(Holy Spirit Coming – Ho Qi)
Come, Holy Spirit: The wind of God, the breath of Life.
Come, Holy Spirit: Our Advocate, our Counsellor.
Come, Holy Spirit: Teacher of Wisdom, Reminder of Christ.
Come, Holy Spirit: Granter of forgiveness, giver of peace.
Come, Holy Spirit: May we feel God breathing through our worship.
Come, Holy Spirit: May we receive the Holy Spirit in this place.
Amen.
We confess that we do not stop enough to listen to the still-speaking God. And like the people of Jerusalem long ago, we often misconstrue the Spirit’s movement among us.
Take a moment now; in the silence and stillness of this moment, let us draw near to God and listen.
Be assured of God’s love and forgiveness. Hear the good news! God’s Spirit has been poured out upon all flesh, and we have been made one.
We are no longer scattered or divided, but gathered together to build up God’s kingdom on this earth.
Thanks be to God!
Come, Holy Spirit, the one who sang a new melody as God’s creation rose from Chaos.
Come Holy Spirit, who wept at the dark shadow of a cross, and who danced early in the morning at the opening of an empty tomb.
Come, Holy Spirit, the one who could not be contained by wind, or flame, or breath, the one who blesses the Church with courage, peace, and love.
Teach us to sing a new song and to dance with reckless abandon.
Breathe on us, blowing away our fears and our hesitations.
Breathe on us, transforming our hard-heartedness into passion-filled lives.
Breathe on us, for we need peace, peace that only you can give.
Amen.
Please read Acts 2:1-21
At Pentecost they were filled with the Spirit. Peter told the crowd, “You crucified Jesus but God has made him Lord.” 3,000 believed.
Reflection
On that first Pentecost; the wind and the fire were only hints of what was about to happen. Frightened people spoke about Jesus:
They said, “The man called Jesus whom you crucified – God has named him Lord and Messiah by raising him from the dead.”
They said, “The old barriers between Jew and Gentile, between men and women, between slave and free, don’t matter now.”
They said, “Let’s hit the road. There are people to transform”
The Spirit, who had shaped the early chaos began to mould sinners into shape
and whispered in the ears of prophets and poets,
and to speak clearly about forgiveness and love
and community and freedom and joy.
Not everyone accepted it, of course, but enough understood so that the world was never the same.
We too are subject to that same Holy Spirit. We too can work alongside of our predecessors to make a just, equal and loving society. A society that values all its members, a humanity that can truly proclaim “we are made in the image of God”. Let God’s Spirit enter your heart. Love and be loved. Amen
Prayer of intercession
For those whose lives are broken by distress
For those whose lives are broken by fear
For those whose lives are broken by anger
For those whose lives are broken by pain
For those whose lives are broken by illness
For those whose lives are broken by sin
God of healing gently touch these lives with your Spirit
Bring warmth and comfort, life, wholeness, and restoration
into fractured lives and souls.
Amen
Benediction
Go out into the world and labour to bring forth new life.
Dream dreams, pursue visions and speak of God’s goodness in the words of those who would hear.
May the God who breathed life into creation be your delight
May Christ Jesus give hope to your dreaming
May the Holy Spirit, your advocate and supporter, set your hearts ablaze with a passion for peace.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
In the name of Christ. Amen.
Suggested Music
She Sits Like A Bird https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iYgOWT1AKA
I Will Pour out My Spirit on All Flesh https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOFWP-OOjfE
Spirit of the Living God https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYfzcYohWZg
