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This Week at First

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10:30 AM Traditional

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Pentecost Sunday: Each year on Pentecost Sunday, one of our readings is Acts 2:1-21. This year, we will pair the reading with John 14:8-17, 25-27. The passage from John is part of the final discourse of Jesus as he was telling the disciples to anticipate the arrival of the Holy Spirit. Since the days of the first Pentecost, the Holy Spirit has been active in the lives of Christians. We too, as a part of Palmyra First and as individuals, have the Holy Spirit available to us. Are we ready to receive the gift? The message will be “Anticipate.”


See you Sunday.


Grace and Peace,

Pastor Jim


Acts 2:1-21


The Coming of the Holy Spirit

2 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.  2 And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.  3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them.  4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

 

5 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem.  6 And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each.  7 Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?  8 And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language?  9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,  10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,  11 Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.”  12 All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”  13 But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”

 

Peter Addresses the Crowd

14 But 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.  15 Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning.  16 No, 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.18 Even upon my slaves, both men and women,    in those days I will pour out my Spirit;        and they shall prophesy.19 And I will show portents in the heaven above    and signs on the earth below,        blood, and fire, and smoky mist.20 The sun shall be turned to darkness    and the moon to blood,        before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.21 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’


John 14:8-17, 25-27


8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”  9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?  10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works.  11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves.  12 Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.  13 I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  14 If in my name you ask me[a] for anything, I will do it.

 

The Promise of the Holy Spirit

15 “If you love me, you will keep[b] my commandments.  16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate,[c] to be with you forever.  17 This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in[d] you.


25 “I have said these things to you while I am still with you.  26 But the Advocate,[a] the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.  27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.  









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10:30am Service:


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The Seventh (and last) Sunday of Easter: The Ascension of Jesus took place 40 days after Easter, but we tend to celebrate the day on the following Sunday rather than on the 40th day, which is a Thursday. Our readings will be two different accounts of the ascension, both written by Luke. The first comes from Luke 24:44-53 and the second from the Acts 1:1-11. Our message will be “Watching and Waiting.”


See you Sunday.


Grace and Peace,

Pastor Jim


Luke 24:44-53


44 Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.”  45 Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures,  46 and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah[a] is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day,  47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.  48 You are witnesses[b] of these things.  49 And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

 

The Ascension of Jesus

50 Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them.  51 While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven.[c]  52 And they worshiped him, and[d] returned to Jerusalem with great joy;  53 and they were continually in the temple blessing God.[e]


Acts 1:1-11


The Promise of the Holy Spirit

1 In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning  2 until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.  3 After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.  4 While staying[a] with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. “This,” he said, “is what you have heard from me;  5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with[b] the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

 

The Ascension of Jesus

6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?”  7 He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.  8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”  9 When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.  10 While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them.  11 They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”










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Sixth Sunday of Easter: The Book of the Acts of the Apostles tells many stories for how the call to serve was answered by a variety of people. This week, we will read in Acts 16:9-15 how Paul answered a call for help from Macedonia. Our passage from John 14:23-29 will remind us of just how important it is to do as Jesus requests. Our message, based on these two reading, will be “Help Us!”


We will have the opportunity to receive communion using the historic Wesley Chalice that John Wesley sent to America in 1785. We will also read form the Asbury Bible Francis Asbury brought to St. George’s in Philadelphia in 1770.


See you Sunday.


Grace and Peace,

Pastor Jim


Acts 16:9-15


 9 During the night Paul had a vision: there stood a man of Macedonia pleading with him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”  10 When he had seen the vision, we immediately tried to cross over to Macedonia, being convinced that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them.

 

The Conversion of Lydia

11 We set sail from Troas and took a straight course to Samothrace, the following day to Neapolis,  12 and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district[a] of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city for some days.  13 On the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there.  14 A certain woman named Lydia, a worshiper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul.  15 When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.” And she prevailed upon us.


 John 14:23-29


 23 Jesus answered him, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.  24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me.

 

25 “I have said these things to you while I am still with you.  26 But the Advocate,[a] the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.  27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.  28 You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I am coming to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I.  29 And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe.  











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