Prepared by Joanne Mead – 8th June 2025 Pentecost
Call to Worship: From Jeremiah 31:33-34
“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD.
“I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbour, or say to one another, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know me, the least of them to the greatest,” declares the LORD. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
Today, we celebrate Pentecost – the coming of the Holy Spirit upon all believers and the birth of the church we are a part of today. A special day that changed our relationship with God forever – for the Holy Spirit became a universal gift to all who confess Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.
Hymn StF 372: Come Down O Love Divine
Prayer of Adoration and Confession
Glorious God, God of the New Covenant, Creator and Redeemer. All good things come from you, and the greatest gift of all, our hope that we have through Jesus. In love you sent Jesus to be our Saviour and in love you sent the Holy Spirit to be our Comforter, our Advocate, our Guide. You, who knows no beginning and no end, who measures the universe with your span, we cannot begin to comprehend your power. Your inescapable love that was poured out on all of us, your grace that restores and renews us, your Spirit that unites as your children. We praise your Holy Name, so come, inspire us and renew us like you did those first Apostles, so that our lives can reflect your glory. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Lord, we confess in a time of silence, those times when we have failed you. We confess our lack of faith, we confess our narrowmindedness. We confess those times when our hearts have found it so hard to forgive others as you have forgiven us. Forgive us, make us whole again through the grace won for us by our Lord Jesus Christ. Help us to follow the path you have chosen for us and fill us with your Spirit today. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Reading: Romans 8: 14-17
For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs —heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. (New International Version, 2011)
Reflection
If you read Acts Chapter 2, you read that account of the coming of the Holy Spirit upon those early believers. It was something the onlookers couldn’t understand. They thought the Apostles were drunk. We cannot begin to understand the euphoria of that moment. If you continue to read – you read Peter’s address, preached so boldy despite his previous weakness when he denied that he even knew Jesus. It was obvious that something momentous had happened. The Jews were celebrating their festival that marked Moses receiving the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai, but what was witnessed at Pentecost was like nothing experienced before.
But what of us? Living our lives nearly 2000 years later in a world that is almost unrecognisable when compared to the time of Jesus. Where is the relevance of Pentecost today? We see no tongues of flame, we may have never experienced speaking in tongues. We don’t have that first-hand experience enjoyed by Peter and his associates. We may not have the visible trappings of that Pentecost morning, but we do have the Holy Spirit within us. That still small voice that speaks to us, that emboldens our worship, that speaks to us and reassures us in our moment of weakness. The same Spirit that works within each one of us, encouraging some to care, some to teach, some to preach, some to show great hospitality. The same Spirit that touches our hearts as we sing a hymn, read a portion of Scripture or listen to the Word being preached in church. The same Spirit that unites us as a Church Family. It is also a Spirit that transforms.
The work of the Spirit within our lives today may seem less visible, less spectacular, but it is still working. In our reading from Romans, we see it referred to as a Spirit of Adoption, bringing us into God’s family and establishing our relationship with God. We become God’s Children, and co-heirs with Christ. Sometimes we will suffer for our faith, at other times, we will experience real blessing.
Last Sunday was Aldersgate Sunday, and it was on 24th May 1738 that a despondent John Wesley went reluctantly to Bible study. He was feeling low, having returned from a challenging and uninspiring trip to the USA. It was as he heard a passage from Luthers’ preface to the Epistle of Romans being read out that he felt his heart strangely warmed, and he felt an assurance of his own salvation, and an affirmation of God’s love. It was a powerful emotional and spiritual experience that changed John Wesley and his ministry forever.
God Spirit is still working today in the hearts of men and women from all walks of life. Some lives are completely turned around, for others it is a deepening faith that builds on what was there before. It was as I sat in the Museum of Methodism at Wesley’s Chapel on 24th May 2014 that I received the text I had been waiting for, telling me that I had passed the final section of the local preachers’ training course. It was such an emotional thing, and the following day was my final trial service prior to my accreditation as a local preacher. As we sang by the Wesley Flame, I could feel that warmth, that assurance that I was on the right path.
On this Pentecost Sunday, reflect on how the Spirit is working in your own life. Maybe you get a sense of being loved and supported, despite being on your own; maybe you find a real blessing as you sing the words of a hymn, or a real sense of God’s presence as you pray. Maybe you have had a prayer answered in a very profound way. Whatever your experience, know that you really are loved by God and that his Spirit is always with you. Amen
A Prayer of Thanksgiving
Lord, thank you for sending your Holy Spirit at Pentecost and for witness of those first Apostles who established your Church. Thank you that we can still experience the power of your Spirit today, guiding, comforting, inspiring and enabling us to serve you more faithfully as one of our children. Heighten our awareness of the Spirit’s work and help us to be more willing to accept its influence in our lives. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Prayers of Intercession
Lord, as we look out on a world filled with so much trouble, so much greed, so much hatred, we feel utterly powerless. Our hearts ache when we see the pictures of destruction and despair from places like Ukraine, Gaza and Israel too. We are disturbed by the language of intolerance and hatred expressed by those in positions of power. MPs whose attitude towards the vulnerable leave us in despair about where our country is heading. We pray that you will bring peace, hope and healing, that you will comfort those who have lost everything.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We pray for your church. So many churches are struggling with declining numbers and ageing congregations. So often it feels like we’ve abandoned our true mission and our efforts are in vain. Inspire and enable all who serve your church to be effective in their mission and help us bring the Good News to the missing generations.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We pray for those we know, those who are trying to persevere through pain, cope with the loss of a loved one and for all who are struggling to make ends meet in this cost-of-living crisis. We remember the families of those affected by the incident in Liverpool, those whose futures are uncertain due to the savage cutbacks that are looming. We remember those we love [mention those who are on your heart this morning].
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Finally, we pray for ourselves. Help us in our faith journey, to recognise your presence in our lives and find real confidence in you. Support us in our times of weakness and help us to remain humble in our journey with you.
In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, they will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who 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.
Hymn: StF 370: Breathe on me breath of God
Breathe on me , Breath of God,
Fill me with life anew,
That I may love what thou dost love,
And do what thou wouldst do.
Breathe on me, Breath of God,
Until my heart is pure,
Until with Thee I will one will,
To do, and to endure.
Breathe on me, Breath of God,
Till I am wholly thine,
Unit this earthly part of me
Glows with thy fire divine.
Breathe on me, Breath of God,
So shall I never die,
But live with thee the perfect life
Of thine eternity.
Edwin Hatch (1835-1889)
The Blessing
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all, now, and for evermore. Amen.
