ST ANDREW’S CHURCH
May 28th, 2023 PENTECOST

LIGHTING OF THE CHRIST CANDLE

ANNOUNCEMENTS

CALL TO WORSHIP
Breathe upon us, Holy Spirit,
and inspire our thoughts and actions.
Stir in our hearts, Holy Spirit,
and fill us with energy to spread joy in the world.
Breathe upon us, Holy Spirit,
and refresh our commitment to serve.
Stir in our hearts, Holy Spirit,
as we worship and witness to God’s coming reign.

HYMN 384 O Breath of life, come sweeping through us

Prayer of Adoration and Invocation
Spirit of God, your energy moves in us and through us to face each new
day. You are as close to us as our breath, giving us life. You refresh us
like the breeze on a warm afternoon. You challenge us like a strong
wind, rousing our attention. Holy Spirit, open our eyes to the wonder of
God’s mystery, and open our hearts to the warmth of Christ’s mercy. To
you, with God our Creator and Christ our Redeemer, we offer our
prayers and praise in love and loyalty. Make us one in worship and
witness by your grace and power. Hear us as we confess before you
saying
UNISON PRAYER OF CONFESSION
God of wind and flame, at Pentecost your Spirit inspired
Jesus’ followers to dare great things in his name.

But we confess that we lack daring and
Ignore the flame of your Spirit among us.
Forgive us for the sins we have committed by our actions
and the sins we have committed by failing to act.
Send the Spirit to blow on the embers of our faith
and reignite us for mission and ministry.

ASSURANCE OF PARDON
The mercy of our God is from everlasting to everlasting. In Jesus Christ,
we are forgiven and set free to live in the renewing power of the Spirit.
Thanks be to God for this most generous gift.
THE PEACE

HYMN 475 I am the church! You are the church!

SCRIPTURE READINGS
Acts 2:1-7 and 12 -- 21
Psalm 104:24-34, 35b;
1 Corinthians 12:3b-13

SERMON
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of all our hearts be
acceptable in your sight O God
In Psalm 104, the world that God creates and recreates is not just
ordered, but rhythmic, each created thing a note that contributes to the
Spirit’s song. The whole of creation is like a song of joy sung by the
Spirit of the Lord. God delights in the creation, and we, the created,
delight in this world and in the God who made it. The world is made
from joy and for joy.
God’s presence and attentiveness are necessary for the fullness of life of
all God’s creatures. The removal of divine breath, of spirit, results in

death, but the sending forth of the spirit of God brings life, and renews
that which has been reduced to dust
There is joy in the winning over of the chaos that continues to threaten
God’s harmonious creation. There is joy in the gifts of life and spirit that
we receive from God, and in our rejoicing in those gifts. For this joy, we
offer God our joyous praise.
Today the church celebrates Pentecost which in many Christian circles,
is acknowledged as the birthday of the Church, but we need not forget
that it is a deeply Jewish holiday.. This should not be a surprise, because
Christianity began amongst Jewish people
Shavuot or “The Festival of Weeks” occurs seven weeks after Passover
and begins on the fiftieth day after, hence its Greek name Pentecost. This
is one of the three festivals for which some Jewish people would make
pilgrimage to Jerusalem - the other two are Passover and the Feast of
Booths or Tabernacles Pentecost is a harvest festival where families
bring the first fruits of their harvest in anticipation of God blessing the
remainder of the harvest). This made Pentecost already symbolically
rich for imagining the beginning of a bountiful ingathering, but in Acts’
case what was reaped was not produce, but people.
Pentecost’s rich symbolism is connected to it being the day that
commemorated the Israelites receiving the Torah or Law. In Acts, the
Holy Spirit is the one through whom even Jesus teaches .
On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit appeared through images of fire, clouds,
and loud noises similar to the theophany when God gave the Torah at
Sinai (Exodus 19:16-19). Similar to later Jewish texts, Acts is also
considering what oral Torah looks like after one cannot keep the written
Torah because of diaspora and the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE.
It is difficult to know when the people of Israel left the particular land
of the Hebrew folks . Jewish immigrants moved either voluntarily or

by force to other countries such as Egypt , Ethiopia, Greece, Italy and
the Babylonian Empire
Diaspora as depicted in Acts 2:5-11 is significant for understanding
ancient Jewishness and reading Acts. Verse 5 notes that “there were
devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem.” The
term ethnē is generally used to refer to non-Jewish people or those called
“Gentiles”
Acts uses Jewish Scriptures to make meaning of this movement that
seemed so strange to the audience- that onlookers wondered if the
apostles were drunk. Acts has Peter appeal to Joel’s prophecy to explain
what was occurring on this special Pentecost—the first Pentecost of the
last days (Joel 3:1-5). The Hebrew Bible prophetic concept of the last
days was punctuated by the Day of the Lord , which would culminate
history with dynamic ecological displays and radical egalitarianism.
Such are on display in the text from Joel. There are “portents in the
heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky
mist
Joel writes that God’s spirit would be poured upon all flesh. The pouring
does not discriminate by gender; age, education, wealth, ability, or
marginalization. God will pour out the Holy spirit on all people
The community at Corinth engage the apostle Paul in what seems to be
a lot of lively discussions. We learn a lot about the members of these
early house churches. They came from different social backgrounds.
They did not necessarily lead lives that would traditionally be qualified
as saintly. It is not that Paul simply told them what to do, and that was
the end of it.
They challenge Paul; they offer their own ideas about his gospel and
defend their interpretations at least as passionately as Paul argues for his
own In this particular disagreement, Paul is reflecting upon the diversity
of gifts at play in the community at Corinth. Apparently, their house
churches had plenty of people feeling like they brought something

special to the life of the church: wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing,
miracles, prophecy, discernment of spirits, tongues, and interpretation of
tongues . Because of that diversity of gifts, there seemed to have been
some talk among the Corinthians about whose gift was best.
Paul’s answer begins with the spirit. “no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’
except by the Holy Spirit”. It introduces the central idea that the
recognition of Jesus as Lord cannot happen unless the spirit is at work
within the person who confesses .
Paul reminds these folks that they do not recognize Christ as the
Messiah through their own abilities so have no grounds for boasting The
spirit functions as an enabling force,
Paul is careful to clarify that it is the same spirit that acts in everyone. It
is not only that the gifts are activated by the spirit in each person, he
refuses to say that one gift is better than the other. Instead Paul insists
upon the unity forged by the spirit permits him to describe the
community as one unified body. Yet, at the same time, he does not want
to say that the particular nature of each gift does not matter. Recognizing
one’s gift and the form of that gift is important. Knowing how to use
these gifts matters as well.
What Paul wants to avoid is people focusing on a particular gift to the
detriment of others and exalting the people who practice a particular gift
Believers need to concentrate on the manner in which each and every
gift is used so that the body of the community can remain united.
Finally, with breath that moves the community from stifled breathing to
receiving the Holy Spirit, the Spirit then empowers the forgiveness and
release of sin. Sheltered by His grace and encouraged by His Spirit, the
believer is given the perfect tranquility that only Christ can provide.
Perhaps we need to hear this Pentecost Sunday is an affirmation that the
spirit is at work in each of us, that the spirit has given different gifts to
each of us, that these gifts can and should be celebrated, but more

importantly used for the building up of the kingdom because they are
given by the spirit, not to create division but unity, for we are the
community of God. May we always remember God delights in his
creation, and we, the created, delight in this world and in the God who
made it. The world is made from joy and for joy. AMEN

HYMN 471 We are one in the Spirit

OFFERING
At Pentecost, the gifts of the Spirit poured out on the Church, preparing
Christ’s followers to serve him in the world. We offer our gifts to God so
the service of the Church will continue to flourish wherever the Spirit
leads.
DOXOLOGY

Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise him all creatures here below
Praise him above ye heavenly host.
Praise Father Son and Holy Ghost
OFFERTORY PRAYER
Spirit of grace and power, bless these gifts today so that they accomplish
surprising things in Jesus’ name. We offer ourselves, too, so that our
lives may proclaim the Good News with your grace and power. Amen.
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
Wind of the Spirit, blow through us on this day of Pentecost and renew
our faith. Re-awaken our love for God. Let your flames warm our hearts
with trust in Jesus Christ and dare us to do great things in his name. We
pray that the Holy Spirit enlivens the church through working in us and
lifting us up to be the people God created us to be, filled with the gifts of
the Spirit as we follow Christ.
Spirit of Power and Promise,
Blow through us and renew our faith.

Wind of the Spirit, blow through us and give us energy to serve you in
Christ’s Church.
Open our eyes to recognize needs for ministry and mission, and to equip
us to meet new challenges in ways we haven’t dared before. Open our
hearts to lives caught up in stressful situations. Open our hands to share
in the tasks that need doing, and open our lips in prayer and praise.
Wind of the Spirit, blow through us and give us understanding for those
whose lives seem so different from ours; for those with whom we’ve
disagreed; and for the challenges facing our community and your
creation in these complex times.
Drought. Heat waves. Rising sea levels. Flooding. Severe storms. These
are among the impacts of the climate crisis that are causing people to
flee their homes and livelihoods all over the world.
There is an estimate that, on average, 20 million people are displaced by
extreme weather events each year. Wildfires in Alberta ,BC, Yukon and
Northwest Territories and Saskatchewan in the past and ongoing month
have already devastated much land property and displace several
thousand people We pray for protection and strength for all the fire
fighters and all who have joined forces from other provinces and
even countries such as the USA and Australia
Many churches have called for the transfer of resources from affluent
nations to low-income countries, as well as for debt cancellation in
reparation for the irreversible loss and damage that has resulted from a
warming climate. Lord we pray for your wisdom, and generosity as
governmental agencies meet and make decisions in this regard
Wind of the Spirit, blow through us and bring healing for all who face
pain or illness, discouragement or disappointment, for all who know
sorrow, sadness or grief, and for those who face pressures coping with
the cost of living.

Bring healing to the earth, to places of upheaval and to ecosystems at
risk.
Spirit of Power and Promise,
Blow through us and renew our faith.
Wind of the Spirit, Blow through us and bring us the compassion we see
in Christ Jesus. Blow through us and refresh us as your faithful
followers, equipped to serve the world you love in his name, as together
we say the words he taught us:
THE LORD’S PRAYER
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. Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead
us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

HYMN 399 Spirit of gentleness

BENEDICTION
Go in the strength of the Spirit, to greet those you meet with gifts of
understanding and friendship. And may the God of hope fill you with all
joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of
the Holy Spirit and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

CLOSING SONG

He is Lord, He is Lord
He is risen from the dead and he is Lord
Every knee shall bow, every tongue confess
That Jesus Christ is Lord

Three fold Amen