THE FIRST LESSON 1 Corinthians 12:4-13
THE SECOND LESSON Acts 2:1-13
SERMON "Mission Dei"
Worship Notes
Today we celebrate Pentecost marking the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the early disciples forming them into a community called the church. Pentecost is historically and symbolically related to the Jewish festival of Shavout (the word Pentecost is derived from the Greek name for Shavout). One of the three Jewish pilgrimage festivals required by the Law of Moses, this celebration marked the beginning of harvest activities in which the first fruits of the harvest were offered to God. For the Christian church, Pentecost has taken on more and more meaning and in many traditions is second only to Easter in significance. In Italy it was customary to scatter rose petals from the ceiling of the churches to recall the miracle of the fiery tongues, and in France it was the custom to blow horns during the service evoking the sound of the mighty wind accompanying the descent of the Spirit.
We begin our service with the words from the prophet Joel who envisioned the Spirit of God being poured out upon all flesh sons and daughters, young and old. For our Pentecost affirmation we read together the contemporary words of Anne Weems and her description of the church of Jesus Christ. The central text of our worship is the description of Pentecost in the book of the Acts of the Apostles. The Affirmation of Faith is taken from the Holy Spirit section of the Brief Statement of Faith of the Presbyterian Church USA. For those able to do so, we will recess out of the sanctuary on our final hymn singing "They'll Know We Are Christians by our Love." This act of departure serves as a symbol of the Spirit sending the church out into the world proclaiming the grace of God to a hurting world.
