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| Video of the Pentecost service, 2021. |
The Hymn #1 Open Now Thy Gates of Beauty
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Thou sendest forth Thy Spirit, they are created:
and Thou renewest the face of the earth. Hallelujah!
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of the faithful:
and kindle in them the fire of Thy love.
The Gospel
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn # 224 Luther - Come Holy Ghost, God and Lord
We Are the True Pentecostals
The Communion Hymn #227 Come, Holy Ghost, in Love
The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #309 Kingo - O Jesus Blessed Lord
KJV Acts 2:1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. 6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. 7 And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? 8 And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? 9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, 10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. 12 And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? 13 Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.
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| From Norma A. Boeckler |
KJV John 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. 24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me. 25 These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. 26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. 27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 28 Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I. 29 And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe. 30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me. 31 But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.
Pentecost Monday Text
KJV John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
We Are the True Pentecostals
Background for the Gospel Sermon
The Holy Trinity has existed from eternity, so we see them in Genesis 1 as the Father commanding, the Son (the Logos) carrying out the commands, and the Holy Spirit hovering over Creation and witnessing to this. Light was created through the Son before the sun and stars were created, so we can see that Jesus as the true Light created the divine truth before physical light existed. So God is truth and the source of truth. The Word of God is always effective because the Spirit is never apart from the Word and the Word is never apart from the Spirit.
The Pentecostal denominations emphasize the Holy Spirit, but the biblical Lutherans never attribute anything apart from the Word as from the Spirit. A Church Growth program is man-made, not divine. A soda and popcorn entertainment service is a human fad, not divine. Whatever is true to the Spirit in the Word has divine power, but when that is watered down and sugared up, the message is man's and not God's
If we want God's will accomplished, there is only one way - through the Word. But the world is so blind and hateful that there is a constant effort to suppress and persecute the Gospel Word and faith - not just by the ministers and bishops - but also by evil governments and rationalistic professors too.
A simple, plain lesson or sermon which is faithful to the Scriptures has the power of God. True miracles happen. The greatest is overcoming our hardened hearts and planting faith in them, placing us on the road to the Eternal City. Prayer in the Name of Jesus is motivated by His Gospel, so He provides the energy for the very act He urges upon us, not with threats but with grace, mercy, kindness, and compassion.
The Word is effective because of the Holy Spirit at work. Here is linked a collection of Scriptural proof, sadly neglected by the Pasadena Lutherans, rationalists, marketeers, and fraudsters.
KJV John 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
Judas (not Iscariot) asked the question that began this important passage - "Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?" The followers only knew, at that point, Jesus travelling with them, teaching and performing miracles.
This is an answer to that question, an entire different but even more powerful ministry. First of all, if someone loves Him, the Father and Son will love him, come to him, and take over the spare room, living with him.
Rather than being abandoned or distanced by the Ascension, the followers are giving a greater and more permanent relationship than they imagined when they were fearful and seemingly alone.
Trusting Christ and loving Him, they will enjoy a constant presence with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Spirit is named fewer times because it is the Spirit making these promises, the Spirit at work in many different ways, including bringing to mind all that Jesus did and taught.
That also creates the enmity people have with those who are faithful to the Word. Those who do not love the Savior, who hate Christianity, or only allow for that which is convenient for them - a philosophy, a culture, or a speaker's platform for social justice - they dislike and badger the believer. The ones who hide their secret loathing of Christianity - they will do anything they can to quash the Faith - not just synod and district presidents and circuit pastors, but the atheists and skeptics as well.
None of that matters for us with the permanent residence of God, with them making their abode or home with us. That by itself would be the greatest of all Promises, but there are more as well.
24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.
This is another simple but profound saying. The opposite is stated to make the positive clearer. There are no grades in between. Not loving - or anything less than love - that person does not guard or keep the sayings of Jesus. And, to make things even clearer, as He often does in the Fourth Gospel, the sayings of Jesus are the sayings of the Father Who Sent Him. Disavowing the Son means a rebellion against Him, against the Father, against the teachings of the Son, Who is sent by the Father.
This is a warning that provides a contrast, which makes the initial statement even clearer and also does not allow room for compromise and double-talk, which are both so popular today. One cannot live in the lecture room of Gospel-deniers (as the Objective Justification advocates and rationalists do) and claim to love the Savior.
25 These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. 26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
At first the disciples experienced being anxious and afraid, even while they were with Jesus, because seeing Him as the Son of God was a challenge. When they were out of food, after the Feeding of the Multitude, they were anxious about eating. When they were in the boat with Jesus and the storm was tossing them about, they were nervous and angry - "Don't you care if we die?" He seemed to be absent after the crucifixion, so they locked themselves in and barred the door in the room where they hid. So they needed His presence and often His challenging or comforting words.
But now, the Holy Spirit, the Advocate and Comforter, would be sent by the Father in the Name of Jesus, teach all things, and bring to mind everything Jesus taught them. How can the Four Gospels be so harmonious? They are guided and dictated by the Holy Spirit. Meanwhile, the rationalists of the past and today, print thousands of pages squabbling with each other and making up new theories.
11. We should therefore rightly learn to understand the Holy Spirit, and should know that he is a comforter and does nothing else than to truly comfort, through the preaching of the Gospel in Christ, sad and timid hearts that know their sins and are being terrified and distressed by the devil beyond measure. He exhorts them to be comforted and to be joyful in God’s promised grace in Christ Jesus. He keeps them therein, so that they continue in this truth and their hearts come to know that all other teaching and comfort, though purporting to be of God, are not genuine. The Holy Spirit cannot be present in false teaching. All such is but the devil’s work — lies and deception with which he seeks to effect his murderous designs. The Christian should allow no terror, threat or suffering possible on earth to force him from the real comfort of the Gospel.
12. Comfort and truth, when the product of the Holy Spirit, are concealed and deeply hidden in faith. Christians themselves do not at all times experience them, but in their weakness sometimes miss the presence of these. For the devil, through both the timidity within themselves and the wickedness of the world without, hinders and opposes believers to such an extent that it is often almost impossible for them to appropriate an atom of God’s comfort; they find themselves in the same condition in which the great apostle Paul laments about himself (2 Corinthians 7:5), where without are fightings, within are fears. They cannot possess unalloyed comfort and joy, but the greater part of their experience proves to be sorrow and fear and deadly conflict. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:11: “For we who live are always delivered unto death for Jesus sake.”
We all experience those times of anxiety, sorrow, fear, and burdens. Some problems are imaginary and go away on their own, or with God's help. There will always be antagonism expressed against the Christian Faith, but that comes through as shunning, excommunication (!), and various forms of robbery. Even though the opposition may seem to be overwhelming, we still have the comfort of complete truth in the Scriptures, which cannot be taken away.
Being open about false doctrine invites the counter-attacks from that side, but it also stirs up the work of the Holy Spirit. If people look at the Scriptures where their imaginary dogma is supposedly found, the Spirit itself will give them wisdom. The argument is not in the defense of one side or the other but in the Word itself. But we have to be better in explaining their false doctrine than they are, knowing their brandished weapons so they can be shattered or neutered.
The cub editor of Christian News said that using the Scriptures to define Justification was "the wrong path," which only leads more people to examine the concept of universal forgiveness of sin without faith in Jesus - OJ. Strangely though, their beloved OJ makes them sullen, angry, and given to outbursts of malediction.
27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
Peace is such a popular word and often not found when people search for it. Except for a few references to warfare, peace in the New Testament is always associated closely with the forgiveness of sin through faith in Christ.
Worldly peace is sought through military or financial power, sometimes through popularity, but all of them can be lost in a moment. The peace given by Jesus Christ should be valued, treasured, and appreciated. Sometimes I think of a Gerhardt phrase during the week, "No trouble troubles me." The hymn itself soars into peace and joy in the midst of turmoil, because his life was forged where his great hymns were fashioned.
In publishing we encourage each other, because we deal with computerized opposition. That is a great relief when one person sympathizes with another, and both gain from it. Now we are involved in a new level of distribution, so that involves others as well, with a lot of blessings in spreading the Word.
neither let it be afraid
There is nothing to fear, and the trouble with fear is its power to numb, cancel, or eliminate faith in Christ. The opponent of fear is faith in Christ, which confides not in us but in God Himself, with Christ as the clear example in teaching and His attitude as the Good Shepherd.
Pilgrim's Progress is a good book to read in sections, because it tells about stopping along the way and being encouraged by other believers, strengthened for the next leg of the journey.
28 Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.
92. For what he says — the Father is greater than I — is not said of the personal, divine essence of his own nature nor of his Father’s as the Arians have falsely interpreted this passage, not wishing to see why or whereof Christ so speaks here; but concerning the difference between the kingdom which he shall have with his Father and his service or servile state in which he was before his resurrection. Now I am small, he wishes to say, in my work and station as a servant; as he says in Matthew 20:28: “The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” That is making one’s self little, and, as St. Paul says in Philippians 2:8, humbling one’s self, or casting one’s self beneath all things and letting sin, death, devil and world tread upon one. But this littleness shall not continue, he says, for that would be a complete undoing; it shall only be a passageway, the way and means by which I come to the Father, where I shall no longer be little, but great and powerful, as he is, and where I shall rule and reign with him forever.
As Lenski says too, this does not mean "better than I" but compares the Father to Jesus' own modest appearance on earth. This is not simply Jesus making promises but including the majesty of God the Father in Heaven Above. Although we think today of Jesus mostly as the Son of God risen from the dead and ascended into heaven, the disciples experienced Him before the resurrection as a man who performed miracles.
29 And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe. 30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me. 31 But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.
As Luther says, the battle on this earth comes from the Devil, the Slanderer. I gave my supervisor a copy of Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant, and she went after Luther as all Baltimore Catechism Catholics do. My point was about writing and publishing, but it set her off like I dumped ink on her keyboard.
However, every sales pitch is one more effort. Who else would have given her that book? Sometimes wrong notions settle in and become ossified, like last week's mashed potatoes, until someone disturbs the serenity of error.
It is funny how the soi-disant Lutherans retreat from battle before it starts, except to protect their beloved OJ.
- Roman Catholic lectionary - copied by the Lutherans.
- Roman Catholic liturgical colors - copied by the Lutherans.
- Roman Catholic copes - copied by the Lutherans.
- Smells and bells - copied by the Lutherans.
- Bishops' costumes and natty suits - copied by the Lutherans.
- Protestant Bible societies - Catholic leaders are welcome.
- Protestant universities - Catholic Bibles are welcome.
