Sunday, May 31, 2020
Pentecost Sunday
CENTENARY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
The Congregation at Worship
Centering Scripture: Psalm 104: 24-34,35b
24 O Lord, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
25 Yonder is the sea, great and wide,
creeping things innumerable are there,
living things both small and great.
26 There go the ships,
and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it.
27 These all look to you
to give them their food in due season;
28 when you give to them, they gather it up;
when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
29 When you hide your face, they are dismayed;
when you take away their breath, they die
and return to their dust.
30 When you send forth your spirit,[a] they are created;
and you renew the face of the ground.
31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
may the Lord rejoice in his works—
32 who looks on the earth and it trembles,
who touches the mountains and they smoke.
33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him,
for I rejoice in the Lord.
35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth,
and let the wicked be no more.
Bless the Lord, O my soul.
Praise the Lord!
MINISTRY OF LIGHT
CALL TO WORSHIP
When the day of Pentecost arrived they were all together in one place and they were filled with the Holy Spirit.
Receive the Holy Spirit.
like a rushing, cleansing wind; like tongues of flame upon you
Receive the Holy Spirit.
individuals joined as one body friend and alien, slave and free.
Receive the Holy Spirit;
the breath of the risen Christ peace and forgiveness to be shared. I will sing to God as long as I live.
I will sing praise to God while I have being.
* OPENING HYMN “Spirit of the Living God” No. 393
Hymn is available by clicking here
MORNING PRAYER
Loving God, in your generous mercy you sent upon your disciples the Holy Spirit with the burning fire of your love. May your people today be filled with the same holy fire, that always keeping close to you we may be enthusiastic in faith and vigorous in service. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Gelasian, adapted)
SCRIPTURE LESSON Acts 2: 1-21
Scripture is available by clicking here
PASTORAL PRAYER
THE 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. Amen.
RESPONSIVE READING
Be thanked and praised, loving God, for the Spirit who opens our ears to hear you, saying to us through Christ: “I love you,” and who enables us to respond, “And we now love you.”
Your Spirit fills all things. You are the joy of the universe. Hallelujah!
Be thanked and praised, loving God, for the inspiration of your Spirit in prophets, poets, composers and artists, psalmists, scientists and scholars.
Your Spirit fills all things. You are the joy of the universe. Hallelujah!
Be thanked and praised, loving God, for the Spirit’s gift of profound inner silence when we can hear the heartbeat of creation and know that all things work together for good.
Your Spirit fills all things. You are the joy of the universe. Hallelujah!
Be thanked and praised, loving God , for the Spirit’s work in bringing us together into the fellowship of the Universal Church, to be the Body of Christ serving the world.
Your Spirit fills all things. You are the joy of the universe. Hallelujah!
Be thanked and praised, loving God, for the Spirit’s seeds of holy discontent driving us to seek justice and peace for others and greater love and courage for ourselves.
Your Spirit fills all things. You are the joy of the universe. Hallelujah!!
Your Spirit fills all things. You are the joy of the universe. Hallelujah!
Be thanked and praised, loving God, for the Spirit’s generous gifts which turn inadequate people into saints and give a foretaste of a glory yet to come.
Your Spirit fills all things. You are the joy of the universe. Hallelujah!
CHILDREN’S MOMENTS
Flames and wind appear in the Bible story of God blessing us with the Holy Spirit. Do you have a lighted candle in your worship space or have you set around a campfire or burning fireplace? Have you felt a gentle breeze on a spring day or a strong scary wind when a storm was coming? How do these experiences make you feel? The Holy Spirit is even more powerful. The Holy Spirit is God’s powerful presence with you always in every kind of experience. Whenever you are happy or sad, brave or frightened, confident or worried, the Holy Spirit is with you. Give God a high five or shout out a thank you.
WORSHIP WITH TITHES AND OFFERINGS may be mailed to the church with thanks to you and our Lord. As you do so, pray, “All things come of thee of God, and of thine own have we given thee.”
HYMN “Every Time I Feel The Spirit” No. 404
Music is available by clicking here
GOSPEL LESSON John 7: 37-39
Scripture is available by clicking here
SERMON Rev. David Harper
Message from Rev Harper is available by clicking here
CLOSING HYMN “O Spirit of the Living God” No. 539
Music is available by clicking here
BENEDICTION
Leave behind in God’s keeping the negative things with which you may have entered this church.
Leave behind any anxieties or fears, hurt feelings or resentments, faithlessness or guilt or timidity.
Invigorated by the refreshing wind of the Spirit, inflamed with the fire of Divine love,
face the new week with expectation, looking to Jesus the author and finisher of your faith.
You will never walk alone.
The love of God will be with you, the grace of Christ will ever heal you, the friendship of the Spirit will encourage you through all your days.
Thanks be to God! Amen!