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 redeem your church
Song “If you believe and I believe”
Let us pray.
Heavenly God, we thank you for the presence of your spirit, within us and around us.
We thank you for the beautiful, diverse and loving community of our church family,
And for the perfect blessing of love in our lives - from you and from each other.
When we sully this love by losing faith,
When we act or speak in spite and anger,
please forgive us.
When we give up or give in to poor treatment, negativity or apathy, or accept falsehoods as truth, light the fire of courage in us again.
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
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 Notting Hill Carnival or Glastonbury or Diwali! 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 our churches. 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
Song “Holy Spirit, Living Breath of God”
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…
Lord in your mercy
Hear our prayer
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
Lord in your mercy
Hear our prayer
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 Gods 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 “Come Holy Spirit”
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”
