You Also Are to Testify

Good Morning and Welcome to Worship! Worship is often the first place that new people come into contact with this growing community of faith. And so if you are joining us for the first time, I say to you what is said every Sunday: You are welcome here. Here is a place where all are welcome. For such is the love of God for God’s Very Good Creation.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow; praise God, all creatures here below; praise God above, ye Heav'nly host: praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

God declares: “I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh. Your children shall prophesy. The young shall see visions. The elders shall dream dreams. Your children shall prophesy. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

In gratitude for all that you have done for us, Holy God, we pray:

For nations, communities, and families torn by violence; for leaders and protesters, for managers and visionaries; for dictators and peacemakers; for the allies of our nation and for our enemies; especially today for the people of Ukraine, Georgia, Russia, Israel, Palestine, and the United States;

Pour out upon us the Spirit of your love so that in hearing and seeing the gifts of this life, we may know the way to live in thanksgiving; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

For Earth and its riches; for soil and wetlands, trees, bushes, rivers and lakes, oceans and air; and for all the peoples who inhabit this great creation; for the ability to choose life for all creatures and to honor the welfare of generations to come;

Pour out upon us the Spirit of your love so that in hearing and seeing the gifts of this life, we may know the way to live in thanksgiving; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

For all people who are victims of injustice; for those who are unemployed or underemployed; for those living on the streets of our cities; for everyone affected by divorce; for people struggling with addiction, anger, fear, or illness; for all who have asked this congregation for prayer; for those we name now aloud or in our hearts [silence].

Pour out upon us the Spirit of your love so that in hearing and seeing the gifts of this life, we may know the way to live in thanksgiving; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

For this community of faith; for those who come to worship every week and those who cannot come; for the young and the old; for newcomers and long- familiar faces; for the newly baptized in every land; for those who are seeking to know you; hear us, O God, your mercy is great. For all else that this assembly is concerned with today, named aloud or in our hearts [silence];

Pour out upon us the Spirit of your love so that in hearing and seeing the gifts of this life, we may know the way to live in thanksgiving; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Into your promises, we entrust all those whose needs are known to us today and those whose needs are only known to you. Grant peace to all, through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Holy Spirit, come again. As long ago you inspired, astonished, and confused the people, come to us now to fill our ears with the sound of your breath, fill our eyes with the brilliance of your presence in each other, fill our hearts with your good Word. Amen.

¹When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. ²And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.³Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. ⁴All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. ⁵Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. ⁶And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each.⁷Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? ⁸And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? ⁹Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, ¹¹Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” ¹²All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” ¹³But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.” ¹⁴But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. ¹⁵Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. ¹⁶No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: ¹⁷‘In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. ¹⁸Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy.¹⁹And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. ²⁰The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day. ²¹Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15 ²⁶“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf.²⁷You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning. ⁴But I have said these things to you so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you about them. “I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. ⁵But now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ ⁶But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. ⁷Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. ⁸And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: ⁹about sin, because they do not believe in me; ¹⁰about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; ¹¹about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned. ¹²“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. ¹³When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. ¹⁴He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. ¹⁵All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

In this coming week consider how many ways and through which persons you are shown a new path for your life. Watch for startling nudges or sudden epiphanies; listen for sighs that signal letting go of something pressing so that you can hear the Spirit’s guidance. What comes to mind in this moment as you consider recent epiphanies?

The Holy Spirit was sent to increase our compassion and to make us glad to spread good news by caring for those in need. May you enter into the discipline of giving as a work of the Holy Spirit within you.

God of mercy, we give you thanks for all that your bounty creates. The gifts we bring today acknowledge our debt to you and our intent to relieve others of their burdens. Bless what we offer and bless those who will be shown deeds of power through them; in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to nurture faith and love in this world. The Holy Spirit has come to inhabit this world with freedom, truth, and understanding. You are never alone when you are in the wind of the Spirit. May God keep you and make your prayers bear fruit. Live this vision in all that you do: respond to rancor with kindness, and be patient where there is pain. Amen.