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WE ARE WITNESSES SENT INTO ALL THE WORLD Sunday, May 31, 2020 – Pentecost

Service Order: Common Service, Christian Worship, page 15

A warm welcome to those visiting us this morning. Here at St. Paul we preach Christ crucified, whose suffering and death paid for our sins and earned for us the gift of everlasting life. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Pastor Goetzinger or Pastor Thompson. We pray that you return to worship with us again.

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you;

and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea

and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Acts 1:8

PRAYER UPON ENTERING THE CHURCH silence for meditation.

Dear Jesus, today we celebrate your gift of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We celebrate how you have given all believers faith through the work of the Holy Spirit, faith that clings to your promise of forgiveness. But we also celebrate your gift of the Holy Spirit to empower us to share that promise of forgiveness. And so we pray that you empower us, by giving us courage, wisdom, and love to tell Ottawa about what you have done. In your precious name we pray, Amen.

OPENING HYMN O Holy Spirit, Enter In ————————————————————————————————

Christian Worship 184:1-2

1 O Holy Spirit, enter in And in our hearts your work begin, Your dwelling place now make us. Sun of the soul, O Light divine, Around and in us brightly shine, To joy and gladness wake us That we May be Truly living, To you giving Prayer unceasing And in love be still increasing.

2 Give to your Word impressive pow’r That in our hearts from this good hour As fire it may be glowing, That in true Christian unity We faithful witnesses may be, Your glory ever showing. Hear us, Cheer us By your teaching; Let our preaching And our labour Praise you, Lord, and serve our neighbour.

INVOCATION, CONFESSION, AND ABSOLUTION ———————————————————————————————— Stand. M: In the name of the Father and of the Son ✙ and of the Holy Spirit.

M: Beloved in the Lord: let us draw near with a true heart and confess our sins

to God our Father, asking him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to grant us forgiveness.

C: Holy and merciful Father, I confess that I am by nature sinful and that I have disobeyed you in my thoughts, words, and actions. I have done what is evil and failed to do what is good. For this I deserve your punishment both now and in eternity. But I am truly sorry for my sins, and trusting in my Saviour Jesus Christ, I pray: Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.

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To confess is to admit we’re far from perfect and so, without Jesus, shouldn’t be with a perfect God.

M: God, our heavenly Father, has been merciful to us and has given his only Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Therefore, as a called servant of Christ and by his authority, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son ✙ and of the Holy Spirit.

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The pastor absolves us of our sins, that is, reminds us we’re forgiven because of Jesus’ death and resurrection.

M: In the peace of forgiveness, let us praise the Lord:

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In response to hearing we’re forgiven through Jesus, Christians respond in praise and thanksgiving.

PRAYER OF THE DAY ————————————————————————————————

M: The Lord be with you.

M: Let us pray: Holy Spirit, God and Lord, come to us this joyful day with

your sevenfold gift of grace. Rekindle in our hearts the holy fire of your love that in a true and living faith we may tell abroad the glory of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Father, one God, now and forever.

Be seated. FIRST LESSON Joel 2:28-29 ———————————————————————————————— In the Old Testament, God poured out his Spirit on his prophets to make his will known to the world.

"And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.

SECOND LESSON Acts 2:1-21 ———————————————————————————————— As in the Old Testament, God empowers his gospel to be spread through the Holy Spirit.

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together

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We believe that the Bible is the source of all spiritual truth, and so we read lessons from it to learn who God is and what he’s done for us throughout history and still today.

in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs--we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!" Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?"

Some, however, made fun of them and said, "They have had too much wine. “

Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

" 'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

VERSE OF THE DAY On the Day of Pentecost ————————————————————————————————

M: Alleluia. Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful people, and kindle in them the fire of your love. Alleluia.

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GOSPEL John 16:5-11 ———————————————————————————————— It was clearly part of Jesus’ plan that the Holy Spirit would aid his followers once he ascended. Stand. M: The Gospel according to John, chapter 16.

"Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, 'Where

are you going?' Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counsellor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgement: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgement, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

M: This is the Gospel of the Lord.

NICENE CREED ————————————————————————————————

C: We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation, he came down from heaven, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary, and became fully human.

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate. He suffered death and was buried.

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Gospel means “Good News,” and so this is a reading from the historical biographies of Jesus that tells us the good news of how Jesus came into this world to save us.

The Nicene Creed is a summary of the Christian faith written in 325AD, used since then to declare together what we believe about God.

On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who in unity with the Father and the Son is worshiped and

glorified, who has spoken through the prophets. We believe in one holy Christian and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Be seated.

HYMN OF THE DAY Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord ————————————————————————————————

Christian Worship 176

1 Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord! May all your graces be outpoured On each believer’s mind and heart; Your fervent love to them impart. Lord, by the brightness of your light In holy faith your church unite From ev’ry land and ev’ry tongue; This to your praise, O Lord our God, be sung: Alleluia! Alleluia!

2 Come, Holy Light, Guide divine, And cause the Word of life to shine. Teach us to know our God aright And call him Father with delight. From ev’ry error keep us free; Let none but Christ our Master be That we in living faith abide, In him, our Lord, with all our might confide. Alleluia! Alleluia!

3 Come, holy Fire, Comfort true; Grant us the will your work to do And in your service to abide; Let trials turn us not aside. Lord, by your pow’r prepare each heart, And to our weakness strength impart That bravely here we may contend, Through life and death to you, our Lord, ascend. Alleluia! Alleluia! SERMON Acts 2:1-21 ————————————————————————————————

“Filled with Fire”

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The Hymn of the Day is meant to especially celebrate today’s unique theme.

A sermon is simply a longer reflection on one of today’s readings from the Bible.

Stand.

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH & LORD’S PRAYER ———————————————————————————————— Almighty God, you have blessed us in love with the Saviour to whom the

nations cry and in whom is forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. Grant to us your Holy Spirit, the Comforter whom you have promised, that we and all who call upon his name shall be saved. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Almighty God, help us to show forth in holy lives the fruits of the Spirt and to live with love toward our neighbour. Give us a servant’s heart that doesn’t seek our own way but walks on the path of eternal life. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Almighty God, have mercy and spare us. Put an end to the pandemic, and restore the communities of the world to their common life. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Almighty God, you breath hope into the weary and renew your Church by your grace. Bless newly planted congregations that they may endure, guide established congregations that they may not lose heart, and build up our Synod that our zeal for your Kingdom may not flag but flourish and prosper according to your will. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

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The Prayer of the Church is our biggest prayer of the day, focusing on our day’s theme and asking God to care for us, our community, and the world.

Almighty God, you carry the burdens of our lives in your hands. Deliver from illness and suffering all who cry to you for release. Hear us on behalf of the sick, the dying and those who mourn, especially the family of Shirley Dasen-Gadde whom you called home this past Thursday evening. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Almighty God, hear your people for the sake of him who loved us even to death and who lives to call to himself all who will be saved. You know what we need and those things we should ask in your name. Grant them to us for the sake of our crucified, risen and ascended Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

C: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses,

CLOSING PRAYER AND BLESSING ———————————————————————————————— M: Almighty God, grant to your Church the Holy Spirit and the wisdom that

comes from above. Let nothing hinder your Word from being freely proclaimed to the joy and edifying of Christ’s holy people, so that we may serve you in steadfast faith and confess your name as long as we live, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

M: The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord look on you with favour and ✙ give you peace.

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as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Two-thousand years ago, Jesus taught his disciples to pray with these words. We use them still today, able to call God our Father because of Jesus.

We always end with a blessing used by believers for thousands of years, reminding us we leave as children loved by God and at peace with him, all because of Jesus.

CLOSING HYMN When God the Spirit Came ————————————————————————————————

Christian Worship 187:1,3,5

1 When God the Spirit came Upon his church outpoured In sound of wind and sign of flame, They spread his truth abroad And, filled with the Spirit, Proclaimed that Christ is Lord.

3 They saw God’s Word prevail, His kingdom still increase, No part of all his purpose fail, No promised blessing cease And, filled with the Spirit, Knew love and joy and peace.

5 So to this present hour Our task is still the same: In Pentecostal love and pow’r His gospel to proclaim And, filled with the Spirit, Rejoice in Jesus’ name.

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Presiding Minister: Pastor Luke Thompson Preacher: Pastor Harland Goetzinger Organist: Dalton Griffiths Accompaniment Coordinator: Deb Tong Serving on Altar Guild: Debbie Casey

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God’s grace welcomes you, no matter who you are or where you come from— and so do we. We’re so glad we’ve had the opportunity to share God’s grace through Jesus to you. Jesus makes us special people, right with God and ready for life! We learn this from the Bible, God’s authentic message of grace and guidance for us.

Whether you are a first time visitor or returning guest, we are delighted to share our worship with you. Please come back and worship with us again. And if there’s any way we can serve you, please don’t hesitate to let us know.

Harland Goetzinger, Pastor goetzinh@sympatico.ca

Luke Thompson, Pastor L.George.Thompson@gmail.com

phone: 613-234-0321 email: stpaulwels@rogers.com

web: www.stpaulottawa.org

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