The Eighth Sunday of the Season of Easter
MAY 31, 2020
PENTECOST SUNDAY
Mid-Worship Engagement
Below, you’ll find elements from within the corporate worship gathering including scripture texts, prayers, and other resources depending on the week. These may be beneficial during the service or to refer back to afterwards.
WORSHIPPING ALONGSIDE KIDS?
Before continuing, check out these ideas and tips for creating an environment that encourages engagement and participation for all ages!
Assigned Scripture
1 Corinthians 12:4-7, 11-27
4 There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. 5 There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. 6 God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us. 7 A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other…
11 It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.
12 The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. 13 Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.
14 Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. 15 If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? 17 If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything?
18 But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. 19 How strange a body would be if it had only one part! 20 Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. 21 The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.”
22 In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. 23 And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, 24 while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. 25 This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. 26 If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.
27 All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.
Pentecost Narrative:
Acts 2:1-21
Psalm:
Psalm 104:1-34, 35b
Gospel Reading:
John 20:19-23 or 7:37-39
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
At-Home Response
Following the weekly gathering, you’re invited to respond to the service by engaging in group discussion with those gathered with you. There are also additional activities if you’re looking for more ways to respond for all ages!
Discussion Questions
1. How have your assumptions, desires, and actions been changed because you submitted to Jesus as Lord? How is the Lordship of Jesus currently challenging your assumptions, desires, and actions? How might you take the next step toward transformation?
2. When Paul says, “some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important,” what person or group of people come to your mind? How can you begin to give greater honor to that person or group of people?
3. What gifts of the Spirit have you received? (What comes naturally to you but may be difficult for others?) How are you using those gifts to help others? How are you letting others’ gifts help you?
Benediction
invite someone to offer this sending blessing to those gathered:
May you know the gift you have been given by the Holy Spirit, and may it be a river of living water that flows from your heart to water a dry and thirsty land.
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, you are sent.
Want more to do?
Additional Activities
ACTIVITY ONE
PARENTS, DO YOU HAVE KIDS IN SPLASH?
Download the SPLASH app! Check it out for some fun updates and tools to help children connect with God’s word at home, during worship services, and beyond!
ACTIVITY TWO
Gather a group of friends or family (any number over 2). Everyone should have a pool noodle, broom stick, baseball bat, or other stick. Stand in a close circle and hold on to your stick.
On the count of three, everyone will let go of their stick and run to catch their neighbor’s stick before it falls. The goal is to make a complete rotation back to your own stick without anyone ever dropping a stick. If one stick falls, the whole group must start over.
After you make a complete rotation, everyone will take a giant step backwards. Play again, but don’t drop a stick!
How many steps backwards can you take making the circle larger and larger without dropping the sticks? Remember, if one stick falls, work together as a group and start that round over again. Can you work together to help each other succeed?
ACTIVITY THREE
Today we celebrate God’s giving of his Holy Spirit. In many ways today marks the beginning of the Church. Remember this portion of the story of God as Luke retells it in his account of the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 2:1-21).
1 CORINTHIANS 12:12-27
Mr. Potato head helps us understand today’s scripture text—that the church is made up of many parts, but one body.
