Acts 2:1-21
Sunday, June 8, 2025
Day of Pentecost
Thanksgiving for Baptism
Alleluia! Christ is risen.
Christ is risen, indeed. Alleluia!
In the name of ☩ the One
who was, who is, and who is to come.
Amen.
Baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection, and called to live the baptized life, let us give thanks for the gifts of baptism.
Holy God, we give you thanks for the waters of baptism, waters that make a people your own, that restore to wholeness, and empower us to be witnesses in your name.
Baptized into you, O Living One,
make us one as you are one.
We give you thanks for the waters of baptism, waters that strengthen believers
and give new life to beloved servants of your church.
Waters that extend your boundless love
and cross barriers of our own making.
Baptized into you, O Living One,
make us one as you are one.
We give you thanks for the waters of baptism, waters that open the hearts of believers and give a voice in the night to those in captivity.
Waters that set your people on a new path, rejoicing in the Spirit’s power.
Baptized into you, O Living One,
make us one as you are one.
Grant us grace, love, and life, O Living One, that our every day is shaped by these waters that give us our very lives in you.
We ask this in the name of Jesus, the Crucified and Risen One.
Amen.
Gathering Song:
O Holy Spirit, Root of Life
Prayer of the Day
God our creator, the resurrection of your Son offers life to all the peoples of earth. By your Holy Spirit, kindle in us the fire of your love, empowering our lives for service and our tongues for praise, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.
First Reading: Acts 2:1-21
1 When the day of Pentecost had come, the apostles were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
5 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6 And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. 7 Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” 12 All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”
14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. 15 Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. 16 No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
17 ‘In the last days it will be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams.
18 Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
and they shall prophesy.
19 And I will show portents in the heaven above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
20 The sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.
21 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ ”
Word of God. Word of Life.
Thanks be to God.
Psalm: 104:24-34, 35b
24 How manifold are your works, O Lord!
In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.
25 Yonder is the sea, great and wide, with its swarms too many to number,
living things both small and great.
26 There go the ships to and fro,
and Leviathan, which you made for the sport of it.
27 All of them look to you
to give them their food in due season.
28 You give it to them; they gather it;
you open your hand, and they are filled with good things.
29 When you hide your face, they are terrified;
when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. 30 You send forth your Spirit, and they are created;
and so you renew the face of the earth.
31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
O Lord, rejoice in all your works.
32 You look at the earth and it trembles;
you touch the mountains and they smoke.
33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will praise my God while I have my being.
34 May these words of mine please God.
I will rejoice in the Lord.
35b Bless the Lord, O my soul.
Hallelujah!
Second Reading: Romans 8:14-17
14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.
Word of God. Word of Life.
Thanks be to God.
Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia. Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, and kindle in us the fire of your love. Alleluia.
The Holy Gospel according to John
Glory to you O Lord
Gospel: John 14:8-17
8 Philip said to Jesus, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. 12 Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.
15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. 17 This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.
The Gospel of the Lord
Praise to you O Christ
Well…the story we just heard from Acts is no sweet…tender birthday story.
- At the birth of the church…there was no organ or piano.
- There were no pews fastened to the floor.
- There were no greeters handing out bulletins.
- There was little resemblance to what the church has become in the early part of the 21st
On Pentecost…the disciples were gathered in Jerusalem…
- Fifty days after Jesus was raised from the grave…
- Waiting and hoping for the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise:
- You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.
- And you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem…in all Judea and Samaria…and to the ends of the earth.
- The Lord be with you.
What happened on that Day of Pentecost?
- Although this holy day is called the birthday of the church…
- We are not celebrating the birth of an organization today.
- Pentecost is the story of how the church came alive by the power of the Holy Spirit.
- On that day…followers of Jesus Christ received the power to take the gospel to the streets there in Jerusalem…
- And eventually throughout the earth.
- What happened that day was such a powerful experience that the people who were there had to turn to dramatic metaphor to describe what happened.
- They said it was like a fire falling on them.
- A sense of community and understanding transcended all the differences of language of those who were gathered there.
On that day…a mighty wind from heaven blew the fire of the Holy Spirit into those followers who were gathered there.
- When something like tongues of fire danced over the heads of the apostles…
- They seemed to be stirred up by unseen forces.
- They were shouting…preaching…speaking in a variety of languages so people from a lot of different countries could understand each other…
- And making such a commotion that the people of the city had to stop and wonder…
- What on earth was going on?
The Spirit blew into the apostles an awareness that…just as Jesus had promised…
- The presence of the Holy Spirit was with them… and was at work in and through them.
- The sound that came from heaven…that rushing violent wind…
- Was the exciting sound of old barriers being broken and glass ceilings shattering.
- The divisions within humanity were being overcome.
- The church was empowered to take to the streets with the good news.
On the day of Pentecost…the disciples acquired a holy boldness that they had never had before.
- The difference in them after Pentecost was as dramatic as those who tell their stories at AA meetings:
- This is how it was before…and this is how it is now.
Before Pentecost…on the night of Jesus’ arrest…
- Peter cowered away from a servant girl’s questions and refused to admit that he knew Jesus.
- After Pentecost…Peter preaches the first Pentecost sermon…
- Boldly proclaiming people’s dreams and visions.
Before Pentecost…the disciples felt doubt and despair.
- They felt…like their ancestors had…like dry bones.
- After Pentecost…the apostles went out into the streets and into the community.
- They touched the lame and they walked.
- They were imprisoned and flogged…
- Yet they showed no signs of doubt or fear.
- Empowered by the Holy Spirit…the once disheartened disciples moved out.
Who would be in this new community of faith?
- Jews…of course.
- But…not long after the story of Pentecost there are other stories.
- Peter has a vision in which he sees a great sheet being lowered with all kinds of animals.
- He heard God’s voice saying: Don’t call anything I create unclean.
- Peter came to understand that the vision was not about unclean food…
- But about unclean people.
- He met the gentile Cornelius and baptized him.
- The church could have become a sect within Judaism…
- A gathering place for disgruntled Israelites.
- But no…the promise of God was sent even to Gentiles…to outsiders.
- The early church struggled with the issue of who to include…just as we do today.
- But the Holy Spirit prevailed.
Fifteen hundred years later…the church began to lack vitality.
- There was widespread corruption…abuse of power by the church.
- The church had become wealthy…complacent.
- Would the movement begun at Pentecost go the way of so many other organizations that mature and then die?
An Augustinian monk in Germany…Martin Luther…nailed a list of 95 theses on a church door and called the church back to its biblical roots.
- You know the rest of the story of the reformation.
- The Holy Spirit prevailed.
Eighteenth-century England and the United States were going through the trauma of urbanization and the first industrial revolution.
- In this time of turmoil…people of faith…especially Quakers worked for decades for the abolition of slavery…
- As well as for other basic human rights.
- Eventually…the Holy Spirit prevailed…as slavery was abolished.
- Oh…but there is still a lot of work to be done…
- And the Holy Spirit keeps prodding us.
- Through struggles for human rights and for justice…the Holy Spirit continues to work in and through God’s people.
Today we are living in a time of huge change:
- Technological…cultural…political and religious.
- So…it is no wonder if we feel bewildered…disoriented…and afraid.
- But…we are in a time when God is doing amazing new things…through us.
- Aslan is on the move!
- The Holy Spirit is on the move!
The Holy Spirit still blows into our lives.
- The same Holy Spirit who inspired the prophets and apostles…
- And gave birth to the church…
- Continues to prod…cajole…and urge us forward.
- It has been this way since the beginning of the church.
- Just when we get settled down…comfortable with present arrangements…
- Our pews bolted securely to the floor…all fixed and immobile…
- There comes a rush of wind…or a still small voice…
- A breath of fresh air…tongues of fire…
- And the Holy Spirit comes to us…to give us courage to unmask idolatries in Church and culture…
- To hear the voices of peoples long silenced…
- And to work with others for justice…freedom…and peace.
Come, Holy Spirit!
Song of the Day:
Spirit of Gentleness
Prayers of Intercession
God of resurrection and new life, we come before you in prayer for the church, the world, and all who are in need.
A brief silence.
We pray for the church. Continue to inspire our sharing of the gospel and equip us to tear down the barriers we have erected. Make our welcome expansive, intentional, and open to loving challenge. Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
We pray for creation. Allow fire to burn safely in habitats where it’s needed and quench flames when they threaten to run wild. Protect forests, prairies, and grasslands from destruction by natural forces or human misdeeds. Safeguard firefighters and rescuers in their dangerous work. Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
We pray for courts and legislatures. Write your commandments on our hearts, and inspire all who govern to lead with love over retribution. Unite judges, lawyers, and systems of justice in a desire for reconciliation. Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
We pray for the sick in body, mind, or spirit especially: John & Lisa Mountain, Terry Vernon, David & Carol Beazley, Margaret Miller, Bill Treichler, Shirley Treichler, Hope Garrett, Julia Busby-Morgan, Lisa (Bob & Doris’s daughter. Chad Rudzik, June Gust, Vicki Salzgeber, Jason Salzgeber, David Wilfong, Stacey Bryant, Pam Hendry, Erin Shayota, Michael Bender, Don Bevers, Rick Lauber, Keith Waldron, Holly Lapinski, John Shaffer, Jan Johnson, Chis Poe. Lift up all who have been bowed low by circumstances or internal strife. Bring to wholeness those who cry out to you in need. Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
We pray for this congregation. Raise up in us a deep desire to live out our baptismal promises and to support those of all ages in our shared journey of faith. Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
Awaken new life in this place. Open our hearts to ways you are calling us to be at work in the world and our community. We pray for neighboring congregations and ministry sites especially: Church of God – SDA – Bay Point Christian – St. Barts – Blessed Trinity…St. Matthew…DayStar Life Center…Canguros Day School. Give us courage to boldly share your love for all people beyond our walls. Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
We offer thanks for the faithful departed (Ralph Brooker) who now rest in you. Let their lives encourage our own daily living. Console us with the promise of eternal life. Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
We commend these and all our prayers to you, O God, trusting that you are always with us; in the name of Jesus Christ, our risen Savior.
Amen.
Pray with me:
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,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
Offering Prayer
Risen One,
you have gathered us around your table of grace
along with these gifts we bring.
Come among us again,
breathe your life into us,
and enliven us with this meal,
that we may live as your risen body in the world.
Amen.
Invitation to Communion
Come to the table of grace. Receive the gift of new life.
Prayer after Communion
Living One,
in this feast you have made yourself known to us.
Send us now to tell of your wonders,
sing of your glory,
and proclaim your risen life
to a wounded and weary world.
Amen.
Blessing
The triune God, who was, who is, and who is to come, Sovereign, ☩ Savior, and Spirit, light our way with resurrection dawn, now and always.
Amen.
Sending Song:
O Spirit of Life
Dismissal
Alleluia! Christ is risen.
Christ is risen indeed. Alleluia!
Go in peace. In Christ you are made new. Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thanks be to God. Alleluia! Alleluia!