Sunday Worship Service
June 5, 2022 – 10:30am
We are RECEIVED as the Beloved of God
The actual worship service begins 15 minutes into the recordings.
WELCOME
OPENING SONG – Celebration on AZMON
OPENING PRAYER
SONG – Spirit Song – UM Hymnal (blue book) # 347
CHILDREN’S TIME WITH A MESSAGE FOR ALL AGES
ANTHEM – Come Down, Oh Love Divine
(SOLO): Come down, O love divine, seek thou this soul of mine, and visit it with thine own ardor glowing; O Comforter, draw near, within my heart appear, and kindle it, Thy holy flame bestowing.
(CONGREGATION): Come down, O love divine, seek thou this soul of mine, and visit it with thine own ardor glowing; O Comforter, draw near, within my heart appear, and kindle it, Thy holy flame bestowing. O let it freely burn, till earthly passions turn to dust and ashes in its heat consuming; And let thy glorious light shine ever on my sight, and clothe me round, the while my path illuming.
(CHOIR ONLY): Let holy charity mine outward vesture be, and lowliness become mine inner clothing; True lowliness of heart, which takes the humbler part, and o’er its own shortcomings weeps with loathing.
(ALL): And so the yearning strong, with which the soul will long, shall far outpass the power of human telling; For none can guess its grace, till they become the place where-in the Holy Spirit finds a dwelling.
We are TRANSFORMED by the Word of God
SCRIPTURE READING
Acts 2:1-12
1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. 5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”
GOOD NEWS – Beyond My Native Language
In Acts 2, people were filled with the Holy Spirit. They proclaimed the wonders of God in various languages and they could all be understood. Language barriers were gone! This Sunday, we are going to learn what it means to us in our life context today.
SONG – Sweet, Sweet Spirit – UM Hymnal (blue book) # 334
RESPONSE TO GOD’S GRACE (OFFERING)
Pastor: Pentecost God, take our hearts and set them on the fire of the Holy Spirit.
People: Take our lives and transform them.
Pastor: Take our church and resurrect it with Your life-giving Spirit.
All: Take our gifts and use them for the fulfillment of Your vision of peace and unity. Amen.
INTERCESSORY PRAYERS
THE LORD’S PRAYER – UM Hymnal (blue book) # 895
SHARING THE PEACE OF CHRIST
We are SENT by the power of God
LIFE OF ST. MATTHEW’S COMMUNITY
BLESSING AND SENDING
May the grace and peace of Christ be with you, my friends.
Go and share the love of God, love that never ends.
CLOSING SONG – Spirit of God – The Faith We Sing (black book) # 2117 verses 1, 2 and 5