The Feast of Pentecost, 2025.

 

 From Norma A. Boeckler

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

• June Oak is celebrating her first birthday Wednesday.
• Lynda Roper is 80 tomorrow.
• Prayers continue for Dr. Lito Cruz, Pastor Jim Shrader and Chris Shrader, and Sarah Buck.
•  Norma Boeckler has been included in another art exhibition.

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.

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.

A Pentecost Lesson

KJV John 14:23 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.

The Holy Spirit is so plain and simple - and yet so profound - that we need to pay attention to the concept. The Spirit connects with the Father and Son, the Three are One.

Importance - The Father will send the Holy Spirit to convict the world of sin, because they do not believe in Jesus Christ. That is the over-riding work of the Spirit, unbelief in the Good Shepherd is the one and only factor. Faith in Jesus Christ is the Spirit's object. This is so simple and yet so profound. And some will obsess on the environment (as they see it), recycling, or many other items.

We have to learn about the Trinity because there is a smog screen of many different attitudes and priorities. People scoff at the Holy Trinity because it is unique, the clear sign of God in Three Persons.

In contrast, the pagan world invents thousands of gods and has enormous sources of their false teaching. From the beginning of the Christian faith, people abandoned their false religions and became believers in Christ. That happened because the teachers and disciples revealed the truth and performed miracles as well. Truth and miracles continue.

So it continues - we pray through the Son and through the Father. Prayer is from the Holy Spirit.

Or this - the Word of God is carefully preserved and saved in the Scriptures -  the unique Word of God, conveyed by the Spirit. 

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.

These brief sayings all point toward the works of God - nothing for those who scorn and reject the Word, everything for the power, energy, and mercy of God. People can fashion themselves very wise - and glory in their rejection of what they cannot see - or what they demand and cannot understand.

A helper pointed out some plants growing fast by the porch and having orange flowers. "What's that? Looks like weeds." I said, "They are weeds. I planted them." Consternation! I added, "Those are butterfly weeds. Butterflies like them, and so do the gardeners." The weed-wacker was put down.

The difficulties of life often put us in strange, hurtful, or awkward situations. What we desire is distant from the way God works, but first we need to defer to the Scriptures and not our instant emotions. They build our Spiritual wisdom.

It's easy to see how people abandon the Word of God. The complexities cannot be imagined, there is so much to study, absorb, and apply. The Holy Spirit's wisdom in the Scriptures often open up to treasures we never imagined until that day we realized the truth.

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.

We all know our weaknesses, but the Holy Spirit knows and addresses them. Isn't it absurd that someone can have a problem, say nothing out loud, recall from memory, and connect with God's wisdom? That is the foolishness of mankind, thinking, "That is impossible! 

I can buy some self-help books from the Self-Help Book of the Month Club!  or"An attorney-in-fact, also called an “agent,” is a person who is authorized to act on behalf of another person, known as the “principal,” typically to perform business or other official transactions."

One must have faith in Jesus Christ to open the door to His eternal Kingdom and gather peace from it. And faith comes from Him, or we might say, faith in Him gives us access to God's grace and forgiveness. The Word of God teaches us by hearing, reading, and remembering the Gospel. 

Tornado Watch - Heavy Rains - Lightning

 

Charlie Sue and I listened to some big thunderclaps. The rain continues and the backyard is a lake - again. 

The tornado watch is rumbling off and on. Facebook stopped my listing, so people will not get any news there.

This is a very large front.

Arkansas has stopped raining for now. Another front seems to be coming our Walmart-Tyson way. 8:16 am.

Collapsing Faster Than A Meringue Pie Left in the Sun

 

2013 began to promote ELCA female bishops.

These recent ELCA bishops claimed the Holy Spirit was locked in their closet.

God picked her up and kissed her.

LOUISVILLE — As registration continues for the popular Stewardship Kaleidoscope Conference, to be held Sept. 22-24 in New Orleans, the planning team welcomes the Rev. Dr. Becca Ehrlich, DMin, to the speaker platform.

Image

The Rev. Dr. Becca Ehrlich

Ehrlich, an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and author of the 2021 book “Christian Minimalism: Simple Steps for Abundant Living,” will give the closing keynote address as well as lead the conference’s final service of worship on Wednesday, Sept. 24. She replaces the Rev. Dr. Katrina Foster, who withdrew from conference leadership following her May 3 election as bishop of the Metropolitan New York Synod of the ELCA.

“We are so excited that Pastor Becca is able to join us for Stewardship Kaleidoscope 2025,” said the Rev. Timothy J. Brown, the ELCA’s Director of Congregational Stewardship and a member of the conference’s all-volunteer planning team. “She is a great preacher who approaches stewardship from a minimalist perspective.”

Themed “Stewardship: The Art of Resiliency,” this year’s conference will be held live at the Sheraton Canal Street in New Orleans. To enable broader participation, a virtual attendee registration option will once again be available.

In addition to attending diverse plenary sessions and worship experiences, on-site conference participants will be able to choose from dozens of workshops, including one taught by Ehrlich. Virtual attendees will be able to attend livestreamed and recorded plenaries and worship, and will also have access to eight workshops, four of which will be available via be livestream.

In addition to Ehrlich, featured keynote speakers and preachers this year include...

Nota bene

The ELCA pastor, above, is replacing the original speaker below, who is now an ELCA bishop. Couldn't they find a Presbyterian speaker?

 Rev. Dr. Katrina Foster, DMin

Her time at Fordham was not without its controversy, however. In 2007, after she disclosed that she had married a woman in a religious ceremony (gay marriage was not legal at the time) and that the two were raising a child together, Pastor Foster, along with other gay and lesbian clergy, faced the possibility of being defrocked by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The country’s largest Lutheran denomination, it then permitted openly gay pastors to serve but prohibited them from being in same-sex relationships. (Eventually, Pastor Foster was allowed to stay in the church; she and her partner are now legally married. The church itself has since closed.)

Female bishops in ELCA went viral, thanks to the scope, energy, enthusiasm, and gifts of Elizabeth Eaton, part-time ELCA bishop.

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Pentecost 3 - "John 4:10: “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” Yes, if he did not begin to love us, we could never begin to love him. For no one can love God unless he believes that he was first loved by him and that he is a merciful God; otherwise the heart flees before God and inwardly hates him, as if he would cast us into hell, as was stated above."

 

John 14:23-31.
The Festival of Pentecost, Third Sermon

III. THE PROMISE.

32. There need be no sharp discussion here concerning the question why Christ speaks thus: “If a man love me” etc. — whether or no we had to love him first, It is certain that he first loved us, as is plainly stated in John 4:10: “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” Yes, if he did not begin to love us, we could never begin to love him. For no one can love God unless he believes that he was first loved by him and that he is a merciful God; otherwise the heart flees before God and inwardly hates him, as if he would cast us into hell, as was stated above.

33. What Christ says here: “He that loveth me shall be loved of my Father” etc., is said concerning the manifestation of love. He indicates this when he says: I will manifest myself unto him; and again: We will come unto him.

That is, if we continue steadfast in this love against the wrath, hatred and persecution of the enemies of Christ and the Church, namely, the devil and the world, then we shall experience the certainty that he will faithfully and firmly stand by us with his love, and will help us in such conflict and need and give us the victory. This is probation, or experience which comes from patience in suffering, as St. Paul says in Romans 5:4. In such times, as has been said sufficiently, God’s love toward us so conceals itself that nothing but the opposite is felt; it seems as if God had altogether forgotten us and his grace and love had been changed into anger.

34. He that perseveres in these things and continues in this love, shall experience that God is true, and shall feel the comfort of divine love in certainty poured out into his heart, helping him to overcome all things. St.

Paul again says in Romans 8:37-39: “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” This is the victory and redemption through which we experience the truth of what we have believed — that he loves us.

35. Christ purposely uses the words: “My Father will love him,” in order that he may draw us upward and reveal to us the Father’s heart, portraying it to us in that tender way which poor, distressed consciences can greatly appreciate. It is exceedingly difficult for the human heart to expect with certainty everything good of God and to appreciate all grace and mercy.

Indeed, it is altogether impossible except through Christ the mediator.

Coarse and impious hearts may be very strong and haughty at this point, bearing themselves hard in much conceit, and thinking that what they do is all very precious in the sight of God. Yes, they may do this until they come upon the peril and terror of death, brought about through the clear revelation of the Law; then there are upon all the earth no people more dejected and despairing. When their hour has come, they go down suddenly and no one can raise them up again.

36. Much better and safer and more comforting, therefore, is the state of those who are constantly striving and struggling with terror and fear of God’s wrath, and who are so afraid that when they hear the name of God mentioned the world becomes too strait for them. Just for these has this comfort been uttered; yes, for their sakes God has at all times declared the promise of his grace and of the forgivness of sins, and to that end has given his Son and all the good in the whole world, overwhelming it with blessings, in order that they, by all means, may learn to know his grace and goodness which, as Psalms 52 and 36 say, endureth continually, and reacheth unto the skies. The fact that a Christian lives and that he possesses a sound member is due solely to the visible grace and help of God. For the devil, in whose kingdom the Christians are, here upon earth, is such a wicked, malicious spirit that he aims at nothing else, day and night, than to murder and destroy them.

37. But however great, both in word and deed, God’s promise of grace is toward those that fear him, yet they cannot lift up their hearts and joyfully look upon God. They are still constantly harassed with anxiety and fear lest God may be angry with them on account of their unworthiness and the weakness which is theirs. If they hear an angry word from God, or recall or learn of some fearful example of God’s wrath and punishment, then they tremble and fear lest it strike them. The other class, on the contrary, who indeed should tremble before God, stiffly and proudly despise these things in their security, and comfort themselves with the carnal notion that God cannot be angry with them. Very difficult is it for the human heart to so balance itself that it will not become secure in success and prosperity, but remain humble, and again, in times of fear and misfortune, enjoy comfort and confidence toward God.

38. Christ, everywhere in his utterances, speaks of comfort, that he may show the Father’s loving-kindness, and himself as a faithful, well-meaning and gracious mediator. Gladly would he impress this upon our hearts. No one may doubt it if only he feels love and longing for Christ and can hold fast to his Word and believe that he has borne our sins and freed us from all wrath, sin and death; and if he furthermore continue therein with a sincere confession that Christ, without doubt, possesses the true, fatherly divine heart, full of unspeakable and boundless love toward him, and that it is his earnest will and purpose that the Christian should fear and be terrified at nothing, but should expect from God everything that is best and most lovely.

39. It is, indeed, glorious comfort, in which you may well exult, as in the kingdom of heaven, and leap incessantly for joy — that Christ has assured and certified to you that, when for his sake and out of love for him you endure the persecutions of the devil or the world, it is pleasing to God the Father in heaven, and is the most acceptable thing that you can do for him.

And such love from God toward yourself you will also experience in help and victory from above. This comfort Christians should know; they should call to mind the treasure that is theirs in the Gospel and in the knowledge of Christ, to the end that they may praise God for it and be thankful. This promise of love he continues to explain still further, and says: “And we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”

IV. FURTHER ILLUSTRATION OF THIS PROMISE.