prepared by Dave Chuck – 24th May 2026
Call to Worship: How many are your works, Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. (Psalm 104:24) Good morning, we welcome you all to worship today.
Singing the Faith 384
1 Holy Spirit, rain down, rain down, O Comforter and Friend, how we need your touch again. Holy Spirit, rain down, rain down, let your power fall, let your voice be heard, change my heart and transform my life today.
Russell Fragar (b. 1953)
Prayers
Circle us, Lord—Circle our adoration of you as Child, as Son of Man, as Emmanuel. Circle us with the light of your presence, bright within this dark world. You enable us to be overcomers of fear and temptation. You enable us to be victors over sin and despair. You, Father, enable us to become that which you would desire. Lord of creation, Lord of Salvation, Circle us with the light of your presence.
Circle us, Lord. Circle our family and friends within the shelter of your outstretched arms. Protect those we meet in each moment of their daily lives. Protect them all in the decisions that they face, protect their homes and relationships. Lord of creation, Lord of Salvation, Circle all your families with the light of your presence.
Circle us, Lord. Circle this nation and its leaders with love and hope. Circle this your world and its governments with joy and love. Create a desire to listen to your message, a willingness to understand and respond. Create a need to reach out to the Christ Child. Lord of creation, Lord of Salvation, Circle our nation with the light of your presence.
In the beginning, Lord, we were alone, like the earth before your Spirit moved over the waters. It was formless and empty, and darkness filled the depths of our hearts. Then, it was as you declared ‘Let there be Light’, and out of the darkness, we began to see hope, like a shimmering ray of love, breaking through the parting clouds at the conclusion of the night. In the beginning, Lord, we were alone, but when we saw you in the light we were no longer afraid. You held out your hand and though we had a choice, we chose not to embrace again the darkness. Now we are again a part of your creation—loved, wanted, needed, and your family in the light of your presence. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, which art in heaven
Hallowed be thy Name
Thy Kingdom come
Thy will be done in earth, As it is in heaven
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive them that 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.
Readings – Old Testament Scripture: Numbers 11:24-30
So Moses went out and told the people what the Lord had said. He brought together seventy of their elders and made them stand round the tent. Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke with him, and he took some of the power of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied – but did not do so again. However, two men, whose names were Eldad and Medad, had remained in the camp. They were listed among the elders but did not go out to the tent. Yet the Spirit also rested on them, and they prophesied in the camp. A young man ran and told Moses, ‘Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.’ Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ assistant since youth, spoke up and said, ‘Moses, my lord, stop them!’ But Moses replied, ‘Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!’ Then Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.
Readings – New Testament Scripture: John 20:19-23
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’ After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.’ And with that he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.’
Singing the Faith 544
1 As the deer pants for the water, so my soul longs after you. You alone are my heart’s desire, and I long to worship you.
You alone are my strength, my shield, to you alone may my spirit yield. You alone are my heart’s desire, and I long to worship you.
2 I want you more than gold or silver, only you can satisfy. You alone are the real joy-giver, and the apple of my eye.
3 You’re my friend and you’re my brother, even though you are a king. I love you more than any other, so much more than anything. Martin J. Nystrom (b. 1956)
Reflection
In the 1977 movie Star Wars: Episode IV, Luke Skywalker learns to use “the force” by duelling with a remote droid. As Obi-Wan Kenobi encourages Luke to “feel the force,” Han Solo dismisses it, commenting that he doesn’t believe in “hokey religions and ancient weapons” and suggests he can utilize his own wits to take care of himself. Larry Trotter, a church pastor, notes: “I suggest that many of us in the church live our lives as if we feel the same way.”
How easy it is to live cautiously behind our own closed doors, relying entirely on our own strength.
Yet, as Janice Love writes in “My Lord and My God”, the texts for Pentecost are powerful, carrying a vivid theme: testimony, declaration, proclamation, and witness. In our reading from John, the setting begins in fear, behind locked doors on Easter evening. But look at how rapidly time slows down as Jesus steps directly into that room. He doesn’t come to bring a new philosophic theory or abstract mystery; as Spurgeon noted, what he revealed was himself.
He brings a seven-fold movement to the disciples:
- The Setting: Fearful followers isolated behind barricades.
- The Greeting: “Peace be with you”—a calming reassurance.
- The Proof: Showing his hands and side to connect his resurrection to his sacrifice.
- The Reaction: A transition from fear to profound joy.
- The Commission: “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”
- The Empowerment: He breathes on them, mirroring the original creation, saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
- The Authority: He gives them the power to release and set people free.
In John’s Gospel, sin is often understood as unbelief—the tragic incapacity to grasp the truth of God’s love. When Jesus speaks of forgiving or retaining sins, he is showing that a lack of witness leaves the world estranged from God. To “forgive” is to set free. Through the Holy Spirit, the church is given Jesus’ own capacity to make God real, bringing light to dark places.
David Ewart suggests that “John doesn’t care what we see with our eyeballs. He wants us to SEE with our inner eye who Jesus really is.” We might think we would be bolder witnesses if Jesus miraculously walked through our physical doors today. But the reality is that the resurrected Jesus is already present, dwelling within us by his Spirit, eager to enlist us in setting people free.
On this Pentecost, reflect on this:
- Where are you living by your own wits, like Han Solo, rather than relying on the Holy Spirit?
- In what ways are you being called to step outside your “locked doors” to offer a witness of reconciliation?
- Who in your life is waiting to be set free by an announcement of God’s grace and peace?
Jesus lives—not apart from us, but in and through us, turning the passion of Christ into compassionate change. Amen.
Prayers of Intercession
Circle this world, Lord, with the joy of your Salvation. Where there is sickness and disease, bring healing. Where there is hunger and despair, bring hope. Where there is torture and oppression, bring release. Where there is suffering and darkness, bring love. Lord of creation, Lord of Salvation, circle this world with the light of your presence.
Spend some time thinking quietly about the problems in the world—asking God to enter into the hearts of those who can make a difference in the wars, conflicts, injustice, and intolerance across the globe and in our own country… (Pause for silent reflection)
Think about those in your own life who need our prayers as they experience poverty, poor health, loss, sadness, or pain. We hold out our hearts to those who couldn’t be with us today, asking God to heal them and give them the abundant life that he offers… (Pause for silent reflection)
Put yourself into his arms of love and rest in his presence, allowing yourself the time to appreciate his love. We thank you that you have heard our prayers. Prayers above, prayers below, prayers beside. All prayers to you.
In the name of Jesus, who loves us all more than we can even imagine. Amen.
Singing the Faith 707
1 Make me a channel of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me bring your love. Where there is injury, your pardon, Lord, and where there’s doubt, true faith in you.
Oh, Master, grant that I may never seek so much to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved, as to love with all my soul.
2 Make me a channel of your peace. Where there’s despair in life, let me bring hope. Where there is darkness, only light, and where there’s sadness, ever joy.
3 Make me a channel of your peace. It is in pardoning that we are pardoned, in giving of ourselves that we receive, and in dying that we’re born to eternal life.
Dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi (1182–1226) Sebastian Temple (1928–1997)
Blessing
May your blessings outnumber the summer days that shine, and may temptations avoid us, every day I make you mine. Lord of life, Giver of hope, Bringer of light, Healer of rifts, I see you with me on the journey this day, this week, and beyond.
Now and always. Amen.
