Pentecost
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. 
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."
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."
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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. |
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.
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
