A message based on Luke 10:1-11, 16-20: After this Jesus appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go on your way; I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house!’ And if a person of peace is there, your peace will rest on that person, but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you;  cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.’ “Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.” The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!” Jesus said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. Indeed, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

A message based on two lessons:

Matthew 10:40-42 (Inclusive Bible): Jesus said, “Those who welcome you also welcome me, and those who welcome me welcome the One who sent me. Those who welcome prophets just because they are prophets will receive the reward reserved for the prophets themselves; those who welcome holy people just because they are holy will receive the reward of the holy ones. The truth is, whoever gives a cup of cold water to one of these lowly ones just for being a disciples will not lack a reward.”

Isaiah 25:6-10a (Inclusive Bible): On this mountain, YHWH Omnipotent will prepare for all peoples a banquet of rich food, a banquet of fine wines, food rich and succulent, and fine, aged wines. On this mountain God will remove the mourning veil covering all peoples, the shroud covering all nations, destroying all death forever. God will wipe away the tears from every cheek and will take away the shame of God’s people on earth, wherever they live. YHWH has spoken. On that Day it will be said, “This is our God, this is the One for whose liberation we waited, YHWH is the One in whom we had hoped! We rejoice exultantly in our deliverance, for the hand of YHWH rests on the mountain!”

A message based on Luke 8:26-39 (Inclusive Bible):Jesus and his disciples came to the region of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. Jesus was stepping from the boat when he was met by a person from the town who was possessed by demons. The demoniac had not worn clothes for a long time, and was homeless, living among the tombs instead. Seeing Jesus, the individual cried out and fell at Jesus’s feet, shouting loudly, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Only Begotten of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torture me!” – for Jesus was ordering the unclean spirit to come out of the person. This spirit had seized the demoniac many times in the past, who then needed to be restrained with chains and shackles and kept under guard—yet every time, the possessed person would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into deserted places. “What is your name?” Jesus asked. “Legion,” it replied, because many demons had entered the person. And they pleaded with Jesus not to order them to depart into the abyss.

A large herd of pigs was feeding nearby on the hillside. The demons pleaded with Jesus to allow them to enter the swine, and Jesus gave them permission. The demons left the person and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the hillside into the lake and drowned.

When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran to tell the story in town and throughout the countryside. The local residents came out to see what happened. And as they approached Jesus, they saw the exorcised person sitting at Jesus’s feet, clothed and of right mind. And they were afraid. Those who had witnessed it told the others how the possessed one had been made whole. Panic overcame the whole population of the region of the Gerasenes, and they asked Jesus to leave them. When Jesus had gotten into the boat to leave, the person who had been healed asked to go with Jesus. But Jesus said, “No, go back home and tell everyone what God has done for you.” So the one who had been made whole went off and proclaimed throughout the region what Jesus had accomplished.

A message based on John 16:12-15 (Spark Bible): Jesus loved his disciples. He knew he was going to heaven soon and wanted to make sure they weren’t afraid. Jesus and his friends sat down on the soft grass. Jesus said, “It’s important to remember all I’ve taught you. Love God. Love other people. Help each other. Remember, God is most important. God will always love you.”

Jesus looked at each of his friends’ faces. He cared so much for each of them! “I promise I’ll always love you and everyone who comes after you. I won’t be here much longer. But don’t worry! God’s Holy Spirit will be with you always. The Holy Spirit will help you and God’s children forever.” The disciples trusted Jesus and the promise he made.

A message based on Acts 2:1-21 (Inclusive Bible):

When the day of Pentecost arrived, they all met in one room. Suddenly they heard what sounded like a violent, rushing wind from heaven; the noise filled the entire house in which they were sitting. Something appeared to them that seemed like tongues of fire; these separated and came to rest on the head of each one. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as she had enabled them.

Now there were devout people living in Jerusalem from every nation under heaven, and at this sound they all assembled. But they were bewildered to hear their native languages being spoken. They were amazed and astonished: “Surely all of these people speaking are Galileans! How does it happen that each of us hears these words in our native tongue? We are Parthians, Medes and Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya around Cyrene, as well as visitors from Rome—all Jews, or converts to Judaism—Cretans and Arabs, too; we hear them preaching, each in our own language, about the marvels of God!”

All were amazed and disturbed. They asked each other, “What does this mean?” But others said mockingly, “They’ve drunk too much new wine.”

Then Peter stood up with the Eleven and addressed the crowd: “Women and men of Judea, and all you who live in Jerusalem! Listen to what I have to say! These people are not drunk as you think—it’s only nine o’clock in the morning! No, it’s what Joel the prophet spoke of:

‘In the days to come—

it is our God who speaks—

I will pour out my Spirit

on all humankind.

Your daughters and sons will prophesy,

your young people will see visions,

and your elders will dream dreams.

Even on the most insignificant of my people,

both women and men,

I will pour out my Spirit in those days,

and they will prophesy.

And I will display wonders

in the heavens above

and signs on the earth below:

blood, fire, and billowing smoke.

The sun will be turned into darkness

and the moon will become blood

before the coming of the

great and sublime day of our God.

And all who call upon the name

of our God will be saved.’”

A messaged based on John 17:20-26: [Jesus prayed:] “I ask not only on behalf of these but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

“Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them and I in them.”

A message based on John 5:2-9: Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool, called in Hebrew Beth-zatha, which has five porticoes. In these lay many invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, Jesus said to the man, “Do you want to be made well?” The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; and while I am making my way, someone else steps down ahead of me.” Jesus said to the man who was sick, “Stand up, take your mat and walk.” At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk.

Now that day was a sabbath.

A message based on John 13:33-35: Jesus said, “Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”