Day of Pentecost
Unifying Theme: |
||
| Scripture | Theme | Hymns |
|---|---|---|
| Acts
2:1-21 or Genesis 11:1-9 |
The clear message of God to all through the Spirit or The confounded language of man! |
539: O Spirit of the Living
God 500: Spirit of God, Descend upon My Heart or I don't know any "confounded" hymns! |
| Psalm 104:24-34, 35b | Praise for all of God's works | 64: Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord
God Almighty 89: Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee |
| Romans
8:14-17 or Acts 2:1-21 |
In the Spirit we are children of God or The coming of the Spirit on Pentecost |
115: How Like a Gentle
Spirit or 332: Spirit of Faith, Come Down 608: This Is the Spirit's Entry Now |
| John 14:8-17, (25-27) | Christ will send the Spirit of truth | 465: Holy Spirit, Truth
Divine 648: God the Spirit, Guide and Guardian |
The Spirit of God--the Holy Spirit. The words themselves invoke a sense of awe and reverence. They remind us of the holy, sacred presense of God wherever we may be, and whatever we may do. Certainly the Spirit of God has been with us since the beginning. Genesis 1:2 says so. The Bible contains many stories showing the presense of the Spirit throughout the Old Testament, coming to aid and comfort God's people.
While the Spirit has been with us always, its movement at Pentecost in Acts 2 makes that day especially wonderful to us as Christians. Christ had already ascended into heaven, and the Disciples, at Christ's direction, were waiting in Jerusalem. There was a great sound. There was a powerful wind. There was a Holy Spirit that came to rest as tongues of flame on the Disciples. What an incredible encounter with the Spirit! The Disciples could hear it, feel it, and even see it! Filled with the Spirit, the Disciples did what disciples should do--they shared with everyone the good news that they had received from God. And they did it in words that everyone could understand--God's words!
John and Charles Wesley experienced the Holy Spirit in special ways, too. Charles experienced a "strange palpitation of heart," and just a few days later John felt his heart "strangely warmed." From that time on, the Wesleys were used powerfully by God to spread the news of salvation.
This week's featured hymn is one of the thousands of hymns written by Charles Wesley. It is especially appropriate as we observe the day of Pentecost. It is not sung frequently in churches today, but the words share many important messages of our need for the Holy Spirit in our lives. It is through the Spirit that we have faith. It is in the Spirit that we confess the lordship of Jesus Christ. It is our faith through the Spirit that enables us to be instruments of God's grace and power.
Read the words of this hymn in an attitude of awe and reverence:
| 1. Spirit of faith, come down, reveal the things of God, and make to us the Godhead known, and witness with the blood. 'Tis thine the blood to apply and give us eyes to see, who did for every sinner die hath surely died for me. |
2. No one can truly say that Jesus is the Lord, unless thou take the veil away and breathe the living Word. Then, only then, we feel our interest in his blood, and cry with joy unspeakable, "Thou art my Lord, my God!" |
| 3. O that the world might know the all atoning Lamb! Spirit of faith, descend and show the virtue of his name; the grace which all may find, the saving power, impart, and testify to humankind, and speak in every heart. |
4. Inspire the living faith (which whosoe'er receive, the witness in themselves they have and consciously believe), the faith that conquers all, and doth the mountain move, and saves whoe'er on Jesus call, and perfects them in love. |
May the Spirit of faith descend upon you, and upon me, and upon all in this wonderful season of Pentecost.
God bless you--
Lection at HymnSite.com
God bless you!
| Passages suggested are from The Revised Common Lectionary: Consultation on Common Texts (Abingdon Press, 1992) copyright © by the Consultation on Common Texts (CCT), P.O. Box 340003, Room 381, Nashville TN 37203-0003. Reprinted with permission of CCT. |