Worship - May 15, 2005

Leader:	We eat until we are full. We busy ourselves until there is no time left. We crowd our houses and lives with things.
All:	We seem filled.
Leader:	We seem filled, but are we? When we eat enough to be filled, but do not eat a healthful variety of foods, we become malnourished. Do our souls suffer from the same problem? We gorge ourselves on worry, anxiety, shallow relationships, unhealthy competition, and stress. We do, indeed, seem to be filled. But filled with what?
All:	Sister brother, friend, family—what fills us?
Leader:	God, we seek you today. In the quiet moments of our living, we become aware that we are not filled with your Spirit as you want us to be. We wonder what a spirit-filled life would be like. What might happen to violence, depression, hunger, and the other problems we've caused, if we allow ourselves to be filled by you?
All:	Holy Spirit, fill us. Holy Spirit, fill us!
Leader:	Fill us to overflowing with your compassion and love. Fill us with your vision for our world. Fill us to the brim with the desire to continue the work of Jesus, modeling our lives after his. Fill us, God, with your Holy Spirit!
All:	Fill us, God, with your Holy Spirit!

by Becky Ullom, Director of Identity and Relations
Church of the Brethren General Board, Elgin, Illinois
Church of the Brethren Living Word Bulletin
Anchor/Wallace, Sleepy Eye MN 56085, "The Living Word Series"

For Children
"God’s Tool Box"

Props Needed - An assortment of hand tools in a paper bag or tool box

The Message

Before coming to church this morning, I went to my workbench in the garage and picked up several things to show you. Here s the first thing. (Hold up a hammer.) Does anyone recognize what this is? (Pause for answers.) A hammer, that s right. What is a hammer used for? (Pause.) Yes, you hammer nails with it. You might hammer a nail into the wall to hang a picture, or you might...

...The church is like these tools. Each person in the church is different. We each have our own skills and abilities. Each one of us in the church has a different job to do. Some of us are teachers, some leaders, some ushers, some singers. Some of us are... God has given each of us a special job to do in the church.... etc.

Pastoral Prayer

written closer to the time (if not at the moment)

Dramatic Reading of Acts 2:1-21

Narrator -

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 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. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked,

Voices 1-16 are seated scattered throughout the congregation. They stand and speak (loud and clear!) their line, and remain standing until the whole scripture reading is completed. Then they sit. Only the narrator, voice 1, and the voice of Peter use microphones.

(click on the links below to hear pronunciation of these words)

Voice 1 -

"Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? (gal-ih-LEE-uhnz) And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language?

Voice 2 -

Parthians, (PAHR-thee-uhnz)

Voice 3 -

Medes, (meeds)

Voice 4 -

Elamites, (EE-luh-maits)

Voice 5 -

and residents of Mesopotamia, (mehs-o-po-TAY-mih-uh)

Voice 6 -

Judea (dzhou-DEE-uh)

Voice 7 -

and Cappadocia, (kap-ih-DO-shee-uh)

Voice 8 -

Pontus (PAHN-tus)

Voice 9 -

and Asia, (Ay-sha)

Voice 10 -

Phrygia (FRIH-dzhih-uh)

Voice 11 -

and Pamphylia, (pam-FIHL-ih-uh)

Voice 12 -

Egypt (E-jipt)

Voice 13 -

and the parts of Libya (LIH-bih-uh) belonging to Cyrene, (sai-REE-neh)

Voice 14 -

and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, (pros·e·lytes)

Voice 15 -

Cretans (KREE-tihnz)

Voice 16 -

and Arabs - (EHR-uhbs)

Voice 1 -

in our own languages we hear them speaking about God's deeds of power."

Narrator -

All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another,

Voices 1-16 -

"What does this mean?"

Narrator -

But others sneered and said,

Voice 1 -

"They are filled with new wine."

Narrator -

But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them,

Voice of Peter -

"Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem (dzheh-ROU-suh-lehm), let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o'clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel (DZHO-ehl): ‘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. Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord's great and glorious day. Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’"

New Revised Standard Version

Responding with our Tithes and Offerings

That was the story of the first birthday of the church of Jesus Christ, complete with God's gift of the Holy Spirit. Today, we celebrate this special occasion one more time. Did you bring a gift? Birthday parties usually involve presents, you know. God continues to give his gifts. How about you? The ushers are here to receive them. As they pass the plates, sing a happy birthday song to the body of Christ. You don't need words, just a grateful heart. Ushers?

Organ Offertory is Mendelsohn's "Song without words."