Worship Notes for Sunday, May 19, 2013 Pentecost
Today we celebrate the birthday of the church in the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. We see a beautiful continuity of the presence of the Spirit by fire that echoes the smoking pot in Genesis 15, the burning bush, the pillar of fire that led the people of Israel and that settled down on the tabernacle and the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant, and the fire that consumed the sacrifices on Mt Carmel with Elijah. The symbol and presence is the same as in the Old Testament, but with the New Covenant comes the writing of the law on our hearts instead of residing in the Ark—thus the fire of the Spirit rests on the heads of those on the day of Pentecost just as it did over the Ark. In addition, Paul teaches that the people of God are collectively the Temple of the Holy Spirit even as His presence filled the Tabernacle and Temple. Pentecost is a vibrant picture of the coming of the Kingdom.We begin the service with Come, O Creator Spirit Blest and a Call to Worship from Psalm 104 for it is God who sends forth His Spirit to create and renew. We continue by singing Come, Thou Almighty King which is a wonderful Trinitarian expression of the being and work of the Father, Word, and Comforter. Come Down, O Love Divine is a prayer for the Spirit to seek our hearts and to burn with a cleansing and illumining flame.
The New Testament Reading from Acts 2 comes from the sermon that Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost in which he describes the kingdom of God expressed in the New Covenant. The Prayer of Confession from Ephesians 4 reminds us of our propensity to try and subvert the unity of the Spirit through building our own kingdoms.
Our Profession from God’s Word comes from Ephesians 1 in which Paul describes the “hope to which He has called us” in the “glorious inheritance” of the Kingdom. The first Hymn of Communion, O God, the Holy Spirit, is a beautiful exploration of the specific work that the Spirit does—from creation, pointing us to Jesus, encouraging our walk of sanctification, and imparting the work of Christ in our hearts and lives. Our final hymn is Mighty Lord, Extend Your Kingdom as a prayer for the light of the Gospel to spread throughout the entirety of the darkness through the power of the Spirit.
