Pastor’s Notes for May 30
Preparation for Sunday, May 31
The Lord be with you!
We are preparing for the Pentecost service at Holy Cross and I wanted to write to you and make sure that you have all the details on how you may participate.
If you go to the above page, you should be able to see our Livestream on Sunday morning. We’ll be testing and playing around with it the 10 minutes or so beforehand, but Lord willing, we’ll have it all up and going by 9 a.m. You can access it on a phone or tablet or computer. My suggestion is that you use a computer, or even better still is put it up on a bigger screen.
The Service of the Word
This Sunday we will be doing the Service of the Word portion of the Divine Service. That means the confession and absolution, Introit, Kyrie, Gloria in Excelsis, Collect, Readings, and the like. We obviously cannot have the Lord’s Supper. But the Word will be proclaimed, God’s praises will be sung, and we will pray to our Lord for His mercy during this time of trial.
You may download and follow along in the bulletin by CLICKING HERE. There is also a download button on the church website at https://holycrossrocklin.org/.
The service begins on page 151 of Lutheran Service Book. The readings are as follows:
Readings
1st Reading: Numbers 11:24–30
Epistle: Acts 2:1–21
Gospel: John 7:37–39
Hymns
489 Hail Thee, Festival Day
497 Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord
503 O Day Full of Grace
Service Focus
The Risen Lord Jesus Pours Out the Holy Spirit
The Lord took “some of the Spirit” that was on Moses “and put it on the seventy elders” of Israel (Num. 11:25), and they “prophesied in the camp” (Num. 11:26). In the same way, our risen Lord Jesus poured out His Holy Spirit at the Feast of Pentecost — the 50th day and the “Eighth Sunday” of Easter. When “a sound like a mighty rushing wind” and “tongues as of fire appeared” and rested on each of the 12 apostles, “they were all filled with the Holy Spirit” and proclaimed “the mighty works of God” (Acts 2:2–4, 11). The Lord Jesus grants this same Spirit to His Church on earth to proclaim Him glorified on the cross and risen victorious from the grave for us sinners. From His open heart, our crucified and risen Lord pours out His Holy Spirit in “rivers of living water” (John 7:38) and invites everyone who thirsts to come to Him and drink freely (John 7:37). Through this life-giving work of the Holy Spirit, we hear our pastors “telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God” (Acts 2:11), and “everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2:21).
Bible Class
We are starting 1st Peter this week, the Epistle to the Exiles. Deaconess Sandra Rhein will be joining us to talk about her work as Music Educator for Asia for the Office of International Mission for the LCMS. Please find more information at https://www.lcms.org/rhein and on Facebook. You can also download her prayer card.
I hope that all of you are able to join us at 10 a.m. tomorrow morning. You may find the information about the Zoom class by going to our page on our web site for all of our online classes.
Zoom Bible Classes
Open Q&A on Reopening
We are holding a Question and Answer Session on Zoom after the bible class from 11 – 11:30 a.m. to discuss opening the church for in-person services in Rocklin. Please join us for an open discussion on the steps the church is taking for the weekend of June 6 and 7 to open the buildings at Holy Cross.
Holy Cross at Prayer
We have a new booklet for Holy Cross at Prayer. You can download a pdf copy of this booklet at https://holycrossrocklin.org/life-together/holy-cross-at-prayer/ and daily prayers are emailed every morning. This guide will go through July 4, 2020.
You can find today’s prayers on YouTube at Holy Cross at Prayer YouTube playlist
I am so looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow!
In Christ,