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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.

THE FIRST LESSON Psalm 98:4-9

THE SECOND LESSON Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3;16

"Speak to one another with the words of the psalms, hymns and sacred songs;

sing hymns and psalms to the Lord with praise in your hearts . In the name of

our Lord Jesus Christ, always give thanks for every thing to God our Father."

"Sing psalms, hymns, and sacred songs; sing to God with thanksgiving in your hearts. Everything you do or say, then, should be done in the name of the Jesus, as you give thanks through him to God the Father."

SERMON "Why Should The Devil Have All The Good Tunes?": Martin Luther, the Gospel and the Gift of Music

Worship Notes by Rev. Allan Townsend, Guest Preacher

Today is the Sixth Sunday of Eastertide, the liturgical season in which we celebrate with great joy and thanksgiving the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus from the dead. The Psalmist urges us to "Sing a new song to the Lord!" and today, with the help of the Wonderful World Jazz Band, we'll do just that. Instead of the music of Bach, Mendelssohn, Wesley, and other great old faithful hymn writers, we'll be making a joyful noise to the Lord with the music of Duke Ellington, Thomas "Fats" Waller, Thomas A. Dorsey, Meredeth Willson, and a few African-American spirituals--music from the tradition of American jazz.

This weekend marks the 20th Annual Capital City Jazz Fest here in Madison. In honor of that event, Westminster Presbyterian has joined with the Madison Jazz Society to sponsor this morning's jazz liturgy. Many people's first response to jazz liturgy is the eyebrow-lifting question, "Jazz in church?" But the Wonderful World Jazz Band always reminds people that when jazz comes to church, it comes not as a stranger, but as an old friend. Many of the early jazz musicians received their early musical training in the church. "Fats" Waller learned to play organ at a famous Baptist Church in New York City. Thomas A. Dorsey, the father of the Black Gospel movement ("Precious Lord, Take My Hand"), was the music director for the legendary jazz blues singer, Ma Rainey; and composer/bandleader Duke Ellington spent much of his senior career doing jazz liturgies in churches all across the county, culminating in his Jazz Mass Composition. These are just a few examples to illustrate that when jazz comes to church, it is really coming home.

Music has always played a central role in the Hebrew/Christian religious traditions. The Gospels report that when Jesus finished celebrating the Last Supper with His disciples, they sang a hymn before going to the Garden for their final vigil. Our New Testament readings for today encourage us to sing hymns and spiritual songs to uplift our spirits and to give support to one another. God's gift of music has never been more fervently embraced than by the 16th Century theologian and church reformer, Martin Luther. The morning sermon will focus in part on Luther's musical contributions to the church and to modern music.

Finally, beside the scripture, sermon, hymns, and spiritual songs, there are two liturgical prayer affirmations written by Presbyterian poet and writer, Ann Weems, of St. Louis, MO. Ann's positive, life-affirming writings have been an inspiration for many contemporary Christians. And, of course, St. Francis of Assisi's famous prayer, framed on the wall in the lower level of Westminster Church, can never be prayed enough. It is what it means to be a Christian.

Sunday, April 20, 2008 5th Sunday of Easter;
Guest Preacher, Rev. Mark Elsdon of Pres House

THE FIRST LESSON Genesis 50:14-21

THE SECOND LESSON Matthew 18:21-35

SERMON "Why Do We Forgive?"

Worship Notes

The liturgical season of Easter, which is also called Eastertide, began on Easter Sunday and lasts for 50 days until Pentecost Sunday, May 11. During the Easter season, our prayer of confession is replaced by a liturgy that focuses on God's grace, through which we are saved. The liturgical color for Eastertide is white. During Eastertide, the artwork by American folk painter and Quaker Society of Friends minister Edward Hicks (1780-1849) that hangs on the brick wall of the sanctuary serves to evoke the memory of our spiritual journey through God's peaceable kingdom this Lent.

In worship on this Fifth Sunday of Easter, we consider our responsibility to forgive one another; a responsibility made possible through God's grace. The scriptural context for the responsibility of forgiveness is taken from the Old Testament story of Joseph and his brothers as well as from the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant in the Gospel of Matthew.

The hymns through which we worship God today draw upon these ideas of forgiveness and acceptance. The other service music offered in worship of God this morning are works by French composers. The prelude is a setting of chorale tune most commonly associated with the Lenten hymn "Kind Maker of the World", which speaks of mercy and forgiveness. This setting is by Claude Balbastre (1724-1799), a famous French organist in his time and harpsichord teacher of queen Marie-Antoinette. In contrasting style to the Balbastre prelude, the postlude is a "dialogue" setting by French organist Eugene Gigout (1844-1925) in which we hear two organs (the antiphonal organ in the rear of the sanctuary and the main organ in the chancel) conversing in a dialogue with one another. This conversation becomes quite intense until the two organs finally reach some mutual agreement and collaborate in the final seconds of the work. The choir's anthem is a setting of the Latin chant "Ubi Caritas" by Maurice Durufle (1902-1986).

The offertory is a piano setting by Claude Debussy entitled "La cathedrale engloutie" or "The Sunken Cathedral." Debussy set this work based on a Brenton myth that demonstrates a lack of forgiveness. According to the myth, a beautiful cathedral was submerged off the Island of Ys. In punishment for their sins, this cathedral was allowed to rise up from the water only briefly before sinking back into the sea. In this piece, you will experience the cathedral's rise from the water, hear its bell toll, and then listen as it is resubmerged. Thankfully, the God whom we worship today imparts to us a grace that not only enables us to forgive one another, but also to know that we ourselves are forgiven. Thanks be to God.

We extend a warm Westminster welcome to our visiting pastor, Rev. Mark Elsdon. Mark is the Campus Co-Pastor and Executive Director of Pres House, a campus ministry at UW-Madison. We are delighted to hear God's word proclaimed through his servant Mark this morning.

THE FIRST LESSON Acts 2:42-47

THE SECOND LESSON John 10:1-11

SERMON "Listening Together for the Shepherd"

WORSHIP NOTES

"Christ is Risen! He Is Risen Indeed!" These words we spoke in greeting to one another on Easter Sunday are alive in the scripture, liturgy, and music through which we worship this Fourth Sunday of Easter.

The liturgical season of Easter, which is also called Eastertide, began on Easter Sunday and lasts for 50 days until Pentecost Sunday on May 11. During the Easter season, our prayer of confession is replaced by a liturgy that focuses on God's grace, through which we are saved.

The liturgical color for Eastertide is white. During Eastertide, the artwork by American folk painter and Quaker Society of Friends minister Edward Hicks (1780-1849) that hangs on the brick wall of the sanctuary serves to evoke the memory of our spiritual journey through God's peaceable kingdom this Lent.

The Fourth Sunday of Easter is also known as Good Shepherd Sunday because in each year of the liturgical cycle, the Gospel is always taken from the 10th chapter of John where Jesus speaks of himself as the "good shepherd." Therefore, much of the music through which we worship today also reflects imagery of the shepherd and flock.

The choir's anthem is a setting of the hymn "The King of Love My Shepherd Is" by Edward Bairstow (1874-1946). Bairstow was an Oxford graduate and an organist at York Minster Cathedral for 33 years. Though chiefly an organist, he was a master of text painting, which allows a line of music to derive its character from the text being sung. In the anthem, this text painting is heard in the dark organ sound as the men sing about "death's dark veil", and in the sounds of a wandering and lost sheep represented by a disconnected and almost non-melodic soprano line sung to the text "perverse and foolish oft I strayed." Through such settings, Bairstow's contributions to the Anglican choral tradition have influenced sacred church music and will enhance our worship of Christ, the Good Shepherd, this morning.

"Christ is Risen! He Is Risen Indeed!" These words that we spoke in greeting to one another on Easter Sunday morning are alive in the scripture, liturgy, and music through which we worship on this Third Sunday of Easter.

The liturgical season of Easter, which is also called Eastertide, began on Easter Sunday and lasts for 50 days until Pentecost Sunday (May 11). Just as we increased our focus on confession and heightened the reflective spirit of worship during the Lenten season, in Eastertide our worship is purposefully more celebratory in its spirit of praise. During the Easter season, our prayer of confession is replaced by a liturgy that focuses on God's grace, through which we are saved.

The liturgical color for Eastertide is white. During Eastertide, the artwork by American folk painter and Quaker Society of Friends minister Edward Hicks (1780-1849) that hangs on the brick wall of the sanctuary serves to evoke the memory of our spiritual journey through God's peaceable kingdom this Lent.

"Christ is Risen! He Is Risen Indeed!" These words that we spoke in greeting to one another on Easter Sunday morning are alive in the scripture, liturgy, and music through which we worship on this Second Sunday of Easter.

The liturgical season of Easter, which is also called Eastertide, began on Easter Sunday and lasts for 50 days until Pentecost Sunday (May 11). Just as we increased our focus on confession and heightened the reflective spirit of worship during the Lenten season, in Eastertide our worship is purposefully more celebratory in its spirit of praise. During the Easter season, our prayer of confession is replaced by a liturgy that focuses on God's grace, through which we are saved.

The liturgical color for Eastertide is white. During Eastertide, the artwork by American folk painter and Quaker Society of Friends minister Edward Hicks (1780-1849) that hangs on the brick wall of the sanctuary serves to evoke the memory of our spiritual journey through God's peaceable kingdom this Lent.

The paraments hung from the lecturn and pulpit are by contemporary Canadian artist Karen Brodie. The design of the paraments illustrates the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet: the alpha and the omega. The interior of the omega along with the curved lines of the light remind us of the open tomb and our risen Christ. The cross and the star are combined to become a symbol of Christ's birth and death. The bottom of the cross becomes one with the cup; the cup of our salvation. There you also see wheat, the symbol of the body of Christ, broken for us. Brodie's design is intended to evoke the image of a sun rising and of new life and it is this imagery that enhances our Eastertide worship of God.

Our Lenten journey, which began on Ash Wednesday, continues on this the Fourth Sunday in Lent. During this liturgical season, we seek to be an intentionally peaceful people by reflecting on and mirroring the peaceful nature of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Over the course of our 40-day and 40-night Lenten journey, we fast from those thoughts and acts that tempt us and prevent us from living out God's "peaceable kingdom" in the world.

During each Lenten worship service, we pray together the text of a prayer attributed to the 13th-century saint, Francis of Assisi as our corporate Confession of Faith. As we pray these words, we will use light from the Christ Candle to light a candle to symbolize a particular aspect of God's peaceable kingdom as described in this prayer. Our Lenten journey through these 13 aspects of the peaceable kingdom will culminate in our Good Friday Service of Tenebrae, when these same symbols of peace are extinguished as we remember and recall Christ's Passion and death on the cross for our sins.

In worship today, we will acknowledge Christ who is the light of the world as well as our personal and collective blindness to sin. The music selected for worship this morning illumines the the connectivity of our relationship to one another and our yearning for peace. The choir's two anthems, and the music during communion, are settings by the German composer Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847). "How Lovely Are the Messengers" and "Grant Peace, We Pray" evoke prayers of thanksgiving for peacemakers and prayers of hope for a world where everyone respects one another.

The benediction response is a setting of the "World Peace Prayer," which is paraphrased from one of the most ancient scriptures of Hinduism called the Upanishads. Since its introduction at a worship service on Hiroshima Day in 1981, the prayer has been translated into numerous languages and circulated around the world.