Worship
Service for June 8, 2025
Prelude
Announcements:
Call to Worship
L: We are summoned today to be touched by holy
fire.
P: Even now the flames may dance above our
heads.
L: Igniting our call to discipleship so that
it blazes into commitment.
P: Even now the flames may be burning into
our hearts.
L: Prophets visionaries, dreamers – all were
touched by holy fire.
P: May the Holy Spirit’s fire touch our own
spirits today.
Opening Hymn – Spirit of God, Descend Upon My
Heart #326/390
Prayer of Confession
Almighty and
ever gracious God, we confess that we have failed to open our hearts to the
power of Your Spirit. We continue the
divisions of Babel, speaking in tongues that confound rather than clarify, hurt
rather than heal, separate rather than unite.
Though we are not deserving, we pray for the gift of fellowship that
confirms Your presence among us. Restore
our fractured lives that we, with one voice, may give You thanks and praise. (Silent prayers are offered) AMEN.
Assurance of Pardon
L: For all who have come believing in Christ
as the Way, there is rest from your fruitless labors, forgiveness for your
sins, and the guarantee of eternal life.
Let us be touched by holy fire which can set the world ablaze with God’s
love and compassion. Friends, this is
the good news of the gospel.
P: In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven. Thanks be to God. AMEN!
Gloria Patri
Affirmation of Faith/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 Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under
Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell; the
third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on
the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge
the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost,
the holy catholic Church; the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins; the
resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. AMEN
Pastoral Prayer and Lord’s
Prayer
Lord,
we would like to settle into a nice, comfortable routine, in which we don’t
have to do much of anything, just sit back and relax. We are tired and wonder if we have anything
left to give of our talents, our spirits, our lives. So, the story of the
disciples hiding in the upper room is not uncomfortable for us. We want to hide, too. But you have come to us in your resurrection
love - we have seen the prints of the nails in your hands and feet, we have
felt the wound in your side. We have
been with you on the seashore, but we still quiver with fear and uncertainty. Send your Holy Spirit upon us today! Let the rushing wind of your spirit, stir us
up to action for good and healing. Let
the flame of your power ignite our hearts with passion for justice and peace. Open our hearts and minds to the world around
us. Shake us loose from our
preoccupation with our own lives, that we may live in the wide panorama of our
fellow travelers in this world as instruments of your message of love. We ask for help in our concern for those in
great need. We ask for guidance in our
actions. Stir us to care for the needs
of the world and those around us, that our capacity for compassion may be used
in Your service.
Today, we pray for…
Holy
God, as we have brought names of people to pray for this day asking for healing
mercies, may we ask for empowerment and renewal of our own spirits, as well. Hear the prayers of our hearts in these
moments of silence.
Take
us and use our gifts and our talents for healing in your world. Help us to be
bold in our proclamation of your great Good News of love and hope as we unite
with one voice saying…Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed by Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth
as it is in heaven. Give us this day our
daily bread. Forgive us our debts as we
forgive our debtors. And lead us not
into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. AMEN.
Hymn – Spirit
#319 in the Blue Hymnal
Scripture Reading(s):
First Scripture Reading – Genesis
11:1-9
Second Scripture Reading – Acts
2:1-21
Sermon –
Pentecost:
Holy Fire
(based
on Acts 2:1-21)
Today marks the
beginning of another church season called Pentecost, often referred to as the
Birthday of the Church. There are three
main seasons of the Liturgical year. Can
you name them?
Advent/Christmas, Lent/Easter, and
Pentecost.
Now, what are the main events that are
depicted in our scriptures for these seasons?
Advent and Christmas surround what event? Birth of Christ. Lent and Easter? The Resurrection. And Pentecost? The coming of the Holy Spirit.
Every year, we as Christians recount
these events. Every year, we spend time
concentrating on our worship experiences, our study, our readings, our prayer
time around these events. They are not
surprising events to us anymore. In
fact, we probably don’t even find them all that miraculous anymore. But each of those events are indeed
miraculous events.
Let’s start with birth. Birth, in and of itself, is a miraculous
event; is it not? Even with all of our
current scientific knowledge about exactly how or perhaps why life begins for
any living creature, from the simplest one-celled organism all the way to
complex animals such as us, what actually makes it live; breathe, move, eat,
sleep, grow, reproduce; science has yet to fully grasp. So, every micro-organism and certainly the
birth of every child is still a miracle.
Resurrection. That’s an even more miraculous event. Something that was dead comes back to
life. We see things in nature that are
like resurrection. Flowers long dead
from last season, come back to life, grass grows beneath the snow, trees burst
into bud every spring, things that were once dormant, or what we think are
dead, come back to life. A seed eaten by
a ground squirrel 32,000 years ago was recovered from the permafrost and
germinated by scientists and 32,000 years later a silene stenophylla
bloomed. Then there are tadpoles that become
frogs, fish that become flat, and caterpillars that become butterflies. Those things are on a totally different level
of transformation or resurrection. In
the case of a tadpole, a water dwelling creature with a tail grows arms and
legs and finally gills become lungs. The
flounder a regular looking fish when it’s born starts to grow wider, turns
sideways and lays on the ocean floor while its eyes migrate to top side of its
body and it becomes a flat fish. Then
there is the caterpillar who weaves a cocoon, encases itself within the cocoon,
the entire body dissolves into a goo within that cocoon and then is remade into
a completely different looking creature – and resurrects itself into a
butterfly. I’d call that a miracle.
And today, the day of Pentecost. Sound like a rushing wind, and non-consuming
fire as of dancing flames, come down from heaven and rest upon the disciples as
visible sign of the Holy Spirit. They
begin speaking in languages not their own, witnessing to the gospel message so
all can hear and understand it. Another
miracle.
We could say that these signs and
wonders are all God’s work, that we human beings have nothing to do with them. Birth, Resurrection, Pentecost. But I think that is too easy. I say that because, when we assign these
miracles to God alone, then we remove all responsibility of our own from
them. We remove all human work from
them. Indeed, God has a part to play in
all of those miracles, but so do we.
Did Mary and Joseph have a part to play
in Jesus’ birth? Yes. Just like every other parent. They spent months preparing for his arrival, they
then spent years bathing, feeding, fretting, teaching, disciplining, praying,
worrying, rejoicing, trying to do all the right things, making mistakes along
the way, asking forgiveness, figuring it out, and trying again. I remember when Tyler had recently come to
live with us, he had just turned eight and he was acting out at school. I was called into the principal’s office. I was noticeably distraught and at a complete
loss as to what I should do. She sat me
down and said, “You know, kids don’t come with an instruction book. Just let him know that you are a safe place
and that you love him. You’ll figure it
out.” It wasn’t easy, but we did. God alone doesn’t do it all.
Resurrection is tough work. I’m reminded most recently of the Notre Dame
Cathedral that nearly burned down on April 15, 2019. Five years later, on December 7, 2024 the
cathedral was reopened. I visited Notre
Dame, the first time, way back in 1994. The
cathedral is beyond comprehension, shining and glorious, sparkling like the
jewels of the new creation recorded and written about in the Book of Revelation. 1 Billion Euros had been pledged to its
reconstruction. With the talents of the
world’s finest architects, historians, and craftspeople, they spent the last
five years remaking historical stonework, wooden trusses, stained glass windows
– all seeking to uncover and bring back the soul of that medieval building. It took work from people and dedicated monies
from individuals and corporations, arguing and planning to resurrect the former
Notre Dame to the newest iteration of it.
A New York Times recorder interviewed Philippe Jost, who headed the
restoration task force. He said, “Each
day we have 20 difficulties. But it’s
different when you work on a building that has a soul. Beauty makes everything easier. The reporter said, “I can’t recall ever
visiting a building site that seemed calmer, despite the pressure to finish on
time, or one filled with quite the same quiet air of joy and certitude. When I quizzed one worker about what the job
meant to her, she struggled to find words, then started to weep.”
Resurrection
takes work. Diana Butler Bass says about
resurrections, “Maybe you’ve experienced some sort of medical resurrection –
yes, doctors do say, “miracle,” but they also do surgery. Addicts do recover – and they lead new lives
if they do the steps or stay in treatment.
Marriages survive and thrive – but only after struggles and loss and disappointment
do they wend and wind toward new journeys of care and love. Towns rebuild following disasters; people adapt
to change; peace is discovered after grief; civil rights are won; human
compassion extended – all of them are resurrections of sorts.” Resurrections take work. God alone doesn’t do it all.
Then there is Pentecost. The miracle we celebrate today. Jesus told his disciples to wait and the Holy
Spirit would come upon them. So, they
waited. They waited and prayed. They questioned what Jesus meant. They leaned on one another for support and
answers. And then the miracle
happened. One day when they were all together,
the sound like that of a rushing wind filled the house and above their heads
sat flames of fire and they were filled with the Holy Spirit.
People from every nation were in Jerusalem
for the feast of Pentecost. And on that
morning each person from every nation heard the good news of the gospel told to
them in their own native language. The
Holy Spirit allowed the disciples to share the good news of Christ in various
languages so that the people would understand.
Peter got up and spoke to the gathered community, explaining to them the
wonder and purpose of this amazing miracle.
He told them of all that Jesus had taught. And their hearts were opened, they repented
of their sins, were baptized in the name of Christ and became brothers and
sisters to the apostles. And then the
work began. They devoted themselves to
the scriptures, to the teachings of the apostles, and to prayer. At the end of the day 3,000 people were added
to the number of those who believed.
I think the work of the Holy Spirit
today is not about making us, Jesus’ modern-day disciples, speak in foreign tongues,
but rather that we speak the language of those around us. We meet people where they are. We go outside these walls and share the gospel
to those who need to hear it. We hear
the rushing of a great wind and feel the fire of the Holy Spirit above our
heads and in our hearts and reach out to people in need; for those who are
crying, for those who are thirsty for something to drink, for those who are
hungry for something to eat, for those who are desperate to be loved and cared
about, for those who are hurting. These
are languages that we know, because perhaps we’ve been there. We’ve been on that same journey. We’ve grieved and lost. We’ve hurt and felt afraid. We’ve been lonely and cast off. These are the languages we know and can share
with others the power of God’s great love for us. That takes work, but it is our work to do. God alone doesn’t do it all.
May the power of the Holy Spirit enliven
your heart to speak the language of those around you in order to share the message
of the gospel and God’s great love.
Thanks
be to God.
AMEN.
Offertory –
Doxology –
Prayer of Dedication
Lord, we worship you with these gifts. They are in response to your grace and love,
which have created us and given us all that we have and all that we are. We ask your blessing and your guidance as we
divide these gifts among those in need.
In the name of Jesus Christ.
Closing Hymn – Breathe on Me,
Breath of God #316/393
Benediction –
May the Spirit
of the Living God, fall afresh on us. May
God’s Spirit help us to go out into the world with the message of peace, hope,
joy, and love in the language of their hearts.
Postlude
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