May 24th, Sermon & Ministry Resources

"When Heaven Broke Open" (Acts 2:1-21)

Lectionary Readings — Day of Pentecost — May 24, 2026

Acts 2:1-21; Psalm 104:24-34, 35b; 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13; John 20:19-23

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Call to Worship (based on Acts 2:1-21)

Leader: When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.

People: We are together in one place this morning — gathered, expectant, and waiting on You.

Leader: And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.

People: Come, Holy Spirit. Fill this house. Fill us. Do again what only You can do.

Leader: All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

People: We speak today by Your power, worship today by Your grace, and gather today by Your call.

Leader: This is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: “In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh.”

People: All flesh — every age, every background, every broken and ordinary life. You hold nothing back.

Leader: Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.

People: Speak through us, Lord. We are willing to be used for purposes larger than ourselves.

Leader: Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

All: We call on Your name this morning, Lord Jesus — not because we are worthy, but because You are faithful. Pour out Your Spirit upon us. Let this be more than a service. Let it be a visitation. Amen.

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Opening Prayer (based on 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13)

Let us pray:

Heavenly Father,

We come before You on this day of Pentecost reminded that no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit — and so even the faith that brought us through these doors this morning is itself Your gift. We did not find our way to You. You found Your way to us, and Your Spirit made us willing to come.

We marvel this morning that You did not give one gift to one person and call it finished. You gave varieties of gifts, varieties of service, varieties of activity — and yet one Spirit, one Lord, one God who activates all of them in all of us. Forgive us for the times we have treated the Spirit’s work as something to be debated rather than received, analyzed rather than obeyed, contained rather than followed. Forgive us for the times we have envied the gifts of others rather than faithfully developing our own, or neglected what You placed in us because it seemed too small to matter.

Remind us today that there are no insignificant members of this body. Every gift is given for the common good — not for the elevation of the one who carries it, but for the building up of those around them. Make us a people generous enough to use what we have been given in service of one another.

And Father, on this day when we remember the rushing wind and the tongues of fire and the birth of Your church — fill us again. Not with spectacle, but with power. Not with noise, but with life. We are one body because we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body — and that is a unity the world did not give us and cannot take away.

May what happened in Jerusalem long ago be more than history to us today. May it be present tense.

In the name of Jesus, who baptizes with the Holy Spirit —

Amen.

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[NOTE to Paid subscribers — scroll down for the full manuscript sermon]

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Sermon Outline: "When Heaven Broke Open"

Based on Acts 2:1-21

I. The Wind from Heaven (vv. 1–4)

II. The Wonder of the Crowd (vv. 5–13)

III. The Word from Joel (vv. 14–17)

IV. The Welcome to All (vv. 18–21)

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Full Manuscript Sermon Below for Paid Subscribers