Come Holy Spirit into the depths of our longing
Come Holy Spirit unmask and fill us
Come Holy Spirit sustain us in our weakness
Come Holy Spirit change and empower us
Song “Let your Holy Spirit wash over my soul”
May your spirit breathe life and love into our hearts, minds and bodies this coming week.
Fill us with your grace, joy and passion.
We are your hands, eyes and lips on this precious earth Lord, help us use them to nurture each other, seek justice and speak the truth.
In Jesus’ name, Amen
We say the Lord’s prayer in our own language
Song “Fill me up”
Song “If you believe and I believe”
Reflection “Receiving the Holy Spirit”
Acts 2v1-8
Pentecost was a Jewish festival when the first fruits of the harvest were brought to the Temple. The disciples were the first fruits of a new way, a new faith that would encompass and change the world, followers of Jesus.
At that time there were pilgrims from all over the Roman provinces visiting Jerusalem for the festival. It was like a Carnival! They heard their own languages, a reversal of the Tower of Babel! Some people thought the disciples were drunk.
Luke describes 120 people present. That small group changed the world!
There was wind and fire. Fire is associated in the Old Testament with God's presence. Wind is described as one of the instruments through which God acts, the ruach, the breath of God. Jesus witnesses are in Jerusalem, but the church will rapidly move into Judea, Samaria and eventually to the ends of the earth.
As the prophet Joel had promised God has poured out his Spirit (Joel 2v28).
The early church described by Luke is a community where gender, ethnicity, and social status were erased. Pentecost de-stigmatized people. All now are on an equal footing under God. The church is a place of equals.
How do we receive the Spirit?
God gives the Spirit as in Acts 2. It comes as we pray and worship God.
Or someone prays for us and we receive it as Saul did in Acts 9v17. We submit to God in humility and prayer. We pray for God’s Spirit in our lives.
Without the Spirit we are like members of a club or a car without petrol. It is the Spirit that marks us out, inspires us and gives us that 5th dimension. It is the Spirit that gives life to us and the churches, and without it we are like hollow shells. So pray for God's Spirit in your life and others and in your church. We need it!
"If you believe and I believe and we together pray
the Holy Spirit must come down and set Gods people free..." African hymn
What is the Spirit saying to us today?
Do not be bystanders!
Do not be a bystander in the deaths or injustices to any people!
Do not be complicit
We are not powerless
We have a voice, we have hands and feet,
We have a vote
We are followers of Jesus
We have the Spirit of God
Do not be bystanders!
Come Holy Spirit.
Fill us.
Empower us to be your people.
In Jesus Name. Amen
Song “Come Holy Spirit”
Our prayers for our world, our countries, our families and friends
God of Spirit and fire
We remember today those in our world caught up in destruction and violence whose lives, children and homes are being destroyed as we meet
Who’s bellies rumble with hunger
And particularly we remember…
God of passion and justice
We pray for all those working for justice in our communities
Bridging the gap
Between the rich and the poor
The skilled and the unskilled
The healthy and the sick
The powerful and the vulnerable
Particularly we remember… and many others known to us
God of peace and shalom
We carry with us the prayers of those who need healing
Both mental and physical
In our families, our friends, our communities
And in a moment of silence
We name them before you.
SILENCE
Lord in your mercy
Hear our prayer
We utters these our prayers in humility
Before the God
Who revives our faltering Spirits
Puts fire in our hearts, and sends us his Spirit to
Renew our hopes and dreams
And reminds us that a new way is always possible
In life, in death and beyond death
God is with us. In Jesus Name we pray
Amen.
Song “Blessed be your Name”
Loving God
Send us out to be your Co-workers
Filled with the Spirit
To bring Healing
To bring Good news
To bring Justice and Peace
And to live out the Gospel wherever we find ourselves.
Amen
Song “Aint No Grave”
Song “Holy Spirit, Living Breath of God”
