The Feast of Pentecost - 2024

 

The Day of Pentecost, 2024

Bethany Lutheran Church

10 AM Worship

Pastor Gregory L Jackson

Zoom - 

The melodies are linked in the hymn name. 

The lyrics are linked in the hymn number.

• The melody site is linked here.
• TLH Lyrics are linked on the Bethany Lutheran Hymnal Blog

The Hymn #1         Open Now Thy Gates of Beauty    
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16

Introit

The Spirit of the Lord filleth the world: Hallelujah!

Let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

Psalm. Let God arise; let His enemies be scattered: let them also that hate Him flee before Him.

The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19

Collect

O God, who didst teach the hearts of Thy faithful people by sending to them the light of Thy Holy Spirit, grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgment in all things and evermore to rejoice in His holy comfort; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who with Thee and the Holy Ghost liveth, etc.

The Epistle

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 

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

In Our Prayers

• Hebrews 13:14 For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. God has called from our midst Randy Carlson. His memorial will be in October. He is survived by his wife Ivy, his daughters Andrea, Avelin, and Aimee.
• Prayers continue for Dr. Lito Cruz' surgery, Lori Howell, Pastor Jim Shrader and Chris Shrader, and Sarah Buck.
• Five Super Large Print and ten Large Print KJVs were delivered Saturday to be distributed for prison ministry and retired people.
• Veterans Honor Rose on the altar, with Enchanted Peace. David Austin: Poet's Wife yellow; Queen of Sweden pink; and a two color. 

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.

 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.

Keeping His Words

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.

This passage should be a turning point for teachers, pastors, and various salaried managers (circuit pastors, district presidents, synod presidents, and bishops). However, it is not and seems to be mysterious to all those who pose as servants of the Word of God. Claiming "this is what they taught me" cannot stand the test, because the Scriptures are the ruling norm of the Christian Faith. No one has the authority to usurp the Word but that is done on a daily basis. As a result, few people understand the work of the Holy Spirit and therefore become more likely to drift into man-made ideas in conflict with the Scriptures.

Abode is an antique word but not mysterious, we use it in a favorite hymn - Abide With Me. Where people live is an abode, where people stay, unlike a visit or a lodge. So first of all, Jesus teaches the disciples about the Father and Son abiding in the disciples. But the Spirit is promised for the future. The disciples enjoyed their fellowship with Jesus, but they would be without Him for a little while until - the Spirit came upon them.

I was very puzzled by all the strange and conflicting statements from people who claimed to be experts in the Christian Faith. Hoenecke, who was a Biblical theologian wrote this, "The Spirit never without the Word, the Word never without the Spirit. That is sound doctrine." A liberal district president said off-handly - "It only happens through the Word." That left the pastors puzzled silent and deaf, because the Trinity is typically omitted from modern theology. The hip guys and girls only accept God in some, small trifling way. The Trinity is dark to them.

25 These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. 26 But the Comforter (or Advocate), 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.

This is essential, crucial. The Father and Son sent the Holy Spirit to the apostles, who sent the Spirit to their audience (faith comes by hearing) through adult and infant baptism. That also meant that the New Testament Scriptures were guided 100% by the Holy Spirit. 

1. The Father will send the Spirit in the Name of Jesus. (Trinity)
2. He will teach all things to the Apostles
3. He will cause the Apostles to remember all things.

That is why the Scriptures are called efficacious, effective, always united with the Holy Spirit, which is why unbelievers and apostates cannot understand them and remain indifferent or even deaf to the Word. That is also why the Spirit's work is primarily to condemn the world of its unbelief. The condemnation can wake people up.

KJV John 16:8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 Of sin, because they believe not on me; 10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; 11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

These passages teach us about the power and primacy of the Word of God. We can open the Bible at any point and know with certainty that the Spirit is at work in what we are reading and remembering. In the Old Testament too, there is such a wealth that we cannot learn it in a lifetime but those Spirit-given words will shape and bless our thinking, our words, our prayers.

Faith is required to listen, read, and understand through the Holy Spirit. There is something for our benefit and our troubles all through the Bible, and in directly related sources. Hymns are a great source of spiritual medicine. So are sound books.

Some Biblical passages are quite difficult and they deserve our efforts in clarity. It can take decades to learn what is there and what has been tangled, mangled, and Fuller-angled. 

It means the Spirit is teaching us about God the Father and God the Son. 

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.

God answers our prayers according to His will. We should never ignore that blessing, and always keep in mind, God is fulfilling that request before we even ask - Ephesians and Isaiah.

KJV Ephesians 3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

Isaiah 65:24 And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.

Tis funny that people put so little stock in God's will and action, but they count on their own gimmicks and attractions. Ancient Rome kept people relatively happy with free bread and Coliseum sports and spectacles. Everything was going downhill after Christ was born, crucified and raised from the dead. Rome had limits on its empire but the Christian Faith spread across the world by people believing in the King of Kings. 

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. 

Comforting can come later. Trials and difficulties fill our minds, but the presence of the Holy Spirit is always there to guide believers. Jesus carefully guided the disciples so they would not be completely lost, though they did use a locked room for safety. The disciples were given layer upon layer of proof of Jesus' divinity, and that comes to us as well. Their shortcomings encourage us because they were ordinary men in a harsh political system, and Jesus fulfilled His many promises.

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.

And so, we must see in this Gospel - that everything is in God's hand. 

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.