Pentecost Sunday 8th June Morning Worship at St Laurence

Hymn – Our Blest Redeemer Ere He Breathed

Our blest Redeemer, ere He breathed
His tender last farewell,
A guide, a comforter, bequeathed
With us to dwell.

He came in semblance of a dove,
With sheltering wings outspread,
The holy balm of peace and love
On earth to shed.

He came in tongues of living flame
To teach, convince, subdue,
All powerful as the wind He came
As viewless too.

He came sweet influence to impart,
A gracious, willing guest,
While He can find one humble heart
Wherein to rest.

And His that gentle voice we hear,
Soft as the breath of even,
That checks each fault, that calms each fear,
And speaks of Heav’n.

And every virtue we possess,
And every conquest won,
And every thought of holiness,
Are His alone.

Spirit of purity and grace,
Our weakness, pitying, see:
O make our hearts Thy dwelling place
And worthier Thee. (by Henriette Auber – 1773–1862

Preparation

The night has passed, and the day lies open before us; let us pray with one heart and mind.

Grace mercy and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with you

All: And also with you.

This is the day that the Lord has made.

All: Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

We have come together in the name of Christ to offer our praise and thanksgiving to hear and receive God’s holy word, to pray for the needs of the world, and to seek the forgiveness of our sins, that by the power of the Holy Spirit, we may give ourselves to the service of God.

All: We say Sorry

Jesus says, ‘Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is close at hand.’

So let us turn away from our sins and turn to Christ, confessing our sins in penitence and faith.

All: Lord God, we have sinned against you;

We have done evil in your sight.

We are sorry and repent.

Have mercy on us according to your love.

Wash away our wrongdoing and cleanse us from our sin.

Renew a right spirit within us and restore to us the joy of your salvation;

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

May the Father of all mercies cleanse us from our sins, and restore us in His image to the praise and glory of His name through Jesus Christ our Lord.

All: Amen.

Blessed is the Lord,

All: For He has heard the voice of our prayer;

Therefore shall our hearts dance for joy

All: And in our song will we praise our God.

Blessed are you, Lord our God, creator and redeemer of all;

to you be glory and praise for ever.

From the waters of chaos you drew forth the world, and in your great love fashioned us in your image. Now, through the deep waters of death, you have brought your people to new birth by raising your Son to life in triumph.

May Christ your light ever dawn in our hearts as we offer you our sacrifice of thanks and praise.

Blessed be God, Father Son and Holy Spirit.

All: Blessed be God for ever.

Hymn – This is the Day

Collect for the Pentecost Sunday –

God, who as at this time

taught the hearts of your faithful people

by sending to them the light of your Holy Spirit:

grant us by the same Spirit

to have a right judgement in all things

and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort;

through the merits of Christ Jesus our Saviour,

who is alive and reigns with you,

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and for ever.

All: Amen

Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead.

All: And Christ shall give you light.

You have died and your life is hid with Christ in God.

All: Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead.

Set your minds on things that are above,

not on things that are on the earth.

All: And Christ shall give you light.

When Christ our life appears

you will appear with him in glory.

All: Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light.

Hymn Come Down, O Love Devine

Come down, O Love divine!
seek out this soul of mine
and visit it with your own ardour glowing;
O Comforter, draw near,
within my heart appear,
and kindle it, your holy flame bestowing.

There let it freely burn
till earthly passions turn
to dust and ashes in its heat consuming;
and let your glorious light
shine ever on my sight,
and make my pathway clear, by your illuming.

Let holy charity
my outward vesture be,
and lowliness become my inner clothing;
true lowliness of heart
which takes the humbler part,
and for its own shortcomings weeps with loathing.

And so the yearning strong
with which the soul will long
shall far surpass the power of human telling;
for none can guess its grace
till we become the place
in which the Holy Spirit makes his dwelling.(by Richard F Littledale – 1833 to 1890

Our First Reading is taken from – Acts Chap: 2

1 When the day of Pentecost came, all the believers were gathered together in one place.

2 Suddenly there was a noise from the sky which sounded like a strong wind blowing, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.

3 Then they saw what looked like tongues of fire which spread out and touched each person there.

4 They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to talk in other languages, as the Spirit enabled them to speak.

5 There were Jews living in Jerusalem, religious people who had come from every country in the world.

6 When they heard this noise, a large crowd gathered. They were all excited, because all of them heard the believers talking in their own languages.

7 In amazement and wonder they exclaimed, “These people who are talking like this are Galileans!

8 How is it, then, that all of us hear them speaking in our own native languages?

9 We are from Parthia, Media, and Elam; from Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia; from Pontus and Asia,

10 from Phrygia and Pamphylia, from Egypt and the regions of Libya near Cyrene. Some of us are from Rome,

11 both Jews and Gentiles converted to Judaism, and some of us are from Crete and Arabia – yet all of us hear them speaking in our own languages about the great things that God has done!”

12 Amazed and confused, they kept asking each other, “What does this mean?”

13 But others made fun of the believers, saying, “These people are drunk!”

14 Then Peter stood up with the other eleven apostles and in a loud voice began to speak to the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, listen to me and let me tell you what this means.

15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose; it is only nine o’clock in the morning.

16 Instead, this is what the prophet Joel spoke about:

17 “This is what I will do in the last days, God says: I will pour out my Spirit on everyone. Your sons and daughters will proclaim my message; your young men will see visions, and your old men will have dreams.

18 Yes, even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will proclaim my message.

19 I will perform miracles in the sky above and wonders on the earth below. There will be blood, fire, and thick smoke;

20 the sun will be darkened, and the moon will turn red as blood, before the great and glorious Day of the Lord comes.

21 And then, whoever calls out to the Lord for help will be saved.’

This is the Word of the Lord

All: Thanks be to God

Benedicitus

Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel,

All: who has come to his people and set them free.

He has raised up for us a mighty Saviour,

All: born of the house of his servant David.

Through his holy prophets God promised of old

All: to save us from our enemies, from the hands of all that hate us,

To show mercy to our ancestors,

All: and to remember his holy covenant.

This was the oath God swore to our father Abraham:

All: to set us free from the hands of our enemies,

Free to worship him without fear,

All: holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.

And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High,

All: for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,

To give his people knowledge of salvation

All: by the forgiveness of all their sins.

In the tender compassion of our God

All: the dawn from on high shall break upon us,

To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,

All: and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

All: Glory to the Father and to the Son

and to the Holy Spirit;

as it was in the beginning is now

and shall be for ever.

Amen.

Hear the Gospel our Lord Jesus Christ According to John Chap: 14

8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father; that is all we need.”

9 Jesus answered, “For a long time I have been with you all; yet you do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. Why, then, do you say, “Show us the Father’?

10 Do you not believe, Philip, that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I have spoken to you,” Jesus said to his disciples, “do not come from me. The Father, who remains in me, does his own work.

11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. If not, believe because of the things I do.

12 I am telling you the truth: those who believe in me will do what I do – yes, they will do even greater things, because I am going to the Father.

13 And I will do whatever you ask for in my name, so that the Father’s glory will be shown through the Son.

14 If you ask me for anything in my name, I will do it.

15 “If you love me, you will obey my commandments.

16 I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, who will stay with you forever.

17 He is the Spirit, who reveals the truth about God. The world cannot receive him, because it cannot see him or know him. But you know him, because he remains with you and is in you.

#This is the word of Christ

All: Thank be to God

Sermon – Pentecost Sunday

The Day of Pentecost is always a great celebration for the church. We gather together each year on this day, to hear the story of the birth of the Church, as we heard in our reading this morning: when the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles like the rush of a violent wind, with tongues as of fire dancing on their heads; people from all nations hearing the apostles speaking in their own language, and more than 3,000 responding by being baptized into Christ.

It is an amazing story to hear again, isn’t it? The miracle of Pentecost. But don’t you wonder a little, when you hear this story, whether we are missing something today? After all, I doubt that our celebration this morning will include a violent wind, or fire, and it certainly won’t be a miraculous speech from me! So, are we missing something? Where is the wind and the fire today? Where is the excitement of that first Pentecost?

Perhaps the better question to ask is: where is the Holy Spirit today? After all, isn’t that the point of Pentecost? To give us the Holy Spirit? So the question to ask today is not, where is the wind and the fire, but where is the Holy Spirit?

And if we ask the question in that way, then we do, indeed, have a pretty exciting answer, I believe. Because the Holy Spirit is without a doubt here with us today, in some very amazing and powerful ways. Let me share three of those ways.

First, the Holy Spirit is here, and comes to us today, through the Holy Word – the divinely-inspired, faith-producing, life-changing Word of God – which connects us to all Christians going all the way back to that very first Pentecost, and connects us to the God who inspired and guided its every word.

The same Holy Spirit who inspired Peter to preach on that first Pentecost, is here with us today as we hear again his ancient words. Those who heard Peter that day heard him speak in their own language. And so do we. Just as many Christians around the world today are hearing this in their own language.

It may not seem as miraculous, but I think it is pretty incredible to think of Christians all around the world today hearing these words in their own language.

We’re fortunate in this country. We can freely read the Bible at any time we want to, although perhaps we don’t do so as often as we should. But there are other countries where Bibles are banned, and so when they do eventually receive one, it is a treasured possession. Is your Bible a treasured possession? And when we read the word of God, and act upon it’s guidance, isn’t it true that amazing things happen? Perhaps not earth shattering things, but miracles that we simply know can’t happen but actually do.

Isn’t that amazing? We must remember that the Pentecost miracle continues, and through the Word of God proclaimed here and all around the world, the Holy Spirit continues to be poured into the hearts of listeners, producing faith and trust in our God.

So, where is the Holy Spirit today? The second way that the Holy Spirit comes to us today is through the gathered congregation. That’s you and me here today. Can you feel the Holy Spirit with us? Let’s take a few seconds of silence, close our eyes, and feel the Holy Spirit here, with us, now.

As Martin Luther put it in his Small Catechism:

The Holy Spirit calls, gathers, enlightens, and makes holy the whole Christian church on earth and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one common, true faith.

The Holy Spirit is the reason we are here today. The Holy Spirit called and gathered us here, just as it has done for centuries all around the world. The Holy Spirit brings us together and gives us a variety of gifts, all for the common good. “Now there are varieties of gifts,” Paul reminds us, “but the same Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:4). The Spirit has been poured out upon all flesh, as Peter reminds us in his famous sermon, young and old, men and women, all have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit, and we come together to share our gifts and insights, and become more than we can possibly be, on our own.

The Pentecost miracle happened when the apostles were all together in one place. And it happened when devout Jews from every nation under heaven were present. That’s not a coincidence. The Holy Spirit likes us to be together. Something important happens when we are together. Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus is present when we gather in his name, which we do whenever we worship together. The Holy Spirit can come to us when we are alone, of course, but scripture teaches us that coming together in Jesus’ name is the best way to discover the Holy Spirit among us.

And when we come together in Jesus’ name, there is another way in which the Holy Spirit comes to us. And that is through the Holy Sacraments.

When Peter finished his sermon on that first Pentecost, those who heard it asked him, “what should we do?” And Peter responded, “Repent, and be baptized … and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:37-38). They will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit not through wind and fire, but through holy baptism. And it is in baptism that we, too, first received the gift of the Holy Spirit.

And right after those who heard Peter’s sermon were baptized, what did they do? The very next verse says, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42). In other words, they gathered together as a community, to hear the Word and celebrate Holy Communion.

That is where the miracle of Pentecost continued to be enjoyed and realized in the Church. Then, and now. When we gather in the name of Jesus. Remember our baptisms. Devote ourselves to the apostles’ teaching. And to the breaking of the bread, and the prayers.

We may not have wind and fire today, it’s lovely weather outside, but we are here, gathered in the name of Jesus. Doing those very things that the Church has done since that first Pentecost. And that means that the Holy Spirit is present among us now, just as it was then.

It’s always tempting to think that we need more – we need more excitement, more enthusiasm, more emotion; we need more wind and fire on Sunday mornings. But we are at our best when we refuse to believe that the church needs anything more than the Word, the congregation gathered in Jesus’ name, and the Sacraments. Because we believe, teach and confess that it is through these means of grace that God gives us all that we need for our salvation.

The point of Pentecost is not the wind and the fire – it never was. The point of Pentecost is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit who brings to the church all the gifts of God, all that we need, for life and salvation.

But if the point of Pentecost is the gift of the Holy Spirit, then the result of Pentecost is sharing the good news of the gospel with all nations. Do you remember what Jesus said right before the Pentecost miracle? He said, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

Well, if you are baptized; and if you have heard God’s Word today; and if you will receive Holy Communion this month; then I have news for you: the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you have received the power needed to be our Lord’s witnesses, even to the ends of the earth.

You have everything you need to go and share your faith. Everything you need to be the church, the body of Christ, in the world. Because you have the Holy Spirit. You can now share the good news of Jesus. And you can tell everyone that you know where to go to receive all that God promises. You know where everyone can go to receive the forgiveness of sins, salvation, and true, eternal, abundant life. You know where they can go to fill that God-shaped hole that is in each of our souls. You know the one place where everyone can go to find true joy, true meaning, and true blessedness. It is the place whose birth we celebrate today – it is the church. The Church – the body of Christ formed with the gift of the Holy Spirit – is where we are promised to receive all these gifts. The Church is the place where – miraculously! – each and every Sunday the Holy Spirit comes again to those gathered in Jesus’ name, through the great and awesome miracles of hearing God’s Holy Word and receiving the Holy Supper.

Now, there won’t be any violent wind or fire today. But we’re not here for the wind and the fire. We are here to worship the God behind that wind and fire, to give thanks for the gift of God’s only Son, who died to save us and forgive us, and we are here to receive again the promised Holy Spirit, who unites us to our God in ways beyond what we can even imagine.

Nothing has changed, in all these many years. We are here for the same reason the church has always gathered together. May we continue to respond to the ever-present call of the Holy Spirit, who gathers, enlightens and makes holy the whole Christian church, now and forever.

Amen

Hymn – Sprit Divine attend Our Prayer

Spirit divine, attend our prayers,
and make this house thy home;
descend with all thy gracious powers,
O come, great Spirit, come!
Come as the light; to us reveal

our emptiness and woe,
and lead us in those paths of life
whereon the righteous go.

Come as the fire and purge our hearts
like sacrificial flame;
let our whole soul an offering be
to our Redeemer’s Name.

Come as the dove, and spread thy wings,
the wings of peaceful love;
and let thy Church on earth become
blest as the Church above.

Come as the dew and sweetly bless
this consecrated hour;
may barrenness rejoice to own
thy fertilizing power.

Spirit divine, attend our prayers,
make a lost world thy home;
descend with all thy gracious powers;
O come, great Spirit, come! (by Andrew Reed – 1789 to 1862)

We gather our thoughts and prayers in the words our Saviour gave us

All: Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy 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.

Time of Silence …..

We Say Together:

The Creed.

I believe in God, the Father almighty,

creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the Virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died, and was buried;

he descended to the dead.

On the third day he rose again;

he ascended into heaven,

he is seated at the right hand of the Father,

and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy catholic Church,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and the life everlasting.

All: Amen.

Prayers and Intercessions

Prayers for King Charles

Through this tritium of prayer we ask God’s continuing blessing on our new King Charles

Prayer

O God, to whom every human power is subject,
grant to your servant our sovereign Charles
success in the exercise of his high office,
so that, always revering you and striving to please you,
he may constantly secure and preserve
for the people entrusted to his care
the freedom that comes from civil peace.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.

All: Amen

Prayer for the Royal

Almighty God, the fountain of all goodness,

we humbly beseech thee to bless

Queen Camilla, William Prince of Wales, the Princess of Wales, and all the

Royal Family:

Endue them with thy Holy Spirit; enrich them with thy heavenly

grace; prosper them with all happiness;

and bring them to thine everlasting

kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

All: Amen.

We pray for God to fill us with his Spirit.

Generous God,

we thank you for the power of your Holy Spirit.

We ask that we may be strengthened to serve you better.

Lord, come to bless us