Sunday Service of the Word
Pentecost May 31st 2020
Public worship is suspended in the Church of England. We invite everyone to join together in a Service of the Word at the time of our main Sunday Service 9:30 am, though you are welcome to pray this service at whatever time suits you.
To worship with us, please listen to the audio file and join in the responses in bold.
Hymn
Holy Spirit, come, confirm us
in the truth that Christ makes known;
We have faith and understanding
through your helping gifts alone.
Holy Spirit, come, console us,
come as advocate to plead;
Loving Spirit stand beside us,
grant in Christ the help we need.
Holy Spirit, come, renew us,
come yourself to make us live;
Make us holy through your presence,
holy through the gifts you give.
Holy Spirit, come, fulfill us,
you the love of Three in One;
Bring our lives to full completion
through your work in us begun.
O Lord open our lips
And our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
Alleluia, Christ is risen.
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Jesus Christ, whom we worship, is our crucified, risen and ascended Lord and we have walked with him through his journey of love.
We have faced the agony of his suffering and death on a cross.
We have rejoiced at his bursting free from the bonds of death.
We have enjoyed his risen presence with us
and his revelation of himself through the breaking of bread.
We have seen his return to the throne before which every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that this Jesus is Lord.
And now, with the followers of his own time,
we await the coming of the promised Holy Spirit, his gift to his people, through whom we make Christ known to the world.
Prayers of Penitence
A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.
In baptism we died with Christ,so that as Christ was raised from the dead, we might walk in newness of life.
Let us receive new life in him as we confess our sins in penitence and faith
Lord Jesus, you raise us to new life. Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you forgive us our sins. Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you feed us with the living bread. Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
May Almighty God have mercy on us,
forgive us our sins and lead us to eternal life.
Amen.
The Collect
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.
Amen.
Readings
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, ‘Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.’ All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’ But others sneered and said, ‘They are filled with new wine.’
But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them: ‘Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
“In the last days it will be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams.
Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
and they shall prophesy.
And I will show portents in the heaven above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
The sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.
Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
This is the word of the Lord
Thanks be to God.
A reading from the first letter of St Paul to the Corinthians
Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says ‘Let Jesus be cursed!’ and no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit.
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
This is the word of the Lord
Thanks be to God.
The Gospel
Alleluia, Alleluia
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful people and kindle in them the fire of your love.
Alleluia
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John
Glory to you, O Lord.
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’
This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.
Sermon
You can listen to the sermon on the audio file.
The Apostles 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.
Amen.
Intercessions
These responses are used
Lord in your mercy
hear our prayer
And at the end:
Merciful Father,
accept these prayers,
for the sake of your Son,
our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Canticle
The Spirit of God fills the whole world. Alleluia.
I will take you from the nations,
and gather you from all the countries.
I will sprinkle clean water upon you,
and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses.
A new heart I will give you,
and put a new spirit within you,
And I will remove from your body the heart of stone
and give you a heart of flesh.
You shall be my people,
and I will be your God.
The Spirit of God fills the whole world. Alleluia.
The Lord’s Prayer
As our Saviour taught us, so we pray:
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
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen.
Anthem
The Choir sing an anthem.
The Blessing
May the Spirit,
who hovered over the waters when the world was created, breathe into you the life he gives.
Amen.
May the Spirit,
who overshadowed theVirgin when the eternal Son came among us, make you joyful in the service of the Lord.
Amen.
May the Spirit,
who set the Church on fire upon the Day of Pentecost, bring the world alive with the love of the risen Christ.
Amen.
And the blessing of God almighty,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be among you and remain with you always.
Amen.
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