The Day of Pentecost – May 31, 2020
Divine Service 4 pg. 203-212
Please click the link below to view Pastor Wright’s message.
Announcements
+ Confession and Absolution
Hymn of Invocation – LSB 537 “Beautiful Savior”
1 Beautiful Savior,
King of creation,
Son of God and Son of Man!
Truly I’d love Thee,
Truly I’d serve Thee,
Light of my soul, my joy, my crown.
2 Fair are the meadows,
Fair are the woodlands,
Robed in flow’rs of blooming spring;
Jesus is fairer,
Jesus is purer,
He makes our sorr’wing spirit sing.
3 Fair is the sunshine,
Fair is the moonlight,
Bright the sparkling stars on high;
Jesus shines brighter,
Jesus shines purer
Than all the angels in the sky.
4 Beautiful Savior,
Lord of the nations,
Son of God and Son of Man!
Glory and honor,
Praise, adoration
Now and forevermore be Thine!
Text: Public domain
Stand
The sign of the cross may be made by all in remembrance of their Baptism.
Invocation & Exhortation – LSB 203
P In the name of the Father and of the
+ Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
P Our help is in the name of the Lord,
C who made heaven and earth.
P If You, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?
C But with You there is forgiveness; therefore You are feared.
P Since we are gathered to hear God’s Word, call upon Him in prayer and praise, and receive the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in the fellowship of this altar, let us first consider our unworthiness and confess before God and one another that we have sinned in thought, word, and deed, and that we cannot free ourselves from our sinful condition. Together as His people let us take refuge in the infinite mercy of God, our heavenly Father, seeking His grace for the sake of Christ, and saying: God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
Confession of Sins & Prayer of Forgiveness – LSB 203
C Almighty God, have mercy upon us, forgive us our sins, and lead us to everlasting life. Amen.
P Almighty God, merciful Father, in Holy Baptism You declared us to be Your children and gathered us into Your one, holy Church, in which You daily and richly forgive us our sins and grant us new life through Your Spirit. Be in our midst, enliven our faith, and graciously receive our prayer and praise; through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
C Amen.
+ Service of the Word
Kyrie- LSB 204
C Lord, have mercy;
Christ, have mercy;
Lord, have mercy.
Gloria in Excelsis – LSB 204
C 1 To God on high be glory
And peace to all the earth;
Goodwill from God in heaven
Proclaimed at Jesus’ birth!
We praise and bless You, Father;
Your holy name, we sing—
Our thanks for Your great glory,
Lord God, our heav’nly King.
2 To You, O sole-begotten,
The Father’s Son, we pray;
O Lamb of God, our Savior,
You take our sins away.
Have mercy on us, Jesus;
Receive our heartfelt cry,
Where You in pow’r are seated
At God’s right hand on high—
3 For You alone are holy;
You only are the Lord.
Forever and forever,
Be worshiped and adored;
You with the Holy Spirit
Alone are Lord Most High,
In God the Father’s glory.
“Amen!” our glad reply.
Salutation and Collect of the Day – Pentecost Day
P The Lord be with you.
C And also with you.
P 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.
C Amen.
Sit
Old Testament Reading – Numbers 11:24–30
24Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord. And he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people and placed them around the tent. 25Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. And as soon as the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied. But they did not continue doing it. 26Now two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the Spirit rested on them. They were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. 27And a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” 28And Joshua the son of Nun, the assistant of Moses from his youth, said, “My lord Moses, stop them.” 29But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” 30And Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.
P This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Second Reading – Acts 2:1–21
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.’”
P This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Stand
Alleluia and Verse – LSB 205
C Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
C These things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.
C Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Holy Gospel: John 7:37–39
P The Holy Gospel to St. John, the seventh chapter.
C Glory to You, O Lord.
37On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” 39Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
P This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C Praise to You, O Christ.
Apostles’ Creed
C 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.
Sit
Children’s Message
Hymn of the Day – LSB 702 “My Faith Looks Up to Thee”
1 My faith looks up to Thee,
Thou Lamb of Calvary,
Savior divine.
Now hear me while I pray;
Take all my guilt away;
O let me from this day
Be wholly Thine!
2 May Thy rich grace impart
Strength to my fainting heart;
My zeal inspire!
As Thou hast died for me,
Oh, may my love to Thee
Pure, warm, and changeless be,
A living fire!
3 While life’s dark maze I tread
And griefs around me spread,
Be Thou my guide;
Bid darkness turn to day,
Wipe sorrow’s tears away,
Nor let me ever stray
From Thee aside.
4 When ends life’s transient dream,
When death’s cold, sullen stream
Shall o’er me roll,
Blest Savior, then, in love,
Fear and distrust remove;
O bear me safe above,
A ransomed soul!
Text: Public domain
Sermon Message – “Come Thirsty, My Friends!” John 7:37-38
The text for our message this morning is the Gospel Reading from John chapter 7, verses 37-38. I encourage you to open up your Bibles to all of the readings for this Pentecost Sunday, or to follow along where the readings are printed in the worship folder, sent out to you.
John 7:37–38 (ESV) Rivers of Living Water
37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”
This is our text.
Grace, mercy and peace to you, from God our heavenly Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen… Amen.
We celebrate the Day of Pentecost as Christians, remembering Jesus’ fulfilled promise of pouring out His Holy Spirit on the early Christian believers, beginning in Jerusalem, but spreading all around the world. We often think of Pentecost as a purely New Testament event, and indeed Pentecost signified the start of the spread of the New Testament Gospel good news of our salvation won for us through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, as God’s Holy Spirit came upon Jesus’ disciples gathered that day in Jerusalem, 50 days after the Passover feast, to give thanks for their delivery from slavery in Egypt, and the reception of the 10 Commandments via Moses in the wilderness. Like tongues of fire, the Holy Spirit came to rest over the heads of Jesus’ disciples while they then shared the good news of the forgiveness of sins in Jesus’ name with the crowds gathered there for what was known as the Feast of Weeks. The crowds from all over the region, from many different cultures, all heard the Gospel proclaimed by the disciples in their own language, by the Holy Spirit’s power, working through the disciples. Many of those in the crowds believed the good news they heard and then took that Word back home to their own lands, helping to quickly spread the Gospel all through the region. While it has long been our practice here at Christ Lutheran Church, to celebrate the Rite of Confirmation much earlier in the Church yearly cycle, namely on Palm Sunday of Holy Week, due to our social distancing procedures of the last couple months that celebration was put off until now. But I can’t think of a better time to commemorate and celebrate the work of God’s Holy Spirit, now, in the lives of our Junior Confirmands, than on the day we celebrate Pentecost. Earlier this weekend the Confirmands, along with their families and Baptismal Sponsors joined the Elders and I for their Confirmation Examination. And having displayed that they indeed had completed their studies of the basic teachings of the Christian faith, as well as the history of the Lutheran Church, they then gathered this morning for the Rite of Confirmation, and declared their Christian faith, not as works of their own, but as the fruit of the work of the Holy Spirit, poured out on them at their own baptisms. We give thanks to God, and His Holy Spirit for walking faithfully with each of our Confirmands, Lilyana Campbell, Katie Hadenfeldt, and Kendal Knuth, each and every day since their baptisms, to bring them to this very special day of celebration of their declaration of faith in the very same saving work of Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins, and for the promise of eternal life in His name. We truly worship an awesome God, and He Is Faithful, and fulfills His promises. We streamed that Confirmation Rite earlier this morning, but if you were unable to join us online, I encourage you to log onto our website and watch it as you are able.
You know, every Confirmation class is special, and this class was no different, special in my heart in so many ways. It is my earnest prayer for each of them, that as the Holy Spirit continues to work in their hearts and lives that the words of today’s Gospel reading from John might be brought to bear through their continued witness, where Jesus declared, “Whoever believes in me… out of their heart will flow rivers of living water.”
It is interesting, that the Gospel reading from John, chosen historically for this Pentecost Sunday, that took place all those years ago at the culmination of the Jewish Feast of Weeks, this Gospel reading takes place in the same location, but at a whole different Jewish Feast celebration. While the Feast of Weeks commemorated the receiving of the Law of God to guide them in living as the people of God, the account of Jesus in John chapter 7 actually took place at the end of Fall harvest Feast called the Feast or Festival of Booths, where the Hebrew people would live for a week in tent-like structures called “booths” to remember and commemorate, not the guidance of God’s Laws, but the goodness of God’s providence, remaining with them and providing for them in the 40 years their ancestors wandered in the wilderness, awaiting their time of deliverance into the promised land.
Now, while on the surface this reading might then seem out of context, with the Spring Celebration of Pentecost, permit me one more opportunity to share a Confirmation-like thought with you. While the Old Testament commemoration of Pentecost celebrated the reception of God’s Laws, and is indeed worthy of celebrating, the central tenet of the Christian faith, in fact the whole reason for Jesus’ earthly ministry, is the recognition that while we are called to live as God’s people, in our sinful nature, we cannot follow His laws perfectly, we sin, and as sinners fall short of the glory of God. But Jesus’ words to the crowds in John 7, and to you and me today, are a beautiful reminder, that though we are sinners, every one of us, God still loves us. So much so, that He sent His only Son to die for us in order that we might be forgiven. That is the spiritual reality Jesus is speaking of in John 7, “If anyone thirst, let him come to me and drink.” God himself, in the Person of Jesus, camped out in the temporary booth of human flesh and blood, and dwelt among His creation in order to save it, that you and I might be redeemed. That despite our spiritual weakness, and our wandering in the wilderness of our own sinfulness, Jesus comes to us… He dwells with us… He provides for all who believe the living water of salvation through the forgiveness we have in Him. On this day of Pentecost, and on this day of Confirmation celebration, let us give thanks for the work of God’s Holy Spirit to constantly point us back to the saving work of Jesus, that at knowing the gift of salvation we have in him, we might come to His Holy House… We might listen to His Holy Word… and we might come to Him, THIRSTING for His righteousness throughout our days. AMEN!
Now may the PEACE of God, which passes all worldly understanding guard and protect your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Amen!
Stand
Prayer of the Church
P Almighty God, You have blessed us in love with the Savior to whom the nations cry and in whom is forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. Grant to us Your Holy Spirit, the Comforter whom You have promised, that we and all who call upon His name shall be saved. Help us to treasure in our hearts Your mercy and to give ourselves fully to Your service. Lord, in Your mercy,
C hear our prayer.
P Almighty God, You delivered Your Word through Moses and the prophets and fulfilled Your Word in Christ. He was planted in death for our sins and raised for our justification, and in Him shall all the nations of the earth be united. Give us pastors who will preach this Word faithfully and church workers who are devoted to Your service. Lord, in Your mercy,
C hear our prayer.
P Almighty God, You have promised the thirsty will drink and from the empty will flow forth rivers of living water. Help us to show forth in holy lives the fruits of the Spirit and to live with love toward our neighbor. Give us a servant’s heart that doesn’t seek our own way but walks on the path of eternal life. Lord, in Your mercy,
C hear our prayer.
P Almighty God, You have promised to make one people from the many. Take from us all pride, prejudice and hate, that we may not hinder the cause of the Gospel by our shame but give welcome to all people in the name of Christ. Lord, in Your mercy,
C hear our prayer.
P Almighty God, You have ordered all things in heaven and on earth. Bless Donald, our president; _____________, our governor; the Congress of the United States; and all elected and appointed civil servants, that the rule of law may protect the weak, preserve life from conception to its natural end, and peace may reign for the benefit of all. Lord, in Your mercy,
C hear our prayer.
P Almighty God, have mercy and spare us. Put an end to the pandemic, and restore the communities of the world to their common life. Lord, in Your mercy,
C hear our prayer.
P Almighty God, You have given our nation the gift and heritage of freedom. It came at the cost of many lives on battlefields far and near. Receive our thanks for their sacrifice, and give us the courage to preserve liberty in our own time and use it honorably. Lord, in Your mercy,
C hear our prayer.
P Almighty God, You breath hope into the weary and renew Your Church by Your grace. Bless newly planted congregations that they may endure, guide established congregations that they may not lose heart, and build up our Synod that our zeal for Your Kingdom may not flag but flourish and prosper according to Your will. Lord, in Your mercy,
C hear our prayer.
P Almighty God, You carry the burdens of our lives in Your hands. Deliver from illness and suffering all who cry to You for release. Hear us on behalf of the sick, the dying and those who mourn [especially _____________]. Answer Your people, O Lord, and deliver them from their infirmities and their grief by Your grace. Lord, in Your mercy,
C hear our prayer.
P Almighty God, hear Your people for the sake of Him who loved us even to death and who lives to call to Himself all who will be saved. You know what we need and those things we should ask in Your name. Grant them to us for the sake of our crucified, risen and ascended Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
Lord’s Prayer
C 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.
Sit
Offering
Stand
Benedicamus & Benediction – LSB 212
P Let us bless the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
P The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you.
The Lord look upon you with favor and + give you peace.
C Amen.
Sit
Hymn to Depart – LSB 770 “What a Friend We Have in Jesus”
1 What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Ev’rything to God in prayer!
Oh, what peace we often forfeit;
Oh, what needless pain we bear—
All because we do not carry
Ev’rything to God in prayer!
2 Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged—
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our ev’ry weakness—
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
3 Are we weak and heavy laden,
Cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge—
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
In His arms He’ll take and shield thee;
Thou wilt find a solace there.
Text: Public domain
Acknowledgments
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Created by Lutheran Service Builder © 2018 Concordia Publishing House.
Christ Lutheran Church
Cairo, NE
This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24
