The Coming of the Holy Spirit — The Day of Pentecost - May 31, 2020

Today’s Theme for Worship: Pentecost marks the end of the Easter season. This festival celebrates the gift of the Spirit, poured out now on the Church as promised by the prophet Joel. Pentecost is considered the “birthday” of the Christian Church.

Order of Service: Service of Word and Sacrament

Opening Hymn: 578 – Saints of God, the Dawn is Brightening

1 Saints of God, the dawn is bright’ning,

Promise of our coming Lord.

O’er the earth the fields are rip’ning;

Louder rings the Master’s word:

Pray for reapers, Pray for reapers

In the harvest of the Lord.

2 Now, O Lord, fulfill your pleasure,

Breathe upon your chosen band,

And with Pentecostal measure

Send forth reapers o’er our land,

Faithful reapers, Faithful reapers,

Gath’ring sheaves for your right hand.

3 Soon shall end the time of weeping;

Soon the reaping time will come,

Heav’n and earth together keeping

God’s eternal harvest-home.

Saints and angels, Saints and angels

Shout the world’s great harvest-home.

Text: Mary H. Maxwell, 1814-c. 1890, abr., alt.

Order of Service: Service of Word and Sacrament

P: The grace of our Lord + Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you.

C: And also with you.

Confession of Sins

P: God invites us to come into his presence and worship him with humble and penitent hearts. Therefore, let us acknowledge our sinfulness and ask him to forgive us.

C: Holy and merciful Father, I confess that I am by nature sinful, and that I have disobeyed you in my thoughts, words, and actions. I have done what is evil and failed to do what is good. For this I deserve your punishment both now and in eternity. But I am truly sorry for my sins, and trusting in my Savior Jesus Christ, I pray: Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.

P: God, our heavenly Father, has been merciful to us and has given his only Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Therefore, as a called servant of Christ and by his authority, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.

C: Amen.

Lord, Have Mercy

P: For all that we need in life and for the wisdom to use all your gifts with gratitude and joy, hear our prayer, O Lord.

C: ♬ Lord, have mer-cy.

P: For the steadfast assurance that nothing can separate us from your love and for the courage to stand firm against the assaults of Satan and every evil, hear our prayer, O Christ.

C: ♬ Christ, have mer-cy.

P: For the well-being of your holy Church in all the world and for those who offer here their worship and praise, hear our prayer, O Lord.

C: ♬ Lord, have mer-cy.

P: Merciful God, maker and preserver of life, uphold us by your power and keep us in your tender care:

C: ♬ A-men.

P: The works of the Lord are great and glorious; his name is worthy of praise.

♬ O Lord, Our Lord

O Lord, our Lord, how glo-rious is your name in all the earth.

Al-might-y God, mer-ci-ful Father,

you crown our life with your love.

You take a-way our sin; you com-fort our spir-it;

you make us pure and ho-ly in your sight.

You did not spare your on-ly Son, but gave him up for us all.

O Lord, our Lord, how glo-rious is your name in all the earth.

O Son of God, e-ter-nal Word of the Fa-ther,

you came to live with us;

you made your Fa-ther known;

you washed us from our sins in your own blood.

You are the King of glo-ry; you are the Lord!

O Lord, our Lord, how glo-rious is your name in all the earth.

Prayer of the Day

P: Let us Pray.

Holy Spirit, God and Lord, come to us this joyful day with your sevenfold gift of grace. Rekindle in our hearts the holy fire of your love that in a true and living faith we may tell abroad the glory of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Father, one God, now and forever.
C: ♬ A-men.

First Lesson: Joel 2:28-29

²⁸After this, I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh.

Your sons and your daughters will prophesy.

Your old men will dream dreams.

Your young men will see visions.

²⁹Even on the servants both male and female,

I will pour out my Spirit in those days.

Psalm 51 Have Mercy on Me - Special Music

Refrain

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your love;

Have mercy on me, O God, and cleanse me from my sin.

I was sinful at my birth, from the time I was conceived.

Yet you desired faith.

Cleanse me; I will be clean; wash me whiter than snow.

Let the bones you crushed rejoice.

Refrain

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your love;

Have mercy on me, O God, and cleanse me from my sin.

Create in me a pure heart and renew a steadfast spirit.

Do not take your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation

And grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Refrain

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your love;

Have mercy on me, O God, and cleanse me from my sin.

Have mercy, have mercy, have mercy, have mercy.

Second Lesson: Acts 2:1-21

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. ²Suddenly a sound like the rushing of a violent wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³They saw divided tongues that were like fire resting on each one of them. ⁴They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, since the Spirit was giving them the ability to speak fluently.

⁵Now there were godly Jewish men from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. ⁶When this sound was heard, a crowd came together and was confused, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. ⁷They were completely baffled and said to each other, “Look, are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? ⁸Then how is it that each of us hears them speaking in his own native language? ⁹Parthians, Medes, and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, and of Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt, and the parts of Libya around Cyrene; visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes; ¹¹Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring in our own languages the wonderful works of God.” ¹²They were all amazed and perplexed. They kept saying to one another, “What does this mean?” ¹³But others mocked them and said, “They are full of new wine.”

¹⁴Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and spoke loudly and clearly to them: “Men of Judea, and all you residents of Jerusalem, understand this, and listen closely to my words. ¹⁵These men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day. ¹⁶On the contrary, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

¹⁷This is what God says will happen in the last days:

I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh.

Your sons and your daughters will prophesy.

Your young men will see visions.

Your old men will dream dreams.

¹⁸Even on my servants, both men and women,

I will pour out my Spirit in those days,

and they will prophesy.

¹⁹I will show wonders in the sky above,

and signs on the earth below,

blood and fire and a rising cloud of smoke.

²⁰The sun will be turned to darkness

and the moon to blood

before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.

²¹And this will happen: Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Verse:
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

These words are written that we may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Gospel: John 16:5-11

⁵“But now I am going away to him who sent me, and not one of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ ⁶Yet because I have told you these things, sorrow has filled your heart. ⁷Nevertheless, I am telling you the truth: It is good for you that I go away. For if I do not go away, the Counselor will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. ⁸When he comes, he will convict the world about sin, about righteousness, and about judgment: ⁹about sin, because they do not believe in me; ¹⁰about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see me; ¹¹about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.”

P: This is the Gospel of Our Lord

C: ♬ Praise be to you, O Christ!

Hymn of the Day: 177 Come, Holy Ghost, Creator Blest

1 Come, Holy Ghost, Creator blest, And make our hearts your place of rest;

Come with your grace and heav’nly aid, And fill the hearts which you have made.

2 To you, the Counselor, we cry, To you, the gift of God most high;

The fount of life, the fire of love, The soul’s anointing from above.

3 Your light to ev’ry thought impart, And shed your love in ev’ry heart;

The weakness of our mortal state With deathless might invigorate.

4 Drive far away our wily foe, And your abiding peace bestow;

If you are our protecting guide, No evil can with us abide.

5 Teach us to know the Father, Son, And you, from both, as Three in One

That we your name may ever bless And in our lives the truth confess.

6 Praise we the Father and the Son And Holy Spirit, with them One,

And may the Son on us bestow The gifts that from the Spirit flow!

Text: attr. Rhabanus Maurus, 776-856, abr.; tr. Edward Caswall, 1814-78, alt.

Sermon Acts 2:1-21

Nicene Creed

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one being with the Father.

Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation, he came down from heaven, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary, and became fully human. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate. He suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures.

He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who in unity with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets. We believe in one holy Christian and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Offering Prayer

Electronic Giving! You can give your offerings from your smartphone with the GivePlusChurch app, which can be downloaded for free at Google Play or the App Store. You can also give at holytrinitylutheranwyoming.com by clicking the Offerings link at the top of the page or scan the QR code below. If you have any questions about any of these options, please contact Dave Conrad at dconrad765@gmail.com or 616-406-7172

Prayer of the Church

Lord’s Prayer

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.

The Sacrament

P: The Lord be with you.

C: ♬ And also with you.

P: Lift up your hearts.

C: ♬ We lift them up to the Lord.

P: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

C: ♬ It is right to give him thanks and praise.

P: Praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In love he has blessed us with every spiritual blessing. By the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, he empowered his Church to witnesses of Christ to the ends of the earth. Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ. To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and thanks and honor and glory for ever and ever.

♬ Holy, Holy, Holy

Ho-ly, ho-ly, ho-ly is the Lord of hosts.

The whole earth is full of your glo-ry.

You are my God, and I will ex-alt you.

I will give you thanks, for you have be-come my sal-va-tion.

Ho-ly, ho-ly, ho-ly is the Lord of hosts.

The whole earth is full of your glo-ry.

Words of Institution

P: Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night he was betrayed, took bread; and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying “Take and eat; this is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

Then he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it all of you; this is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for you for the forgiveness of sins. Do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

P: The peace of the Lord be with you always.

C: ♬ A-men.

♬ O Christ, Lamb Of God

O Christ, Lamb of God,

you take a-way the sin of the world;

have mer-cy on us.

O Christ, Lamb of God,

you take a-way the sin of the world;

have mer-cy on us.

O Christ, Lamb of God,

you take a-way the sin of the world;

grant us your peace.

A-men.

Distribution Hymn: 471 – Renew Me, O Eternal Light

1 Renew me, O eternal Light,

And let my heart and soul be bright,

Illumined with the light of grace

That issues from your holy face.

2 Destroy in me the lust of sin;

From all impureness make me clean.

Oh, grant me pow’r and strength, my God,

To strive against my flesh and blood.

3 Create in me a new heart, Lord,

That gladly I obey your Word.

Oh, let your will be my desire

And with new life my soul inspire.

4 Grant that I only you may love

And seek those things which are above

Till I behold you face to face,

O Light eternal, through your grace.

Text: Johann F. Ruopp, 1672-1708, abr.; tr. August Crull, 1845-1923, alt.

Thank the Lord

Thank the Lord and sing his praise.

Tell ev-'ry-one what he has done.

Let all who seek the Lord re-joice

And proud-ly bear his name.

He re-news his prom-is-es and leads his peo-ple forth

in joy with shouts of thanks-giv-ing.

Al-le-lu-ia! Al-le-lu-ia!

Prayer

P: Hear the prayer of your people, O Lord, that the lips which have praised you here may glorify you in the world, that the eyes which have seen the coming of your Son may long for his coming again, and that all who have received in his true body and blood the pledge of your forgiveness may be restored to live a new and holy life, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C: A-men.

Blessing – Special Music

Closing Hymn: 186 - O Spirit of Life, O Spirit of God

1 O Spirit of life, O Spirit of God,

Revealer of God’s holy Word,

You come to us from God’s great throne,

From God the Father and the Son,

O Spirit of life, O Spirit of God.

2 O Spirit of life, O Spirit of God,

Enlighten us by that same Word;

Unless your grace the pow’r should give,

None can believe in Christ and live,

O Spirit of life, O Spirit of God.

3 O Spirit of life, O Spirit of God,

Increase our faith in our dear Lord;

Teach us to know the Father’s love

And his dear Son, who reigns above,

O Spirit of life, O Spirit of God.

4 O Spirit of life, O Spirit of God,

Lead us to love your sacred Word;

The holy flame of love impart,

That kindness may inspire each heart,

O Spirit of life, O Spirit of God.

Text: Johann Niedling, 1602-68, abr., adapt.; tr. John C. Mattes, 1876-1948, alt.

Today’s Organist: Miss Raquel Freese