A call to worship:
God gives us light. And yet often we stick to darkness. It takes courage to go into the light,
a willingness to start again, to keep trusting –
trusting that one day, we will see, and finally find peace.
Amen.
A gathering prayer:
Wonderful God, in the very beginning, the first thing you gave us was your light, your heavenly light, even before you made the sun. In your light we flourish. And we call your Son, Jesus Christ,
the light of the world. He reaches into our darkness, and heals us, and makes us whole.
Today, help us to learn how to be children of your light.
Amen.
StF 372 Come down O love divine
Come down, O Love divine,
seek thou this soul of mine,
and visit it with thine own ardour glowing;
O Comforter, draw near,
within my heart appear,
and kindle it, thy holy flame bestowing.
O let it freely burn,
till earthly passions turn
to dust and ashes, in its heat consuming;
and let thy glorious light
shine ever on my sight,
and clothe me round, the while my path illuming.
Let holy charity
mine outward vesture e,
and lowliness become mine inner clothing;
true lowliness of heart,
which takes the humbler part,
and o’er its own shortcomings weeps with loathing.
And so the yearning strong,
with which the soul will long,
shall far outpass the power of human telling;
for none can guess its grace,
till Love create a place
wherein the Holy Spirit makes a dwelling.
Bible Readings
Psalm 46
For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to alamoth. A song.
1 God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
7 The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
8 Come and see what the Lord has done,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease
to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
10 He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.’
11 The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
John 15:26-27
The work of the Holy Spirit
26 ‘When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father – the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father – he will testify about me. 27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.
Acts 2:1-21
The Holy Spirit comes at Pentecost
2 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: ‘Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs – we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!’ 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, ‘What does this mean?’
13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, ‘They have had too much wine.’
Peter addresses the crowd
14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: ‘Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
17 ‘“In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
18 Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
20 The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
21 And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Prayers
Gracious God, we give thanks today for every work of loving grace we have seen in our lives this week.
We bring them to mind in thanksgiving.
Loving God, we give thanks today for every glimpse of your Spirit at work in the world around us.
We bring them to mind in adoration.
Merciful God, we acknowledge there have been times in our lives this week where we have not allowed you to work in our lives without reservation.
We bring them to mind in humility.
Jesus, who promised the Spirit, promised too that we could be people who forgive one another and receive forgiveness from God.
We give thanks for that forgiveness now to our gracious, loving and merciful God.
Amen.
The Lord's Prayer
Please use the version that you prefer
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be your name,
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done,
On earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
As we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
And deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power
and the glory are yours
Now and for ever.
Amen.
A past Pentecost reflection for the present:
Sometimes we find the anticipation of something is quite different to what actually happens. That difficult conversation you build up in your mind and worry about that goes alongside it. The quick and easy piece of work that takes quite a few hours. The panic at finding a new place when, in the end, the journey is straight forward.
In the readings, Jesus tries to give a sense of what it will mean for the Spirit of Truth to come to the disciples. When it came to Pentecost, was what actually happened, very different from what they anticipated? After all, Jesus did not say that there would be tongues of fire and miracles of communication involved.
Communication was very difficult during the pandemic. Different ways have worked for different people and, if we are honest, we have not always been able to anticipate what will work best straight away or get it right all the time. When we look at the story of Pentecost, we can see the way in which the Spirit breaks down barriers of communication. When that happens, people experience God in ways that are meaningful to them.
What barriers of communication have you seen broken down in ways that need to continue? What are the barriers that we still need to work on breaking down? How will we respond when what happens is different to what we anticipated? What will we learn from our experiences both over the last five years and into the future?
This Pentecost, may we pray for everyone to experience the Spirit of God at home or at work in their lives, but it may happen in ways we don’t anticipate.
Prayers of intercession for Pentecost Sunday
Holy Spirit, coming as wind and fire, free and irrepressible, we pray today for all who long for change and for all who fear it. We think of the poor and the hungry. The homeless and the refugee, the sick and the unemployed. The downtrodden and the oppressed – these, and others, who yearn for a new beginning, an opportunity to start afresh. May their prayers be answered, and their dreams realised. As you came at Pentecost.
Come again today.
We pray for those who see change as a threat: a sweeping-away of everything that is tried and trusted; the imposition of unknown challenges and an uncertain future. May they rest secure in the knowledge that, whatever else may change, you will remain constant. As you came at Pentecost.
Come again today.
Holy Spirit, coming gently as a dove, we pray for all who long for peace, and all who have lost sight of what peace really means. We think of those in homes racked by tensions, families split by petty disputes, communities scarred by prejudice and intolerance, and countries torn apart by war. May dialogue triumph over confrontation, and unity replace division. As you came at Pentecost.
Come again today.
We pray for those who fill their lives with noise or activity, afraid of facing themselves in a time of quiet reflection, attempting somehow to mask their sense of emptiness; and we pray, too, for those who seek fulfilment in that which can never finally satisfy – wealth, possessions, power, success. May they discover the secret of true contentment, the peace that passes understanding that only you can give. As you came at Pentecost.
Come again today.
Holy Spirit, you changed the lives of the apostles and of countless people through history, just as you are changing our lives in turn each renewed through your sovereign power. Come now and change our world in all its need, so that it may enjoy hope and peace, healing and harmony, and so that all may come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ our Lord. As you came at Pentecost. Come again today.
StF 38 Come, O Holy Spirit, come (Wa wa wa Emimimo)
NIGERIAN:
Wa wa wa Emimimo. (Emioloye.)
Wa wa wa Alagbaram. (Alagbarameta.)
Wao, wao, wao. (Emimimo.)
ENGLISH:
Come, O Holy Spirit, come. (Holy Spirit, come.)
Come, Almighty Spirit, come. (Almighty Spirit, come.)
Come, come, come. (O Spirit, come.)
A sending out prayer:
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all, now and for evermore.
Amen.
A Celtic blessing.
Christ be with me, Christ within me
Christ behind me and Christ before me
Christ beside me and Christ in me
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me and Christ above me
Christ in quiet and Christ in danger
Christ in hearts of all that love me.
Christ a mighty friend no stranger
I bind unto myself the name the strong name of the Trinity by the Invocation of the same the three in one and one in three.
Whom all men shall have creation eternal Father Spirit worthy.
Praise to the Lord of my salvation.
Salvation is of Christ the Lord.
Amen
