Pentecost Sunday: These Bones Shall Live

Sunday, May 23, 2021
10:30 AM 11:30 AM 10:30 11:30

Union Presbyterian Church 200 E Main St Endicott, NY, 13760 United States (map)

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In what may be the prophet Ezekiel’s most startling and stirring vision, we encounter the valley of the dry bones— the aftermath of war, the image of hopelessness and death. But God is not finished yet, and the spirit and breath of God enlivens, even here, even now.

Join us this day for our Pentecost celebration! Worship in the sanctuary at 10:30 AM, simultaneously live-streamed! Video available immediately afterward. Worship begins at 8:37 in the video.

We require pre-registration for worship, masks covering the nose and mouth for those over the age of 2, and social distancing for all who wish to attend. We will be so glad to see you. You are invited!

Pentecost Sunday

Union Presbyterian Church

May 23, 2021

God’s Story and Our Story: These Bones Will Live

Sharing the Light of Christ, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

Liturgist: Colin DeLap Preacher: Rev. Pat Raube

Prelude Heather Ingraham, Organ

Announcements Colin DeLap

Prelude Heather Ingraham, Organ

Welcome Rev. Pat Raube

Welcome, welcome back, and welcome home,

even if this is your first time with us.

Welcome to Pentecost Sunday

with the community of Union Presbyterian Church in Endicott, NY.

Pentecost is a Jewish festival—its Hebrew name is Shavuot,

and it is being celebrated right now.

It commemorates the moment when God gave the law to Moses on Mount Sinai.

Jesus’ people were celebrating Shavuot when God gave another gift to God’s people:

the Holy Spirit, imaged as wind, and breath, and flame.

And the newly in-spirited, in-spired band were drawn out into the streets,

where they started being church, and have never stopped.

Welcome to our celebration of the church’s birthday.

We are so glad you are with us on this journey.

Invocation Colin DeLap

Praise and glory to you, Creator Spirit of God.

You are truth.

You come like the wind of heaven, unseen, unbidden.

Like the dawn

you illuminate the world around us;

you grant us a new beginning every day;

you warm and comfort us.

You give us courage and fire and strength beyond our everyday resources.

Be with us, Holy Spirit, in all we say or think,

in all we do, this and every day.

Amen.

Hymn #333 W & R

“Wind Who Makes All Winds That Blow,” Thomas H. Troeger

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.

Wind who makes all winds that blow—gusts that bend the saplings low,

Gales that heave the sea in waves, stirrings in the mind’s deep caves—

Aim your breath with steady power on your church this day, this hour.

Raise, renew the life we’ve lost, Spirit God of Pentecost.

Fire who fuels all fires that burn—suns around which planets turn,

Beacons marking reefs and shoals, shining truth to guide our souls—

Come to us as once you came: burst in tongues of sacred flame!

Light and Power, Might and Strength, fill your church, its breadth and length.

Holy Spirit, Wind and Flame, move within our mortal frame.

Make our hearts an altar pyre, kindle them with your own fire.

Breathe and blow upon that blaze till our lives, our deeds and ways,

Speak that tongue which every land by your grace shall understand.

Call to New Life

Trusting in God’s grace, let us open our restless hearts to the Spirit’s transformation.

Prayer for Wholeness and Peace

The wind blows and we hear the sound of it,

but we do not know where it comes from.
We try to explain it away,

but even our own breath speaks of new things we cannot understand.
We may be together in one place, but we do not speak with one voice,

we do not listen with one heart.
We hear, and dismiss, your deeds of power, your call to love those who are different, your insistence that the whole world be included.
You pour out your Spirit, and we squash the vision—it is too big, too unrealistic, too uncertain, too unruly.
You send visions of a future with hope, and we look back instead.
You light the way, and we look for a fire extinguisher,

trying to keep ourselves (and you!) safe.
Forgive us, O God. We long for your new life, but we do not know how to live it.

We pause now, for a time of silent prayer.

~silence~

Rush into this place again,

and fill every nook and cranny with dreams and visions of possibility.
Turn our hushed whispers into proclamations of your grace,
in every language of the world.
Lead us out into your future.
Amen.

Prayer composed by Rev. Teri Peterson, Minister,
St. John’s Church, Gourock, Church of Scotland.

Assurance of God’s Grace

Through Christ, God has poured out the Holy Spirit upon us.

What was broken has been mended; what was fragmented is whole.

Thanks be to God! Amen.

Sharing of the Peace

The Holy Spirit, the giver of life,

gives us the spirit of wisdom and understanding;

the spirit of counsel and might;

and the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord,

that the whole creation might be transformed.

Let us share the peace of God with one another. Peace be with you.

Scripture 1 Corinthians 12:4-13 Colin DeLap

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

Children’s Message Rev. Pat Raube

Dear God, Thank you for bringing us together. Thank you for reminding us that we need one another. Thank you for reminding us that we are an important part of your plans, just like a hand is an important part of the body. Help us to love one another. Help us to appreciate one another. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Scripture Ezekiel 37:1-14 Rev. Pat Raube

The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord God, you know.”

Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath. Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.” I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.

Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.’ Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act, says the Lord.”

Response Holy Wisdom, Holy Word:

Thanks be to God!

Meditation Rev. Pat Raube

Anthem

“Come Alive (Dry Bones),” Lauren Daigle, Michael Farren

Used by Permission. CCLI License #CSPL068847

Through the eyes of men, it seems there’s so much we have lost

As we look down the road where all the prodigals have walked.

One by one, the enemy has whispered lies and led them off as slaves.

But we know that You are God; Yours is the victory.

We know there is more to come that we may not yet see.

So with the faith You’ve given us, we’ll step into the valley unafraid, yeah.

As we call out to dry bones, “Come alive, come alive.”

We call out to dead hearts, “Come alive, come alive.”

Up out of the ashes, let us see an army rise.

We call out to dry bones, “Come alive.”

God of endless mercy, God of unrelenting love,

Rescue every daughter, bring us back the wayward sons.

And by Your Spirit, breathe upon them, show the world that You alone can save.

As we call out to dry bones, “Come alive, come alive.”

We call out to dead hearts, “Come alive, come alive.”

Up out of the ashes, let us see an army rise.

We call out to dry bones, “Come alive.”

So breathe, O breath of God, now breathe, O breath of God.

Breathe, O breath of God, now breathe.

Breathe, O breath of God, now breathe, O breath of God.

Breathe, O breath of God, now breathe.

As we call out to dry bones, “Come alive, come alive.”

We call out to dead hearts, “Come alive, come alive.”

Up out of the ashes, let us see an army rise.

We call out to dry bones, “Come alive.”

Yeah, we call out to dry bones, “Come alive. Oh, come alive.”

Prayers of the People

In the communion of the Holy Spirit,

we call upon the name of the Lord, saying,

By your Spirit, O God, transform our lives…

… True and only Light, from whom comes every good gift:

Send your Spirit into our lives with the power of a mighty wind.

Open the horizons of our minds by the flame of your wisdom.

Loosen our tongues to show you praise,

For only in your Spirit can we voice your words of peace and acclaim Jesus as Lord. We pray in his name, debtors, trespassers, and sinners together…

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; and 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.

Prayer Response #450 W & R (verse 1) Chris

“Be Still and Know,” Jack Schrader

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.

Be still and know that I am God.

Call for Offering

The breath of God’s spirit stirs our hearts to give, just as the Spirit initiates everything else about the life of faith. Let us bring our offerings, let us bring our commitment to serve, let us bring ourselves to God.

Doxology (Claire and Heather)

“Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow”

(Public Domain)

Prayer of Dedication

O God, full of compassion,

We commit and commend ourselves to you,

in whom we live, and move, and have our being.

Be the goal of our pilgrimage and our rest by the way.

Let our souls take refuge from the crowding turmoil

beneath the shadow of your wings,

and let us offer refuge to your suffering people.

Let our hearts find peace in you,

and let us share that peace with your struggling world.

We pray in your holy name. Amen.

Hymn #595 W & R

“They’ll Know We Are Christians,” Peter Scholtes

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.

We are one in the Spirit; we are one in the Lord.

And we pray that all unity may one day be restored.

And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love.

Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.

We will walk with each other; we will walk hand in hand.

And together we’ll spread the news that God is in our land.

And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love.

Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.

We will work with each other; we will work side by side.

And we’ll guard each one’s dignity and save each one’s pride.

And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love.

Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.

All praise to the Father, from whom all things come.

And all praise to Christ Jesus, his only Son.

And all praise to the Spirit, who makes us one.

And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love.

Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.

Benediction

Go into the world in peace.

Have courage!

Hold fast to what is good.

Return no one evil for evil.

Strengthen the faint-hearted,

support the weak,

help the suffering.

Honor all people.

Love and serve the Lord your God,

rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit.

And may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,

and the love of God,

and the sweet communion of the Holy Spirit,

be with each and all of us,

This day and forevermore.

The Spirit is in us, so go in peace.

Thanks be to God. Amen

Postlude