Pentecost - Year B

Texts; Acts 2:1-21; Psalm 104:24-34, 35b; Romans 8:22-27; John 15:26-27;
16:4b-15

Call to Worship

L: The Day of Pentecost is here:
P: the day when the flames of faith
dance in our hearts.
L: The Day of Pentecost is here:
P: the day when our babbling speech
becomes the Good News for the world.
L: The Day of Pentecost is here:
P: the day when compassion
is seared into our souls.
L: The Day of Pentecost is here:
P: let the people of God rejoice. Alleluia!

Prayer of the Day

L: Spirit of the Living God,
dance with us on this day.
P: Come, Whirlwind of Wonder!
L: Sing to the groaning of creation.
P: Come, still small voice of Hope!
L: Enflame us with your passion for justice.
P: Come, Liberator of the Least!
L: Purify us of our grasping greediness.
P: Come, Advocate of selfless living!
L: Silence our gossiping tongues.
P: Come, Harmony of God's Heart!
L: Wind of God, blow through us;
Fire of God, burn within us;
Tongue of God, speak to us
on this day of renewal and birth,
even as we pray as Jesus teaches us,
Our Father . . .

Call to Reconciliation
Feel the Spirit of God moving in your soul. Listen
to the Spirit speaking to you of hope and wholeness.
Trust the promises God has made that new life is
our inheritance. Join me as we open ourselves to
God's healing Spirit, as we pray, saying,

Unison Prayer of Confession
Spirit of God:
you come, aflame with new life,
but our apathy threatens to douse your passion;
you come, on fire with love,
yet we limit our affections to a select few;
you come, surging with new dreams and new hopes,
but we still cling to the old ways of living;
you come, glowing with the vision of the kingdom,
yet we close our eyes to your future.

Forgive us, Spirit of Truth, forgive us.
Come to us, anew, this day:
to shatter our hardened hearts with your tenderness;
to set our souls on fire with your love;
to send us into a world which aches
for the new joy, the new hope, the new life
offered in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Silent Prayers may be offered

Assurance of Pardon

L: With a gentle breeze God enflames our spirits;
with a strong wind, God reminds us of our
need to forgive and be forgiven. Like a cleansing
storm, God takes away our past, revealing the
fresh, new life which is ours.
P: Awakened, refreshed, renewed, made whole:
now we can dance with the wind, singing our
praises to the One who gives life to all.
Thanks be to God. Amen.

Great Prayer of Thanksgiving
L: May the God of Pentecost be with you.
P: And also with you.
L: People of Pentecost, open your hearts to the Spirit
moving in our midst.
P: We open them to the Breath of God which fills us
with hope and grace.
L: Daughters and sons of the Most Holy,
offer your joy to our God.
P: We sing the song of Pentecost in the language of every heart -
praise and thanksgiving to our God!

In the shadows of chaos
you breathed, Creator God,
your Spirit moving over the waters of life.
You opened your hands,
filling all creation with goodness and beauty.
You gathered up earth's dust,
shaping us in your image,
filling our lungs with Spirit's life.
But drunk on the new wine
of human arrogance and desire,
we listened to the competing voices
of evil, sin, and death,
believing they spoke the truth.
With sighs too deep for words,
you continued to call us home,
speaking through teachers and prophets.
When we hid our faces from you,
you looked upon us in compassion,
and sent Jesus Christ
to restore us to life with you.

And so, with your people here on earth,
and with the company of heaven,
in every language, and in every heart,
we glorify your name, singing:

P: Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of spirit and truth.
All creation is made new by your grace.
Hosanna in the highest!

Blessed is the One who comes, in hope, to save us.
Hosanna in the highest!

Holy are you, God of beginnings and endings,
and blessed is Jesus Christ, our Lord.
At his baptism,
the Spirit named him your Beloved;
in the wilderness,
the Spirit strengthened him
to withstand the seductions of the Evil One;
Spirit-anointed for ministry,
Jesus sang good news to the poor,
set free those imprisoned by despair,
gave sight to the blind
and fed the hungry,
blessed little children,
and ate with sinners.
When his service of tender mercies
was finished,
he went to the Cross,
suffering and dying for all humanity,
and was raised to new life,
as a promise to all your children.

As we come to this Table,
we remember his promise to always be with us.
Baptized by the Holy Spirit,
and purified in the fire of obedience,
we sing of that faith which is ours:

P: The Spirit testifies that Christ died for us.
The Spirit bears witness that Christ was raised.
The Spirit proclaims that Christ will come again.

As Christ promised,
you have poured out your Holy Spirit
upon your people
and upon the gifts of the bread and the cup.
As we offer our thanks to you
for the gift of the Spirit
in our lives and in the world,
may the flames of Pentecost
kindle compassion in our hearts;
may the tongues of fire
ignite our calls for justice for all people;
may the good news
spoken in every tongue and every place,
unite us in service to others
and in faith in you.

Then, when the groaning of creation
is turned to hymns of praise,
and all people gather around your Table
on that great and glorious Day,
we will sing our joy to you
through all eternity:
God in Community, Holy in One.
Amen.

Blessing
L: God's glory has filled our hearts!
P: We will go to empty ourselves for others.
L: Christ has given himself for us!
P: We will go to give ourselves to everyone in need.
L: The Spirit gifts us with new life!
P: We go to be a blessing to everyone we meet.


© Thom M. Shuman