Description
Ezekiel 37:1-14
On this day of Pentecost, we celebrate the giving of the Holy Spirit to the early church just 50 days after Jesus’ resurrection. We might mistakenly believe that this is the first time that the Spirit has brought life to His people. In Ezekiel 37, we read of “dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones.” Ezekiel sees a valley of dry bones. He is surrounded by visions of skeletons that have absolutely no hope for life. But with the Spirit, life can even be breathed into bones, causing them to stand and live. The early church needed this same “breath of life” to be given to them and on Pentecost, life was breathed into that church causing all of history to be forever changed.
We Lift Our Hearts in Worship
[Preservice options include videos (countdowns, worship music, welcomes), worship music CD, or live music by worship band.]
Time of Praise and Worship
Holy Spirit
Bryan Torwalt & Katie Torwalt, ©2011 Jesus Culture (Admin. by Jesus Culture Music)
Open The Eyes Of My Heart
Paul Baloche, ©1997 Integrity’s Hosanna! Music
Open Up the Heavens
Andi Rozier, James McDonald, Jason Ingram, Meredith Andrews, & Stuart Garrard, ©2012 Word Music, LLC (a div. of Word Music Group, Inc.) HBC Worship Music (Admin. by Sony/ATV Music Publishing) Open Hands Music (Admin. by Sony/ATV Music Publishing) Sony/ATV Timber Publishing (Admin. by Sony/ATV Music Publishing) Stugio Music Publishing (Admin. by Sony/ATV Music Publishing)
[Traditional Options]
Blessed Jesus, At Your Word
EH 440; ELW 520; LBW 248; LSB 904; NCH 74; PH 454; UMH 596
Come Thou Almighty King
BH 75 2; BH 91 247; CH 8; CHH 27; EH 365; ELW 408; HWC 26; HPW 3; HFG 341; HLC 4; HGP 53; HSP 11; LBW 522; LSB 905; LW 169; NCH 275; PH 139; RH 212; STTL 3; WC 5; UMH 61; WAR 148; WHM 3; WIS 21
O Holy Spirit, Enter In
ELW 786; LBW 459; LSB 913; LW 160
Invocation and Introduction of Today’s Theme
Pastor O heavenly Father, we begin this service worshipping Your holy and everlasting name.
ALL Breathe on us Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Pastor Your Spirit gives us the strength to make disciples out of all nations.
ALL Breathe on us Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Pastor Your Spirit has the power to assemble dry bones in the desert, giving hope to those that others deem hopeless.
ALL Breathe on us Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Pastor Your Spirit continues to work within us, giving us power and dominion over the evils that we confront here on earth. We praise You for Your sanctifying glory.
ALL Breathe on us Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Opening Prayer
Pastor Almighty God, our maker and redeemer, we give You praise for all that You have done for us, and for the work that You continue to do in us. On this celebration of Pentecost, we remember the time when You sent us the Holy Spirit to help us carry out Your Great Commission. But we also reflect on how the Holy Spirit is active throughout Your holy word, from the dawn of creation to Ezekiel’s valley of the dry bones. We are thankful that the work of the Holy Spirit continues to fulfill our lives with the desire to please You, and we are grateful that Your presence still wells up within us even as sin causes us to stumble. May Your Spirit continue to guide us this day and for the days to come. Through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, who sits at Your right hand.
ALL AMEN!
Time of Greeting
Time of Confession and Forgiveness
[Alternate location: following Message]
Pastor Almighty God, we have turned away from You and ignored Your presence in our lives.
ALL Forgive us, Lord.
Pastor We have forsaken You by walking down the path of wickedness and unrighteousness through our sinful actions.
ALL Forgive us, Lord.
Pastor You know the burden that our sin has caused, O God. We now take a moment to humbly lay these iniquities before You.
(pause for silent reflection)
Pastor For the sake of your holy and precious son, Jesus Christ, have mercy upon us.
ALL Forgive us, Lord.
Pastor Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has heard your confession, and I as a called an ordained servant of the Word announce His grace and the forgiveness of all your sins to all of you, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. May the mercy that the Lord has poured out upon us deliver us all.
ALL Thanks be to God!
We Hear God’s Word
[Read aloud both the introduction and Scripture]
First Reading Ezekiel 37:1-14
Ezekiel is shown a mass grave. The bones are bleached white and completely unable to contain any hope of living again. But with God, all things are possible. By a simple breath, these bones came together, and that which was thought to be dead, came quickly back to life. This event foreshadows another time when all hope was gone and God breathed His Holy Spirit on to the church, and she became an army of warriors ready to advance against Satan’s kingdom.
The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath[a] enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’” 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four wind sand breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.
11 Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’”
