Evening Prayers Pentecost Sunday, 31 May 2020
Good evening, everyone.
Welcome to our prayers for the evening of Pentecost.
Many of our hymns remind us more clearly than I can of the impact God’s Spirit makes in our lives.
We begin by listening to, or joining in with the singing of the song,
‘Spirit of God, unseen as the wind’,
an excerpt from BBC ‘Songs of Praise’ first broadcast in 2012.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy8AZ46GKqc
Spirit of God, unseen as the wind,
gentle as is the dove:
teach us the truth and help us believe,
show us the Saviour’s love!
You spoke to us – long, long ago –
gave us the written word;
we read it still, needing its truth,
through it God’s voice is heard.
Spirit of God, unseen as the wind,
gentle as is the dove:
teach us the truth and help us believe,
show us the Saviour’s love!
Without your help we fail our Lord,
we cannot live his way;
we need your power, we need your strength,
following Christ each day.
In Acts chapter 2, we read how Peter, having been filled with the Holy Spirit,
found himself able to confidently address the crowd
and explain to them how the outpouring of God’s spirit had changed him,
enabling him to address the crowd confidently,
in order to share with them the message of the Gospel.
He was able to do this with such conviction that we read,
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’
Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call.’
With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, ‘Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.’ Those who accepted his message were baptised, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common.’
Acts 2: 37–42 NIV®
Throughout the history of Christianity,
we read of people who have experienced
a sudden and life-changing sense of the Holy Spirit
empowering them to change their way of life
or to confidently witness to the Gospel of Christ in a variety of ways.
If you go to Aldersgate Street, in the City of London,
you will see a sculpture commemorating the conversion of John Wesley,
founder of the Methodist Church.
The inscription on the memorial includes the following extract from John Wesley’s diary:
In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while the leader was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.
On one occasion when we were there, the sun came out,
and we saw that the shadow it cast was that of a flame,
and we realised that the sculpture had been deliberately positioned for this effect,
which gave it so much more power.
And so, we pray:
For the Spirit of Peace
that calms our mind
and stills our life,
we give you thanks.
For the Spirit of Love
that touches hearts
and reaches out,
we give you thanks.
For the Spirit of Joy
that lifts our soul
and gives us faith
we give you thanks.
For the Spirit of Power,
that gift of grace
for this your church,
we give you thanks.
From Faith and Worship
Loving God, you call us on a journey to grow in grace and holiness.
As we travel on that journey,
we pray for the assurance of your loving presence,
so that we may be filled with your Spirit.
We pray that we may work with you,
and our fellow pilgrims,
so that our church and our community
may become signs of your kingdom of justice and joy.
Amen
Let us join together, on this evening of Pentecost , by saying together:
Our Father in Heaven
hallowed be your name
Your Kingdom come, your will be done,
on earth, as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread..
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
and deliver us from evil.
The Kingdom, the power and the glory are yours, Lord,
now and for ever.
Amen
And for our final prayer,
we can listen to, or join in with, the YouTube recording of ‘Spirit of the Living God, fall fresh on me.’, a recording from YouTube by Richard Harris.
I’m sorry, but there are adverts at the beginning and end, though you may be able to skip them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GK-O5nfL1Mo
Spirit of the living God,
Fall afresh on me.
Spirit of the living God,
Fall afresh on me.
Melt me, mould me,
Fill me, use me.
Spirit of the living God,
Fall afresh on me.
Spirit of the living God,
Fall afresh on me.
Spirit of the living God,
Fall afresh on me.
Melt me, mould me,
Fill me, use me.
Spirit of the living God,
Take control of me.
We bring all our prayers to you now, Lord God, in the name of Jesus.
Amen
