A MIGHTY RUSHING WIND
Pentecost Sunday – The Seventh Sunday following Easter Sunday

Praise to the Lord the Almighty
Words and Music by Joachim Neander (1680)
This Arr. © 1999 First Hand Revelation Music and van Ness Press (Travis Cottrell)

Praise to the Lord the Almighty the King of creation
O my soul praise Him for He is thy health and salvation
All ye who hear now to His temple draw near
Join me in glad adoration

Praise to the Lord, who o'er all things so wondrously reigneth
Shelters thee under His wings yea so gently sustaineth
Hast thou not seen how thy longings have been
Granted in what He ordaineth

Praise to the Lord Who doth prosper thy work and defend thee
Surely His goodness and mercy here daily attend thee
Ponder a new what the Al mighty can do
If with His love He be friend thee

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord

Praise to the Lord O let all that is in me adore Him
All that hath life and breath come now with praises before Him
Let the Amen sound from His people again
Gladly forever we adore Him

Call to Worship

We have gathered together to worship our God and to celebrate what is known as Pentecost, the day God first poured out his Spirit on his church and empowered his people to be his witnesses to the ends of the earth. Today, we give praise to God that his church of more than 2 billion people has spread throughout the whole world. At Pentecost, God reversed the curse of Babel. At Babel God confused the people by creating different languages. At Pentecost, God brings unity by giving His people the ability to speak in different languages so that others could understand the saving gospel. Here we see that God is a God for all people, for all nations!

Psalm 96 begins with these words:

Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day.
Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise.

Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. Let’s do that right now. Speak out some of the ways God has blessed you this past week . . .

EXPRESSIONS OF PRAISE FROM THE CONGREGATION

[allow the congregation to speak out what they would like to praise God for]

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing
Words by Robert Robinson (1758); Music: NETTLETON

[Robinson wrote this hymn to pair with his sermon on Pentecost Sunday. “It was a prayer that the Holy Spirit flood into our hearts with his streams of mercy, enabling us to sing God’s praises and remain faithful to him.” For more, see Robert J. Morgan’s “Then Sings My Soul: 150 of the World’s Greatest Hymn Stories”]

Come, thou Fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet, sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount I'm fixed upon it mount of God's redeeming love.

Here I find my greatest treasure; hither by thy help I've come;
And I hope, by thy good pleasure, safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger, wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger, bought me with his precious blood.

Oh, to grace how great a debtor daily I'm constrained to be!
Let thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee:
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love;
Here's my heart, O take and seal it; seal it for thy courts above.

Scripture Reading – Pentecost

When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? . . . we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”

Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them . . . those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had
need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. Acts 2:1–8, 11b–14a, 41–47

Holy Spirit, Living Breath Of God
Words and Music by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend
© 2006 ThankYou Music

Holy Spirit, living Breath of God,
Breathe new life into my willing soul.
Bring the presence of the risen Lord
To renew my heart and make me whole.
Cause Your Word to come alive in me;
Give me faith for what I cannot see;
Give me passion for Your purity.
Holy Spirit, breathe new life in me.

Holy Spirit, come abide within;
May Your joy be seen in all I do.
Love enough to cover ev’ry sin
In each thought and deed and attitude,
Kindness to the greatest and the least,
Gentleness that sows the path of peace.
Turn my striving into works of grace.
Breath of God, show Christ in all I do.

Holy Spirit, from creation’s birth,
Giving life to all that God has made,
Show Your power once again on earth;
Cause Your church to hunger for Your ways.
Let the fragrance of our prayers arise.
Lead us on the road of sacrifice
That in unity the face of Christ
Will be clear for all the world to see.

SCRIPTURE READING in various languages

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” John 3:16–17

[invite people from your congregation to read this Scripture passage in various languages. Be sure to rehearse this before the worship service so everyone is on the same page.]

Thank You, Lord
Words by Seth Sykes; Music by Seth and Bessie Sykes
© 1940, 1945. Renewal 1968, 1973 by Bessie Sykes. Assigned to Singspiration, Inc.

Thank you, Lord for saving my soul.
Thank you, Lord for making me whole.
Thank you, Lord for giving to me.
Thy great salvation so rich and free.

Spirit of the Living God
Words and Music by Daniel Iverson
© 1935, 1963 Birdwing Music

Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me
Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me
Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me
Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me

Offering

Offertory:

Prayer of Illumination

God of grace and mercy, open the eyes of the blind, breathe life into the dead, release those bound by sin and Satan, and, through your Holy Spirit's power, may hearts be challenged, minds convinced and wills conquered. In the name of Jesus the Lord. Amen.

Sermon

The Lord’s Supper

[instrumental music played or congregational singing]

The Mystery of the Faith

And so, in remembrance of these your mighty acts in Jesus Christ, we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving as a holy and living sacrifice, in union with Christ's offering for us, as we proclaim the mystery of faith.

Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again!

O Church arise and put your armor on
Hear the call of Christ our Captain
For now the weak can say that they are strong
In the strength that God has given
With shield of faith and belt of truth
We’ll stand against the devil’s lies
An army bold whose battle–cry is Love
Reaching out to those in darkness

Our call to war to love the captive soul
But to rage against the captor
And with the sword that makes the wounded whole
We will fight with faith and valor
When faced with trials on every side
We know the outcome is secure
And Christ will have the prize for which He died
An inheritance of nations

Come see the cross where love and mercy meet
As the Son of God is stricken
Then see His foes lie crushed beneath His feet
For the Conqueror has risen
And as the stone is rolled away
And Christ emerges from the grave
This victory march continues till the day
Every eye and heart shall see Him

So Spirit come put strength in every stride
Give grace for every hurdle
That we may run with faith to win the prize
Of a servant good and faithful
As saints of old still line the way
Retelling triumphs of His grace
We hear their calls and hunger for the day
When with Christ we stand in glory

Benediction

May God’s breath stream within you. May God’s breath renew you. May God’s breath invigorate you. Walk with confidence into this day. Amen.