Thread by @DisabilityJ

Pentecost reflection......

Welcome.
Adopt a comfortable position.
Follow the Tweets,
comment if that's helpful.
Light a candle...
Breathe ...

In the name of the Father,

and of the Son,

and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

The Lord be with us.

Alleluia. Christ is risen.

He is risen indeed. Alleluia!

We pray:

Dear Father

Quieten our minds

Still our hearts

For your living ways are all we seek

Strengthen our lives

Inspire our spirits

In your living waters flow endless grace

Amen.

A time for confession:

Be still.

Look back over the day....

Notice what wasn't right about your words, thoughts, actions ...

Notice, with God present...

Lord we are so sorry.

We lay before you our regret,
guilt
and heartache.

We ask for your forgiveness,

and trust in your everlasting grace to redeem us
and guide us in the right way.

Thank you for your goodness to us, Jesus.

Jesus 
you died to reconcile us to the Father

Lord have mercy

Jesus
you died and rose that we might have eternal life.

Christ have mercy

Jesus
you ascended to heaven that we might experience God's presence and power.

Lord have mercy

Receive these words of forgiveness:

Almighty God,

who forgives all who truly repent,

have mercy upon you,

pardon and deliver you from all your sins

and keep you in life eternal;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

A reading from the Book of Acts:

At the Feast of Pentecost the disciples were together. With no warning there was a sound as a strong wind, gale force—no one knew where it came from. Like a wildfire the Holy Spirit spread through their ranks, they started speaking different languages as the Spirit prompted them.

There were many Jews staying in Jerusalem, devout pilgrims from all over the world. When they heard the sound they came on the run.
When they heard their own mother tongues being spoken, they were thunderstruck.
They couldn’t for the life of them figure out what was going on,

They said, “Aren’t these Galileans? How are we hearing them talk in our mother tongues, speaking our languages, describing God’s mighty works?!”

Their heads were spinning; they couldn’t make head or tail of it. They talked back and forth, confused: “What’s going on here?”

Others joked, “They’re drunk on cheap wine.”

 Peter stood up & spoke out with bold urgency: “all of you who are visiting Jerusalem, listen carefully, get this straight. We aren’t drunk as some of you suspect. We haven’t had time to get drunk—it’s only nine in the morning!..."

This is what the prophet Joel announced would happen:

“In the Last Days,” God says,
“I will pour out my Spirit
    on every kind of people:
Your sons will prophesy,
    also your daughters;
Your young men will see visions,
    your old men dream dreams.....

When the time comes,
 I’ll pour out my Spirit
On those who serve me, men and women both, & they’ll prophesy.”

About three thousand took him at his word & were baptized. They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, & the prayers.

Time to pray:

For willingness to wait,
in God's time,
for God's moment.....

For openness to the Holy Spirit,
to act in us,
through us,
with us....

For humility to be like Jesus,
boldness to love like Jesus,
courage to speak like Jesus...

For those who are
lost
lonely
broken
afraid..

In our preferred language:

We pray the Lord's Prayer.....

In BSL
Voiced
Captioned

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come.

Your will be done on earth

as it is 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 forever

Amen.

We celebrate the victory of Jesus over the powers of sin and death.

We proclaim God’s mighty acts

We pray that the power that was at work when God raised Jesus from the dead might be at work in us.

Tweeps:
As part of God’s Church, will you live out what you proclaim?

Empowered by the Holy Spirit, will you dare to move into God’s future, trusting him to be your guide?

Will you dare to embrace others and grow together in love?

Will you dare to share your riches in common and minister to each other in need?

Will you dare to pray for each other until your hearts beat with the longings of God?

Will you dare to carry the light of Christ into the world’s dark places?

A final blessing:

The Spirit of truth lead you into all truth,

give you grace to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,

& strengthen you to proclaim the word and works of God;

the blessing of God almighty,

the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,

be among you and remain with you always.

Amen.