5200 Lake Otis Parkway · 563-3499 · FaithAlaska.com

Alive in Christ to share life in Christ

The Festival of Pentecost May 23, 2021

2

The First Lesson Ezekiel 37:1-14

The hand of the LORD was upon 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, “O 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 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 from the four winds, O breath, and 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 whole house 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: O 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.’ ”

3

The Second Lesson Acts 2:1-21

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7

Utterly amazed, they asked: “Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? 8

Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.” 14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

17 “‘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. 18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. 19 I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. 21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’”

4

The Gospel John 14:25-27

“All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

A word from your pastor about this Word of God

Jesus called the Holy Spirit the “Counselor.” The Greek word for counselor, “Paraclete,” literally means “someone called to a person’s side to help.” The Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son and is the one called to be at our side. Up to this point Jesus had been the disciples’ counselor and helper. Now the Holy Spirit would assume that role. You might imagine that the disciples would be confused about Jesus’ words describing His departure. That’s why He needed to give them—and us—comforting words of His blessing. Hear His words to you today as Jesus brings you peace!

❶ Read the verses prior to this reading at home. List the things that Jesus includes in telling His disciples, “All this I have spoken.”

❷ Jesus calls the Holy Spirit the “Paraclete,” the one called to be at our side to help us. How does that name Holy Spirit give you comfort?

❸ Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would teach us all things and remind us of everything He has said. How does the Holy Spirit do that for you?

❹ Describe to those in your family what peace is.

❺ What makes your heart troubled or afraid? How can these words of Jesus bring the calming peace that your heart so desires?

5

Message Notes Peace Stokes the Fires of Pentecost

A sermon based on John 14:25-27

There are so many fires in our lives. While some of them burn brightly and bring a feeling of warmth and comfort, happiness and joy, others only ravage and destroy. What fires are burning in your world? If we’d like to get an answer, we need to know what’s fueling those flames. Jesus comes to us in His Word to stoke our faith with the same fires the Spirit sparked at Pentecost. Take His words to heart as He puts out the fires that trouble your hearts and fans your faith into flame with the peace that only He can give!

In the culture in which Jesus and His disciples lived, people greeted one another and said farewell to each other with a blessing of peace. The word which Jews still use today to impart this blessing of peace is the Hebrew word, “shalom.” To the Jew, “shalom” wished all the blessings of health, prosperity, physical and spiritual wellbeing that those who lived under the covenant God had made with His people enjoyed. What Jesus imparts to His disciples here is far more than just some common, daily greeting or a desire for every kind of blessing.

Peace is something that comes at the end of a battle, after the defeat of an enemy. Jesus is the only One Who can give true peace to His Own because He fought for His people and has rescued us from the forces that war against us: sin, death and the condemnation of the Law—all which rob us of peace. The world is completely incapable of giving us peace. That’s why Jesus takes it upon Himself to give us His peace. Jesus’ peace is the kind that passes all human understanding, the kind that fills us with the presence and the power of God Himself indwelling in our hearts, the kind of peace that burns the brightest when the devil is trying to scorch our souls. May Jesus Himself fill you with His shalom as He stokes the fires of Pentecost in your heart!

6

Announcements

Our pastors are ready to serve you in any way consistent with their office. If you have spiritual problems or questions, or are interested in church membership please contact one of them.

Pastor Christopher Ewings - Faith Lutheran Church and Iglesia Luterana de Fe en Cristo - PastorChris@FaithAlaska.com - (907) 792-9788 Pastor Nathan Wagenknecht - Faith Lutheran Church and Iglesia Luterana de Fe en Cristo - PastorNate@FaithAlaska.com - (817) 428-2356 Pastor Pao Moua - Hmong Faith Lutheran Church - PastorMoua@FaithAlaska.com - 891-2640 Faith Lutheran Preschool offers a high-quality preschool education in an environment enriched with Christian teachings and values. For more information, contact the office at 563-3499.

What ever happened to the disciples after the resurrection? Where did they go? What did they do? How did they live? How did they die? What really happened to the twelve disciples of Jesus? In this four-week Bible study, we’ll research the history Peter, James and John, of Matthew, Philip and Andrew, of Bartholomew, Thaddeus, and Thomas, of Simon the Zealot, James the Lesser and the newly minted Matthias. Each week, we’ll take a look at three disciples and see how they were alive in Christ to share life in Christ and went with the Gospel into the world. Join us one last Sunday at 9:07 as we follow the footsteps of the disciples and learn how we, too, can live our faith. Connect with us in person or online via Zoom with the meeting ID: 849 7470 7481.

Your vote matters! We will have our annual congregational meeting today, Sunday, May 23 at 5:00pm. At this meeting we will discuss the future of our ministry at Faith and elect new leaders to our Leadership Team. Our church president, Mr. Jim Aumann, says it well: “I cannot stress how important it is for each of you to participate in this meeting. This is our chance to all work together to discuss and determine the direction of our ministry, voice concerns and suggestions, and come together in alignment and harmony to move together toward a future at Faith that carries out our Lord's great commission here in Anchorage, Alaska.” All are welcome and invited to attend either in person or online. To join on Zoom use the meeting ID: 882 1900 0226 and passcode: 219665.

It’s time for some Psalms for the summer! Next week, we will take a pause from our regularly scheduled Bible study. Then, beginning on Sunday, June 6, we will begin our summer schedule with shorter studies starting at 9:37am. We hope that you will join us over the summer months as we look for solace, strength and instruction in the Psalter. Children of God of all ages are welcome and invited to attend this Bible study.

7

Announcements

Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church is a member congregation of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. Wisconsin Synod Lutherans are Christians who are convinced that the Bible is the Word of God. We are eager to share the comfort, hope and power of the unchanging message of the Gospel: Jesus Christ crucified and risen for the eternal salvation of mankind.

Faith Lutheran Church: 10:30 Worship Service, 9:07 Sunday School and Bible Study Iglesia Luterana de Fe en Cristo: 12:30 Worship Service with Bible Study to follow Hmong Faith Lutheran: 3:00 Worship Service with Sunday School and Bible Study to follow

Registration is open for Faith’s summer camps. This summer we will have plenty of opportunities for the children of our congregation and our community to have fun and grow in their faith. We have three week-long camps: June 14-18 STEAM Camp June 21-25 Soccer Camp July 11-16 Camp Luther You can register at these links:

faithalaska.regfox.com/steam-camp-2021 faithalaska.regfox.com/soccer-camp-2021 www.camplutherak.com

We have three different groups of helpers coming up from the Lower 48 for these camps. If you are able to provide housing for a few of these individuals during one or more of these events, please contact Pastor Chris at (907) 792-9788.

The preschool planted a garden this week and would love to include the congregation. If you are interested in partnering with the preschool contact Stephanie Rockhoff at (262) 455-1011.

It’s going to be wild! The Alaska Circuit is planning to offer the first ever Alaskan Youth Rally. We will be taking a backpacking trip off the Denali Highway. Our excursion will take place from August 6-9. We invite the youth of our congregations who have been confirmed and have completed eighth grade up to 18 years old. We hope to have teens from Fairbanks, Wasilla, Eagle River, Anchorage and Kenai participate in this event. Called workers from different congregations will be serving as chaperones. The cost for the youth rally is $150 per individual. This fee covers expenses for all meal and provisions necessary for our trip. For any questions, or if you’d like to help, please contact Pastor Chris.

Alaskan

Youth

Rally

8

Stay up to date with what’s happening at Faith by liking our Facebook page. You can find us at Faith Lutheran Church Alaska.

Calendar

If you cannot join us on Sunday morning, you may watch our services online. You can view them live or after the service is finished. Follow the link on our website at FaithAlaska.com, or go directly to youtube.com and search for “Faith Lutheran Church Alaska.”

Offerings May 16 General: $10,116 Missions: $35

Faith Lutheran Preschool May 16 Tuition: $721 Donations: $110

23 24 25 26 27 28 29

9:07am

Bible Study

10:30am

Worship with

Communion

Annual Meeting

30 31 1 2 3 4 5

10:30am

Worship

Memorial Day

6 7 8 9 10 11 12

9:37am

Bible Study

10:30am

Worship

13 14 15 16 17 18 19

9:07am

Bible Study

10:30am

Worship with

Communion

9:00am-12:00pm

STEAM Camp

9:00am-12:00pm

STEAM Camp

9:00am-12:00pm

STEAM Camp

9:00am-12:00pm

STEAM Camp

9:00am-12:00pm

STEAM Camp

Attendance May 16 Faith 59 Iglesia 26

Would you like a sneak peek at next Sunday’s sermon? Every Friday at 5:00pm, check out our YouTube channel or Facebook page for a short video called “Anticipating Worship. These clips will whet your appetite for church and help you prepare for worship each week.