the fourteenth chapter.

People: Glory to You, O Lord.

²³Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. ²⁴Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.

²⁵“These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. ²⁶But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. ²⁷Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. ²⁸You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. ²⁹And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. ³⁰I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, ³¹but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.”

Pastor: This is the Gospel of the Lord.

People: Praise to You, O Christ.

HYMN OF THE DAY: #497 – Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord

SERMON: The Power of God Comes to those Who Wait on Him

Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,

maker of heaven and earth.

And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died and was buried.

He descended into hell.

The third day He rose again from the dead.

He ascended into heaven

and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.

From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy Christian Church,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and the life + everlasting. Amen.

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH

After each petition:

Pastor: … Lord, in Your mercy:

People: hear our prayer.

At conclusion:

Pastor: … for the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, in whose name we pray.

People: Amen.

LORD’S PRAYER Matthew 6:9–13

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name,

Thy kingdom come,

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven;

give us this day our daily bread;

and forgive us our trespasses

as we forgive those who trespass against us;

and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory

forever and ever. Amen.

CLOSING PRAYER

Pastor: Let us pray.
O God, on this day, You once taught the hearts of Your faithful people by sending them the light of Your Holy Spirit. Grant us in our day by the same Spirit to have a right understanding in all things and evermore to rejoice in His holy consolation; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

People: Amen.

BENEDICTION

Pastor: Our heavenly Father, who created you out of clay, His gracious + Son, who became clay that He might lead you through death to eternal life, and the Holy Spirit, who has given you faith and seeks to use you to grow the Church, bless you, now and forever.

People: Amen.

DISMISSAL

Pastor: Go in peace as you serve the Lord.

People: Thanks be to God!

THE DAY OF PENTECOST – Online Church at Home Bulletin