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Pentecost

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​Time of Prayer
 
Holy Spirit, come –
Come with your power and vitality.
Make us bold in our faith,
courageous in living for Jesus.
Give us words to speak and deeds to do
and in all things be our energy.
 
Holy Spirit, come –
Come with your comfort,
come with your gentle touch
for all who are sick in body or mind.
Comfort those who feel sad.
Fill those who feel empty.
 
Holy Spirit, come –
Come with your communication.
Translate our desire to reach out
into genuine friendship, new relationships
of true understanding and acceptance.
Bind us together, Lord.
 
Holy Spirit, come –
Come with your creativity
Inspire us with your beauty
and open us to new possibilities.
 
This day and every day –
Holy Spirit, come,
be with us, be in us, be between us,
giving glory and thanks to God!
Amen.
Wairua Tapu, haere mai!
Holy Spirit, welcome!
Wairua Tapu, heke iho
Holy Spirit, fall on us
Wairua Tapu, tau mai
Holy Spirit, rest in us
Wairua Tapu, papahū
​Holy Spirit, set us on fire.
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Candle prayer
 
We light our candle this Pentecost festival,
celebrating the coming of the Holy Spirit -
fire to warm our hearts,
spark of inspiration and hope.
 
Holy Spirit, come. You are welcome here.
Ignite our love for one another
and for the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.


Dedication of the offering (please stand) – 1 Corinthians 12:4-7
There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit gives them. There are different ways of serving, but the same Lord is served. There are different abilities to perform service, but the same God gives ability to all for their particular service. The Spirit's presence is shown in each person for the good of all. 
God bless us as we receive and as we give. God bless our gifts and multiply them for your Kingdom, through Christ our Lord.
And together the people said – Amen!


Blessing
We go giving thanks for the gift of the Spirit of God
We go lit from within by the great love of Christ
We go in peace, and God goes with us.
Amen, amen, amen (sung)


Tell the Pentecost Story
an interactive story-telling of Acts 2

"... ​every person who was there, every person who had seen the risen Jesus and who loved him, every man and every woman, every old person and every child, was lit up. With the light came a feeling, a feeling of energy and power. And the light looked a bit like fire, almost as though each person was a candle shining brightly with a flame that danced and flowed around them as they moved.
What would you look like if you had spirit fire shining all around you?
The fiery energy made it quite impossible to stand still, and it made it quite impossible to stay silent. They didn’t just sit there feeling nice and warm inside, they just couldn’t! They told each other how amazing God is, because it was totally obvious to them that this feeling, this energy, was God energy."

​Spirit who defies defining
(a litany for Pentecost by Silvia Purdie)
 
Spirit of God, who defies defining
You of many names
Beyond our controlling or image-ing
We praise you! We welcome you! We need you!
 
Spiritus Sanctus, Wairua Tapu
Sacred and Holy and Wonderful
Infinity who chooses intimacy
 
Breath of God, Pneuma
Breath of life, wind of heaven
You hovered over creation
Blow through us
 
Holy fire, flame of Pentecost
Renew passion in our hearts
for the salvation of the world
 
Power of God, Dynamos
Transform our weary souls
Enable us to speak and act boldly
 
Gift-giver, Charisma
Pour our talents on your people
Build your church
Embrace of God, Awhi, Paraclete
Comforter and friend
Close beside us in every moment
 
Aroha, Agape
Draw together a people who love
Spirit of unity, Spirit of peace
 
Sophia, Wisdom, Inspiration
Open our minds to truth
Open ancient scriptures fresh
for every time and place
 
Teacher, trainer
Sanctify us, change us
Grow us up in Christ
to be who we truly are
 
Spirit of Jesus
The same power that worked every miracle
 That burst open the tomb
Bring us to Jesus
 
Spirit of God, who defies defining
You of many names
Beyond our controlling or image-ing
We praise you! We welcome you! We need you!
 
I've always loved this poem by James K Baxter
​Song to the Holy Spirit

Lord, Holy Spirit,
You blow like the wind in a thousand paddocks,
Inside and outside the fences,
You blow where you wish to blow.

Lord, Holy Spirit,
You are the sun who shines on the little plant,
You warm him gently, you give him life,
You raise him up to become a tree with many leaves.

Lord, Holy Spirit,
You are the mother eagle with her young,
Holding them in peace under your feathers.
On the highest mountain you have built your nest,
Above the valley, above the storms of the world,
Where no hunter ever comes.

Lord, Holy Spirit,
You are the bright cloud in whom we hide,
In whom we know already that the battle has been won.
You bring us to our Brother Jesus
To rest our heads upon his shoulder.

Lord, Holy Spirit,
You are the kind fire who does not cease to burn,
Consuming us with flames of love and peace,
Driving us out like sparks to set the world on fire.

Lord, Holy Spirit,
In the love of friends you are building a new house,
Heaven is with us when you are with us.
You are singing your songs in the hearts of the poor
Guide us, wound us, heal us. Bring us to the Father.

​– James K. Baxter, ‘Song to the Holy Spirit’, in Collected Poems (ed. John Edward Weir; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1979), 572.

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Sermon on 'Paraclete': Two names for the Holy Spirit
John 14:15-26

If you have ever watched Doctor Who you will know that the Doctor travels through space and time in something which looks on the outside exactly like an old fashioned phone box. Barely big enough for one person. But when you step inside it is enormous. The Tardis is bigger on the inside than the outside.
John’s gospel is definitely like that. Every word, indeed, is bigger on the inside than the outside. This morning we’re in chapter 14, and this spins around, in the tardis zooming through a time warp kind of a way, around a huge central idea, that God and Jesus are one and that we get to be part of that one-ness through the Spirit. 


Author unknown
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Written by Silvia Purdie 

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