"You Shall Be My Witnesses"

Updated May, 2025

The love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us” (Rom. 5:5). By pouring love for God into our hearts, the Spirit gathers and forms a new community.

This service celebrates Pentecost both verbally and symbolically. Who is involved in the liturgy is symbolic of the new community which the Spirit gathers. Youth process with flags and gather the offering, for the new community formed by the Spirit includes young and old. Flags are seen and five languages are heard and an offering for missions is received, for the Spirit is gathering a community from every tribe and language.

What is done during worship is also symbolic of the new community pictured in Acts 2:44-45: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. . . . They would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need.” Throughout the liturgy, the worship leader could highlight ways in which these practices are continued today: during the reading of the Word and preaching, we devote ourselves to the apostles’ teaching. The mutual greeting and congregational song are examples of our koinonia, our fellowship as a new community united by God’s Spirit. In the Lord’s Supper, we break bread. In our generous Pentecost offerings, the new economy of the new community is proclaimed.

May the Spirit, through our worship and missions, pour the love of God into hearts and add to our number those who are being saved.

Gathering for Worship

Prelude
[During the last part of the prelude, music appropriate for Pentecost and the procession of world flags is played. Youth groups bring in the flags and offering plates, placing the plates by the flags of countries represented by the congregation’s missionaries.]

Welcome
[Pastor gives a brief welcome and provides a very basic explanation of Pentecost and the purpose of the children bringing in the flags and offering plates in preparation for worship.]

Call to Worship

The God who has called us here today, says: 
Come! I am the God who "will pour out my Spirit on all people. 
Your sons and daughters will prophesy, 
your young men will see visions, 
your old men will dream dreams. 
Even on my servants, both men and women, 
I will pour out my Spirit in those days, 
and they will prophesy.” (Joel 2: 28-29)

Gospel Promise

God has promised each of us that
"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you,
 and you shall be my witnesses to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

So come, worship the eternal Spirit, the God of Truth. 

Sung Prayer for the Coming of the Spirit: “Eternal Spirit, God of Truth” ^Cotterill

The Promise Fulfilled

It is true that: 
"The love of God has been poured into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us." (Romans 5:5)

Greeting from God

Our God who loves each of us gathered here today, 
the God who so loved the whole world that he gave his Son, to die in our place, 
the God who loved us so much that he sent the Holy Spirit to be our comforter and guide, 
that God: the Almighty, the Son, and the Spirit—the Three-in-One
greets us with these words: 

"I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness;
    I have taken you by the hand and kept you;
I have given you as a covenant to the people,
    a light to the nations,
    to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
    from the prison those who sit in darkness." (Isaiah 42:6-7)

Greeting Each Other

As God has greeted you, you are invited to greet each other. 
 

Celebrating God’s Grace: The Story of Pentecost

Dramatic Reading from Acts 2:1-21
[See the box at the end of the article and the downloadable pdf in the resources section below.]

Bible Song: “Fear Not, Rejoice and Be Glad” ^WrightJoel 2, vers.

Scripture: Acts 2:22-28

Psalm: “Protect Me, God, I Trust in You” ^Saward Psalm 16, vers.

Scripture: Acts 2:29-41

Hymn: “Baptized in Water” ^Saward

Proclamation of the Word

Prayer for Illumination

Holy Spirit, be present in this place
and work in our hearts and minds, 
so that having heard your Word, 
we may proclaim your message boldly,
by what we say and choose not to say, 
by what we do and refrain from doing. 
Amen. 
—Joyce Borger © 2025, Reformed Worship, Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, Creative Commons AttributionNonCommercial-ShareAlike. 
 

Scripture Reading: Acts 2:1-4

Response

This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Sermon: The Coming of the Spirit

Hymn: “For Your Gift of God the Spirit” ^Clarkson

Celebrating the Lord’s Supper

Call to the Table: Acts 2:42-47
[Pastor reads final verses of Acts 2, briefly ties the celebration of communion with Pentecost, and invites believers to the table.]

Words of Institution

Hear the words of institution of the Holy Supper of our Lord Jesus Christ: 

The Lord Jesus, on the night of his arrest, 
took bread, 
and after giving thanks to God, 
he broke it, 
and gave it to his disciples, saying, 
"Take, eat. This is my body, given for you. 
Do this in remembrance of me."

In the same way he took the cup, saying, 
"This cup is the new covenant sealed in my blood,
shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. 
Whenever you drink it, 
do this in remembrance of me."

Every time you eat this bread and drink this cup,
you proclaim the saving death of the risen Lord
until he comes. 

With thanksgiving, let us offer our grateful praise.
—based on 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

Great Prayer of Thanksgiving

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give God our thanks and praise.

It is indeed right,
our duty and delight always and everywhere to give you thanks,
eternal God, Creator of the universe.
By your mighty hand
you shaped the world and everything in it.
By your Holy Spirit
you breathed life into human form,
and set us on the earth to praise and serve you.
When we wandered from your ways and were lost in sin’s wilderness,
your truth burned in the hearts of the prophets
who called your people to return to you.

In the fullness of time
you sent your only Son to be our deliverer.
At his baptism by John,
your Spirit came onto him with gentle wings.
In the wilderness of temptation
your Spirit empowered him.
In his life and ministry
your Spirit led him to serve the poor,
proclaim freedom from sin’s bondage,
and heal the sick.

By his death on the cross and rising from the tomb,
he broke the power of death
and led the way to eternal life.
Ascended on high,
he sends the Spirit on the church to raise us all to new life in him.

We thank you, Father,
for sending your Spirit to us today,
awakening faith and teaching the truth of your son Jesus,
working in the church to make us faithful disciples,
and empowering us to proclaim the living Christ to every nation.

Therefore with choirs of angels,
and with the whole company of heaven,
we worship and adore your glorious name,
joining our voices in their unending praise:

All Sing: “Santo, Santo, Santo/Holy, Holy, Holy” ^Cuéllar

Prayer of Consecration

Living God, 
send your Holy Spirit upon us
and upon this heavenly meal which we share;
nourish us with your grace
so that we are strengthened 
to do your work in this world;
unite us with you so that we are renewed;
and join us with your covenant people
throughout time and space
so that all divisions will be healed.
May we gratefully and joyfully remember that Jesus, our Savior,
lived, died, and rose to give us new life
and make us new creations in him.
May we live in the hope we discover through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. 
—The Worship Sourcebook 8.2.6.3 adapted © 2013, Faith Alive Christian Resources. Used by Permission. 

Invitation

Jesus said, 
"I am the bread of life.
Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, 
and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty."
—from John 6:35, NRSV

The gifts of God for the people of God. 
Thanks be to God. 

Communion

Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession
[Focusing on the missionaries supported by the congregation, naming them and the countries where they work.]

Offering

Hymn: “Shine, Jesus, Shine” ^Kendrick

God’s Blessing

God’s Blessing

May the Holy Spirit fall upon you, encompass you, and support you. 
May the Holy Spirit transform you, lead you, and equip you.
May the Holy Spirit give you encouragement, strength, and comfort
to serve and worship our triune God both now and forever. Amen. 
—The Worship Sourcebook Q.9.2.5 © 2013, Faith Alive Christian Resources. Used by Permission. 

Moment of Silent Meditation

Postlude

The Story of Pentecost: A Dramatic Reading from Acts 2: 1-21

The reading calls for seven participants using three mics. In addition to three English-speaking parts, you’ll need readers who can speak Spanish, German, Greek, and Dutch, or choose other languages represented in your congregation.

Narrator: Here the Word of the Lord from Acts 2. 

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. Utterly amazed, they asked:

German: Siehe, sind diese, die da reden, nicht alle Galiläer?

Spanish: ¿No son galileos todos estos que están hablando? 

Narrator: Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans?

Greek:  καὶ πῶς ἡμεῖς ἀκούομεν ἕκαστος τῇ ἰδίᾳ διαλέκτῳ ἡμῶν ἐν ᾗ ἐγεννήθημεν? 

Dutch: Hoe kan het dan dat zij ónze taal spreken en nog andere talen ook?

Narrator: Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—

Simultaneously in German, Spanish, Greek, and Dutch: 
     (German) Wieso hören wir sie dann jeder in unserer eigenen Sprache, in der wir geboren wurden?
     (Spanish) ¿Cómo es que cada uno de nosotros los oye hablar en su lengua materna?
     (Greek) καὶ πῶς ἡμεῖς ἀκούομεν ἕκαστος τῇ ἰδίᾳ διαλέκτῳ ἡμῶν ἐν ᾗ ἐγεννήθημεν?
     (Dutch) Hoe kan het dan dat zij ónze taal spreken en nog andere talen ook?

Narrator: We hear them declaring the wonders of God in our tongues! Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another,

German: Was soll das wohl sein?

Spanish: ¿Qué quiere decir esto?

Narrator: What does this mean? Some, however, made fun of them and said,

Greek: γλεύκους μεμεστωμένοι εἰσίν.

Dutch: Die mensen hebben vast teveel zoete wijn gedronken.

Narrator They have had too much wine.  Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd:

Peter: Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

Joel: “In the last days,” God says, “I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”