‘When the day of Pentecost had come, the disciples were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit.’ (Acts 2:1–4a)
SONG
The opening song is, ‘O breath of life’, courtesy of Emu Music. It is quite reflective for an opening song, but I hope you enjoy it (noisy ones at the end). If you have problems connecting, try this direct link to YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lpCy3Qq3VI
Call to worship
We come to hear the Good News, to embody the love of God in Christ as we share our lives with others
You may like to light a candle at this time.
God’s truth has been revealed in the risen Jesus Christ, the light of the world. May the the Holy Spirit reveal to us the way of Christ.
Acknowledgment of country
As we begin, it is appropriate to recognise that this great land has been home to our first nations peoples for many thousands of years. Let us also acknowledge those Aboriginal peoples who are the first inhabitants of the regions in which we dwell, and honour them for their care of the land.
Prayer
We come from our villages, our homes, our families and the communities we find ourselves in. We come as as the people of God.
Let us pray.
We thank you for the promise of the Holy Spirit. You said you had to go away so that the Holy Spirit, the advocate, the counselor would come, and it was so. Holy Spirit, you set the tongues of the first disciples on fire with languages so they could speak to one another in ways that could be understood.
Come once again, Holy Spirit, as the advocate that we all need, as the counselor we all need, and as the helper we all need. As you poured yourself out on the people of the early church,pour yourself out on us now. Set our tongues on fire to speak your words
so that others may be lifted up and see you in us. Amen.
Message for the young at heart
A message for the young at heart called, ‘The Holy Spirit Comes (Day of Pentecost)’. Prepared by ‘Teaching kids about Jesus’. If you have trouble connecting, go directly to YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqG_lvZhU-A
From the Bible
The Bible readings for today are from Acts 2:1-21 & John 14:8-17. The words of the Acts reading are below. There is also a video of a dramatic re-enactment of the Gospel reading underneath the reading from Acts.
Acts 2:1-21
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs–in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”
Peter’s speech
But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: ‘In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.
Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day. Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
Dramatic readings from Lumo
Here is the dramatic re-enactment of the Gospel reading by the Lumo group with some extra verses added in (John 14:1-31). If you have trouble connecting you can go directly to YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4CddtV-U7I
Message
The message is brought to you by Tim Jensen from the Saltbush Community. In today’s reading from Acts we hear how the Holy Spirit comes and disturbs our expectations, our comfortable world view and our lives.
What would you say to those you love if your hours of life were few? What are some ways that you share love to others? Can you think of some other ways that you could share this love?
Before a time of prayer you may like to spend some time in silence sitting still. Close your eyes lightly. Sit relaxed but alert. Simply be still and open to God. You may prefer to do this while listening to the ‘Optional reflective music’ below.
Optional reflective music
‘Holy Spirit, living breath of God’, written by Keith and Kristyn Getty (with more than a bit of help from Ennio Morricone, who composed the music for the film, ‘The Mission’). If you have problems connecting, try this direct link to YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDYjn-YdnD4
“Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise, Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me, Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me.” [quote by Saint Patrick]
Prayers for Others
The ‘prayers for others’ today is a video of a prayer recorded during the first year of the pandemic.
Blessing
So now we leave this time of worship. And while so much of the road ahead is uncertain, the path constantly changing, we know the Holy Spirit is there, found in the space between all things.
Go in peace, and until we meet we again, may the love of the Father enfold us, the wisdom of the Son enlighten us, and the strength of the Holy Spirit empower us. Amen.
Song
‘My Jesus, my Saviour’. If you have problems connecting, go directly to YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jABSW-UuT1o
Postlude
The WORLD BLESSING Pentecost 2022 – 154 Nations 257 Languages – Holy Spirit unity in a divided world. If you have trouble connecting, go directly to YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d48-qbcovVY
Fun Activities
Messy Family Fun Psalm 23
There are many fun activities at HomeFaith based on the theme of the ‘Good Shepherd’ at:
https://homefaith.net/resources/messy-family-fun-psalm-23-2022/
Pentecost Flames Salad Spinner Art and Prayer Ideas
Get a cheap salad spinner and use it to create some spinner art! It’s brilliant: quick, clean (because the spinner sits in its own bowl) and each piece is unique! The process of making the art really lends itself to Pentecost themes so here’s an idea to help celebrate the occasion. Go to the following link:
http://flamecreativekids.blogspot.com/2014/04/pentecost-flames-salad-spinner-art-and.html
Resources
The ‘Blessing’ is based on content in the Saltbush service for this week, which can be found at:
https://saltbushcommunity.uca.org.au/video/the-word/pentecost-a-disturbing-event-acts-21-21-and-john-148-17/
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