May 31, 2009, 11:00 AM
Pentecost Sunday
WE ENTER INTO GOD’S PRESENCE
Preparation for Worship
*Call to Worship
Spirit of the living God, visit us again on this day of Pentecost. Come, Holy Spirit.
Like a rushing wind that sweeps away all barriers,
come, Holy Spirit.
Like tongues of fire that set our hearts aflame,
come, Holy Spirit.
With speech that unites the Babel of our tongues,
come, Holy Spirit.
With love that overlaps the boundaries of race and nation,
come, Holy Spirit.
With power from above to make our weakness strong,
come, Holy Spirit. Amen.
*Opening Prayer Song – 424 “Spirit of the Living God”
*The Giving Lord Greets Us
*We Greet Each Other
*Continuing Praise
241:1,3“This Is the Day”
“Father, We Love You”
“Father, I Adore You”
Call to Confession
The Spirit of the Lord fills the world and knows our every word and deed. Let us then open ourselves to the Lord and confess our sins in penitence and faith.
Prayer of Confession
Burn in us this morning, Holy Spirit. We give you the places of our hearts that have been choked by the cares of this world. We give you our tiredness, our sin, our struggles with apathy. We await your fiery cleansing. Amen.
Song of Petition – “Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God”
Assurance of Pardon – Romans 8:1-2, 11
WE HEAR GOD’S WORD
Children’s Time – Bringing the Cross to the World
Prayer of Preparation
Scripture Reading – Acts 2:14-21, 36-41
Message – “New Life: Multiplying Life”
Prayer
WE RESPOND WITH THANKSGIVING
*Song of Response – 525 “O Christians, Haste”
The Offering - General Fund
Offertory Prayer
Sharing Joys and Concerns
Intercessory Prayer
WE ARE DISMISSED TO LOVE AND SERVEOpportunities for Ministry and Fellowship
*God Blesses Us
*Closing Song – 517 “There’s No God as Great”
Postlude
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Today is Pentecost Sunday, fifty days after Easter when we remember that God sent the Holy Spirit in fullness to empower the apostles and the church to be the hands and feet of Jesus in this world. This is a day uniquely focused on the church’s missionary mandate to “make disciples of all nations”. As a picture of this challenge, the children will be carrying the cross out of the church and setting it outside, just as the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection must be shared with all people in our families, community and around the world.
Wednesday, 6:00 AM Men’s Breakfast and Bible study at the Spot
9:30 AM Women’s Bible Study at
(study Romans 5)
7:30 PM Annual spring congregational meeting
This Wednesday evening, June 3, 7:30 PM is the regular spring congregational meeting. We will be selecting people to serve as elder and deacon for the coming term. The nominee for elder is Tim Brown; nominees for deacon are Janet Crawford and Terry Woodnorth. Pending your approval, Jim Conrad has agreed to extend his term as deacon for another year. In addition, there will be important updates and reports. Each Valley family should be represented at this meeting.
Pastor Gelder and Jan expect to leave Thursday for Michigan where they will be attending the 40 year reunion of his seminary graduating class. If you need pastoral care during his absence, please contact an elder.
We plan to honor our graduates on June 28. We don’t want to miss anyone, so please put the names of all our high school and college graduates, along with the school from which they are graduating, on the list posted on the exit door.
We extend our sympathy to Tim and Sue Brown on the death of Tim’s mother Helen Brown on Tuesday afternoon. A memorial service recalling her life and legacy will be held here at Valley Church Wednesday at 11:00 AM. May God’s peace rest on all of the family. The death of one of God’s loved children is a precious event.
Plan ahead: Sunday, June 21 will be the start of our summer worship schedule. There will be no Sunday School classes until after Labor Day. Morning worship will be at 10:00 AM. We will continue to have a special children’s time upstairs during the second half of the service. To give the regular children’s church volunteers a break, we need YOU to consider taking a Sunday or two to show a video and serve a snack to the children. Talk with Ron or Janet Crawford if you are willing to help out in this way.
Also, the Fellowship Team is planning that during the summer months we will again have some refreshments after the morning services. Because worship starts earlier, there is more time for enjoying fellowship and welcoming guests. Please sign up for a summer Sunday when you will bring the refreshments.
Announcement about the Sunday School breakfast.
NEXT SUNDAY, June 7, 2009
SUNDAY SCHOOL: 9:45 AM Sunday School classes for all ages will be held. The adult class will consider what God’s Word says about preparing now for a lasting heritage. This will be the last day for regular classes. We will have our end-of-season Sunday School breakfast (not limited to Sunday School class members but open to all) next Sunday at 9:45.
MORNING WORSHIP: 11:00 AM Bill Kutz will bring us the message in the absence of Pastor Gelder.
