Readings:
Sermon:
Come Holy Spirit be our guest, and may this time by you be blessed.
I like that prayer. Its simple and easy to remember. I like it too because it is a prayer that does something. It says, Come Holy Spirit. It invites God the Holy Spirit to come amongst us with all the Spirit’s power and all the Spirit’s gentleness. Come Holy Spirit be our guest.
We invite God the Holy Spirit to do what guests do: disrupt our lives, share our table, open our minds to new possibilities and touch our hearts. Come Holy Spirit be our guest, and may this time, this prayer service, this meal, this bible study... by you be blessed.
50 Days after Easter is the Feast of Pentecost or Whit Sunday, Spirit Sunday. That was the day the Spirit came upon the first disciples in Jerusalem. They had been told by Jesus to wait, and this was what they had been waiting for.
Its sometimes called the birthday of the church, because that's when this ramshackle group were clothed with power from on high. The Holy Spirit had come and the first sign of this was their speaking in tongues, in languages that spoke direct to the heart of passing people, who were amazed that they understood what was being said.
That's just one of the many gifts the Spirit brings. The gift of true communication, when heart speaks to heart. As people hear that God is real, that God loves them. That Jesus is alive and here with us now, and the promise that everyone who calls upon his name will be saved… can be made one with him.
A simple prayer you may want to use this Pentecost, if you dare!
Come Holy Spirit be my guest, and may my life by you be blessed. Amen.
Questions:
- We are told the Spirit of truth will lead us into all truth. Before you read a bible passage, ask the Holy Spirit to open your mind and your heart to the mystery of his Word. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the word that is good news (gospel) for you.
- Have you ever experienced God the Holy Spirit? How did it feel?
- Have you ever prayed a prayer like this? If not, why not give it a try?