This week’s Home Brewed Worship provides you all a number of ways to enter into prayer and to explore the story from Acts. If you’re at home with family, a partner, a friend or a spouse please consider working through some of this with them. If you’re alone, consider phoning someone else and inviting them to join you in worship.

A special thanks to Margaret and Pauline for the liturgy and prayers throughout the material in the order of service for people at home.

Carve out some space sacred space in your home, perhaps you have candle, some colourful material, a cross, a bible, some pictures of the world, artwork or images of Jesus… 

You don’t need to use all of this material, nor do you need to do it all in one sitting, perhaps some of these prayers and music can travel with you throughout the week. Use the material as part of daily exercises, music to carry you through the week, reflections to ponder as you walk or stay at home.

For some your focus may be to hear the gospel preached, others the gospel sung, while others may want to find a practice that they can enter into over the course of the week to make space for the Holy Spirit to work on us.

Order of Service

Here’s an order of service curated by Margaret Reeson for people worshipping at home

Home Brewed Family

Here are some resources for families to explore the story and faith together at home.

Prayers

A Blessing & Sending for Pentecost

Prayers of Intercession by Ron Reeson

A Prayer of Confession

Readings for Pentecost 2020

Acts 2:1-21
Psalm 104:24-34, 35b
1 Corinthians 12:3b-13
John 20:19-23

Singing The Scripture

Here is a playlist of music that explores the scripture from this week, there are a lot of Holy Spirit songs.

What are your favourite Spirit songs? Can you send them in and we’ll add them to our playlist.

Visual Reflections on Pentecost

This week there are two reflections, one on the birth of the church and our annual prayer for renewal and revival, the other invites you to imagine God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit artistically.

If you go the artistic route I invite you to consider sending in your creations, if you sculpt, collage, paint, sketch, etch, mould, write poetry or build please show us your creations.

If you go the route of reflecting on renewal and revival then perhaps you may like to email in your own prayer for revival, let us know what you’re praying for this week.

Illustrated Ministry – Pentecost Poster

Wanting to bring some colour into your homes?

This illustration by the Illustrated Ministry community is here for you to colour in as you reflect on the Holy Spirit this Pentecost.

The Holy Spirit – A Godly Play Story

Godly Play is a multi sensory storytelling practice inviting the hearer to enter into the story and wonder. This story invites us to reflect on the Holy Spirit.

Spiritual Practices:

Breath Lines

Breath Prayers

Go Deeper

Statins Of The Spirit

I’ve admired the work of Sue Wallace for a long time now, she has been a creative community leader in the church in the UK working on multimedia and multi sensory worship.

This week Sue has curated a series of stations reflecting on the Holy Spirit. You can access each of the stations this week on youtube on the Stations Of The Spirit channel. Perhaps you might find the time to interact with each station every day of the week.

Bar Theology:

The Bar Theology series is a great way to dip your toes into some deep theological conversations. Over a couple of drinks Dr. Walter Brueggemann, Bishop Thomas Breidenthal & the Reverend Jane Gerdsen engage in a Q&A theological conversation. This short piece includes a conversation on the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit – The Bible Project

The Bible Project created a number of resources exploring the Holy Spirit including other videos, podcasts and study notes.

Podcasts:

The Bible For Normal People Podcast recently released an episode focused on The Holy Spirit.

Call to Worship

Today is the Day of Pentecost when the Christian Church remembers
the coming of the Holy Spirit.

As you prepare to spend time with God, have your Bible with you.
Some people may like to have a red flower or a red cloth as the colour of Pentecost.

When you are ready, light your candle.

Psalm 104:33-34 (CEV)

As long as I live,
I will sing and praise you,
the Lord God.I hope my thoughts will please you,
because you are the one who makes me glad.

Song

TiS 408

O breath of God, breathe on us now
and move within us while we pray;
You are the spring of our new life,
The very light of our new day.

Be with me when no other friend
the mystery of my heart can share;
be always known, when fears descend,
by your best name of Comforter.

Prayer

On the day of Pentecost,
the followers of Jesus were all together in the same place.

Today, on this Day of Pentecost, we are scattered.

We are sad.
We cannot see each other face to face.
We cannot hear the sound of our friend’s voice or touch their hand.

Spirit of God, Spirit of Jesus, Holy Spirit, come to me today.

In my loneliness, touch me with the flame of your love.
In my isolation, breathe your life in me.
In my sadness, fill me with your dreams for the future.

Alone and together,
Holy Spirit, touch us with your life.

Amen

Prayer of Confession

Let us take a moment to talk to Jesus about the troubles of our week.

Lord Jesus, I am sorry because I…
I am very sorry because I…
I am truly sorry because I…

Please, in your mercy and grace, forgive me.

Hear the Spirit of Jesus say to you:

My child, I love you. I know you through and through.
I have carried your failures on the cross. You are forgiven.
Bible reading

The Coming of the Holy Spirit

Acts 2:1-7 (CEV)

On the day of Pentecost all the Lord’s followers were together in one place. Suddenly there was a noise from heaven like the sound of a mighty wind! It filled the house where they were meeting. Then they saw what looked like fiery tongues moving in all directions, and a tongue came and settled on each person there. The Holy Spirit took control of everyone, and they began speaking whatever languages the Spirit let them speak. Many religious Jews from every country in the world were living in Jerusalem.  And when they heard this noise, a crowd gathered. But they were surprised, because they were hearing everything in their own languages. They were excited and amazed …

Now read on from Acts 2: 7-21 in your own Bible.

Think of friends from Gungahlin Uniting Church who will be reading in another language today. Arabic, Sinhalese, Korean, French, German, Mandarin, Cantonese, Welsh, Urdu, one of the languages of Uganda.

See their faces in your mind.

“When the last days come,I will give my Spirit to everyone.Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will have dreams. In those days I will give my Spirit to my servants, both men and women, and they will prophesy.

A question

Where do you see signs of the Spirit today?

Who are our prophets, our dreamers and our visionaries? 

Write a note of encouragement to someone whose visions and dreams have been important to you.

Pray for them.

Song

Loving Spirit, loving Spirit
Shirley Erena Murray
TiS 417
 
Loving Spirit, loving Spirit,
You have chosen me to be
You have drawn me to your wonder,
You have set your sign on me.
 
Like a mother you enfold me,
hold my life within your own,
feed me with your very body,
form me of your flesh and bone,
 
Like a father you protect me,
teach me the discerning eye,
hoist me up upon your shoulder,
let me see the world from high.  

Friend and lover, in your closeness
I am known and held and blessed;
in your presence is my comfort,
in your presence I may rest.

Loving Spirit, loving Spirit,
You have chosen me to be
You have drawn me to your wonder,
You have set your sign on me.

Visual Reflections on Pentecost

This week there are two reflections, one on the birth of the church and our annual prayer for renewal and revival, the other invites you to imagine God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit artistically.

If you go the artistic route I invite you to consider sending in your creations, if you sculpt, collage, paint, sketch, etch, mould, write poetry or build please show us your creations.

If you go the route of reflecting on renewal and revival then perhaps you may like to email in your own prayer for revival, let us know what you’re praying for this week.

Prayers for others

Ron Reeson

O Holy Spirit of God
Today is Your day – well, the annual day we celebrate your coming to earth as the Spirit of Jesus, to be with us, and in us, and beside us.

Jesus said You are the Helper If ever we needed help, it is now.
Some of us are tackling tasks we have never done before. Please come to our aid.

You are the One who distributes gifts for serving    Give us all gifts which we can use for You in serving others in these days, maybe gifts we have never experienced.

You said you would give us power to witness  Bring to our mind those who we should contact, support, visit. Help us find ways to do what is best

You are the Spirit of Unity  Bring together countries in conflict with each other, and people who are angry with leaders who they feel are more interested in the polls than the health of the nation, and are not guiding wisely them and well

You are the Spirit of Reconciliation   Bring together families in which there is increased tension and conflict at this time

You said You would lead us into truth Give wisdom to those seeking to find and create a vaccine for the coronavirus

You are the Comforter  Stand by those who grieve at this time or fear the worst for a loved one. Make real the presence of Christ to them, and in them.

You are the Spirit who leads. Guide the church council as it seeks to find the best ways to provide oversight for the worship, pastoral care and functioning of the church community in this difficult, unusual and unique time.

Spirit of God, You who breathed over the waters at Creation, breathe on your creation again, and give it new life and hope.

And finally we pray for ourselves

Breathe on me , breath of God;
Fill me with life anew.
That I may love all that you love
And do what you would do.

Amen

Song

Great God, your Spirit, like the wind
TiS 416

Great God, your Spirit, like the wind unseen but shaking things we see
will never leave us undisturbed, fulfil our dreams or set us free,
until we turn from faithless fear and prove the promise of your grace
in justice, peace and daily bread, with joy for all the human race.

Lord shake us with the force of love, to rouse us from our dreadful sleep;
remove our hearts of stone and give new hearts of flesh to break and weep
for all your children in distress and dying for the wealth we keep.
Help us prevent, while we have time, the blighted harvest greed must reap.

And then, in your compassion, give your Spirit like the gentle rain,
creating fertile ground from which your peace and justice spring like grain;
until your love is satisfied, with all creation freed from pain
and all your children live to praise your will fulfilled, your presence plain.

Blessing

Father, bless us as we go,
Jesus, walk beside us.
Holy Spirit guide us.

– Robin Mann

Prepared for people in Gungahlin Uniting Church, ACT by Margaret Reeson