Long Green Valley Church of the Brethren
Long Green & Kanes Rds., near Glen Arm, Md.
May 26, 2013
Worship 10:00 am          Sunday School 11:10am

Celebrating Pentecost

   Beginning with Praise (9:50 am)               "Spirit of God! descend"                502
  Announcements & Preparation
  Prelude

   Call to Worship

  Verbal Symphony                                                                                 (insert)

*Hymn                            "O Holy Spirit, making whole"                              300

*Opening Prayer

  Gospel Promise                         John 16:12-15

  Returning our Tithes and Offerings

  Offertory               (Please sign the attendance pad and pass it on)

  Glimpses of Grace              Romans 5:1-5, 8:14-17

  Sharing a joy, a concern, a word of testimony or praise
                                 (please be brief, and aware of God's listening presence) 

  Hymn                             "Joys are flowing like a river"                               301

  Pastoral Prayer

  Birth Story                                  Acts 2:1-21

  Message                        "Takin' it to the Streets" (mp3)

*Hymn                            "On Pentecost they gathered"                           (insert)
                                 (words, music in pdf, organ on youtube, mp3 of choir)

*Benediction

*Postlude

*Rise in body or in spirit

#'s are from Hymnal: A Worship Book

Worship leaders - see basic guidelines

Call to Worship

             It all began a few days after Jesus had gone back up to heaven. The disciples were feeling very sad and frightened. They met together every day to talk about things, but no one really knew what to do. Jesus had been their friend and their guide and now they felt lost and frightened without him. Peter tried hard to encourage them, but they all felt very alone and very frightened.

from Pentecost service at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Falls Church, VA
(shared from service at First Congregational Church of Willamantic, CT by Eva Simmons, whose son is organist there)
 

Verbal Symphony
The congregation is divided into four groups for all to take part.

                    (speak quietly)

Group 1 - We’re frightened.

Group 2 - We’re nervous.

Group 3 - We’re afraid.

Group 4 - We’re worried.

All Lord Jesus, help us. Lord Jesus, help us.

                    (speak a little bit louder)

Group 1 - What’s going to happen?

Group 2 - Yes! What’s up?

Group 3 - Things don’t look too good.

Group 4 - No, we seem to be in deep trouble.

All - Jesus, comfort us. Lord, help us.

Group 1 - Ssh! What’s that noise?

Group 2 - Listen!

Group 3 - Help us — a very strange noise.

Group 4 - A weird sound.

All - Jesus be near us — please.

Group 1 - Something’s happening.

Group 2 - It’s kind of exciting

Group 3 - It’s incredible!

                    (speak excitedly)

Group 4 - Listen — something great is happening!

Group 1 - Fire!

Group 2 - Where?

Group 3 - Fire!

Group 4 - All around us — but it doesn’t burn!

Group 1 - The wind isn’t destructive either.

Group 2 - Things have changed.

Group 3 - Yes! We feel different, too.

Group 4 - So do we. The Lord is here!

All - Yes! The Lord is here in a special way.

                    (stand and speak loudly)

Group 1 - Praise the Lord, who created us!

Group 2 - Praise the Lord, who saved us!

Group 3 - Praise the Lord, who now empowers us!

Group 4 - Praise the Lord, God in three persons!

All - The Spirit is here with us now! Praise be to God — praise be to God!

Group 1 We’re not frightened.

All - Power from God!

Group 2 - We’re not nervous.

All - Strength from God!

Group 3 - We’re not afraid.

All - Guidance from God!

Group 4 - We’re not worried.

All - Truth from God!

Hymn   "O Holy Spirit, making whole"     300

adapted from Pentecost service at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Falls Church, VA
orginally written by David Dent, a Uniting Church lay person from West Lakes Parish in South Australia
(shared from service at First Congregational Church of Willamantic, CT by Eva Simmons, whose son is organist there)
   

Opening Prayer

             Wonderful are you, Creating Spirit, who from the very beginning have brooded over the world with loving intent. Wonderful are you, endowing Spirit, who filled the Man of Nazareth with the courage of the purest, costliest saving love. Wonderful are you, inflowing Spirit, who fills the church with gifts for compassionate service within the world. We your chi1dren worship and adore your glory; world without end. Amen.

by Bruce Prewer, Uniting Church in Australia
       

Returning our Tithes and Offerings

             This is a time of year filled with “promise.” Whether it be a wedding where bride and groom stand before a congregation and pledge their vows, or a graduation where students who have fulfilled the requirements for a degree are awarded a diploma, the promise of the occasion fills every crack. Tears are shed and smiles beam as the future begins to unfold. Where will this new road lead?

             Today is a day of promise, as we celebrate Pentecost. The Holy Spirit came as a fulfillment of God’s pledge to his people, revealed by Jesus. And yet, even as the wording changes from “God will send the Spirit” to “the Lord has already done so,” the promise continues. Like bride and groom or graduate, it is now up to us what we will do with this promise.

             While the ushers pass the plates and you return your offering, ponder this promise – what you have already received as a gift from God, and what you might do this week with the very wind of God upholding your wings.

Ushers?
    

Pastoral Prayer

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

Benediction

What God has entrusted to us
      is never something we fully grasp.
            After all, who can hold the wind?
      It was never meant to be locked away in a safe place.
            Who can hide fire once it blazes?
      It was not intended only for certain kinds of persons.
            Does the word “welcome” not include everyone?
      The message we bear is not to be shared
                        only when we are sure
                  we will be understood or received rightly.
            Are we afraid of appearing foolish?
Last but not least,
      the good news of Christ and our life in the Spirit
                  should never be limited to words.
            After all, will talk alone convince anyone?

May God empower you this week
      to take it to the streets of your neighborhood,
            and in the process,
                  simply, yet boldly live out there
                        what you have received.
                              Amen.