Images of the Spirit
Prayer before worship
Almighty God, help us today to be open to your Spirit, to hear you word, proclaim your glory, and celebrate the Good News of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Welcome and Notices
Call to worship
We are not just once in a while friends.
We are the family of God.
We are not just a cosy club.
We are the body of Christ.
We are not just strangers meeting.
We are temples of the Holy Spirit.
We are not here by accident.
Our God has called us to worship.
We are not just passing time.
Jesus wants us to know him better.
We are not just doing the same old thing.
The Holy Spirit has some special words for us.
Reading:Acts 2:1-21
Songs:This is the day (3 verse version)
Opening Prayer
Consider dividing this into parts and inviting a range of ages to help lead
Holy Spirit, our Friend, thank you for always being with us.
You are like the wind that blows away the smog from our mind and soul.
You are like the fire that makes us enthusiastic for Jesus and his way of loving.
You are like the breath of Jesus that helps us to forgive those who do wrong to us.
Holy Spirit, fill us today, so our worship may honour you,
and that all we do may bring you glory.
Wonderful are you God, your Spirits broods over all creation!
Wonderful are you God, your Spirit filled Jesus our Christ.
Wonderful are you God, your Spirit inspires and counsels your church.
Come upon us, move among and within us,
so our minds may discern you more surely, our hearts love you more dearly, and our worship and work glorify you more purely.
Holy Spirit, ignite in us your holy fire;
strengthen your children with the gift of faith,
revive your Church with the breath of love,
and renew the face of the earth, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
Birthday Basket
Offering and Dedication
Bless these gifts, O God, and bless us as we offer ourselves to serve
you in different ways and to praise you in many voices. Send your
Spirit upon us, so that when we speak the words of your love, people may
hear and understand as on that Pentecost day so long ago. This we pray
in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
A Reflective Story: Images of the Spirit
This story is adapted from Barnabas in Churchesand is based on Godly Play so is done slowly, focusing on the objects and on the story itself, not on the children and adults who are listening. When you have finished telling the story, leave a short space and then use the wondering questions. Carefully put the story away in reverse order, naming each object and that part of the story as you go.
You will need:
A pretty box in which to store the items
A long piece of white fabric (20 cm x 110 cm) with 7 coloured squares attached (15x15cm) –black, green, purple, yellow, grey, blue and red, rolled.
A piece of green fabric (15 cm x 7.5 cm), with scalloped wavy edge
2 x candle holders, one clear glass or earthenware; one red glass
2 x tea light candles (one in each holder)
A box of matches or a candle lighter
2 x small wooden figures
A small sealed bag containing some earth
A small shell of the type in which you can ‘hear the sound of the sea’
A small flagon containing scented oil
A small sealed bag containing some confetti hearts
Some white feathers or a small model dove
Blue gift packing strands (tissue)
Invite children to the front…(It’s ideal if you can get someone to video you doing this story and project it onto a screen, so all can enjoy)
Who knows what today is?(Pentecost)
What happened?
…the promise Jesus made to his disciples came true: the day when the Holy Spirit came. It meant the start of the church, so it is the church’s birthday.
The Holy Spirit is a gift of God, but the Spirit did not start existing at Pentecost –this was just a new way of the Holy Spirit being with us – to help us live the way God wants us to live. So I thought it might be helpful to start at the beginning so as to discover more about God’s Spirit. And I have got this special box to help me discover…
Take out the special box
It is a special looking box… so maybe it holds something precious inside. And it looks like the kind of box a gift would come in –which would be appropriate seeing as today is the church’s birthday, the day when God gave us an amazing gift of the Holy Spirit. So let’s see if this box can help us discover more about God’s Spirit. Shall we open the lid and see what’s inside?
Gently open the box without letting the children see inside and take out the rolled up long strip of white fabric, and clear glass candle holder with tea light candle. Unroll white fabric just enough to show the black felt square on it. Place the candle in the middle of the square.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was empty with no form of life; it was under a roaring ocean covered with darkness… but the Spirit of God was moving over the water.
Hold your hand above the black to imitate the Spirit moving over the water.
God said, 'I command light to shine!' – and light started shining… Light the candle.God looked at the light and saw that it was good. A flame of hope – this is a sign of God's presence in the world. It comes from the heart of God…
Unroll the white fabric just enough to see the green square.
When the Lord God made the heavens and the earth, no grass or plants were growing anywhere. God had not yet sent any rain, and there was no one to work the land. But streams came up from the ground and watered the earth…
Take out the bag of dirt and tip it out into your hand. Shape it and breath into it as you say:
Then the Lord God took a handful of soil from the ground and made a man. God breathed life into the man, and the man started breathing.
Take out the 2 wooden figures and place on the dirt in the middle of the green square.
The breath of life – this is a sign of God's presence in the world. It comes from the heart of God…
Unroll the white fabric just enough to show the purple square.
There was once a man called Elijah. Elijah was feeling very unhappy, he had been trying to tell people about God, but they had turned against him and would not listen. 'It's too much,' said Elijah, and he climbed Mount Sinai, the mountain of God, and hid himself away in a cave. While Elijah was on Mount Sinai, the Lord asked, 'Elijah, why are you here? Go out and stand on the mountain. I want you to see me when I pass by.' So Elijah left his cave and climbed to the top of the mountain. When he reached the top he stood very still. All at once, a strong wind shook the mountain and shattered the rocks. Elijah squared his feet against the whipping, windswept ground and listened. But the Lord was not in the wind. The wind stopped blowing, and next there was an earthquake. Elijah squared his feet against the shaking, shifting ground – and listened. But the Lord was not in the earthquake. The ground stopped shaking and after the earthquake there was a fire. This was too much for Elijah. He ran down the mountain and back into his cave and listened to the crackling flames from the safety of the dark. But the Lord was not in the fire. The smoking, smouldering fire burnt itself to nothing and, in the silence that followed, there was a gentle breeze like the soft whisper of a voice… When Elijah heard the soft whispering voice, he covered his face with his coat and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. He didn't want to run away any more. He wanted to hear what God had to say to him.
Carefully, take out the shell from the box and place in the middle of the purple square.
The soft whisper of a voice – this is a sign of God's presence in the world. It comes from the heart of God…
Unroll the white fabric enough to show the yellow square.
It is truly wonderful when people live together in peace… One of the psalms says it is as beautiful as olive oil poured on the heads of those who love God, running down their faces and the collars of their clothes…
Carefully, take out and place the oil in the centre of the yellow square…
It is like the dew from the mountain caressing bare feet on early morning grass.
Take out the small green piece of fabric and place on the yellow square, with the wavy edge sitting across the centre of the yellow square.
To live together in peace is to receive the joy of God, who blesses his people with life that never ends.
Take out the confetti hearts, and sprinkle over the yellow felt square and green grass shape.
Oil of joy and healing – this is a sign of God's presence in the world. It comes from the heart of God…
Unroll the white fabric just enough to show the grey square.
Jesus left Galilee and went to the River Jordan to be baptized by his cousin, John. But John kept objecting and said, 'I ought to be baptized by you. Why have you come to me?' Jesus answered, 'For now this is how it should be, because we must do all that God wants us to do.' …So Jesus was baptized and as soon as he came out of the water, the sky opened, and he saw the Spirit of God coming down on him like a dove…
Carefully place the white feathers on the grey square.
Then a voice from heaven said, 'This is my own dear Son, and I am pleased with him.' The dove of peace – this is a sign of God's presence in the world. It comes from the heart of God…
Unroll the white fabric just enough to see the blue square.
On the last and most important day of the most important festival in the Jewish calendar, Jesus stood up and said in a loud voice, 'If you are thirsty, come to me and drink! Have faith in me, and you will have life-giving water flowing from deep inside you.'
Carefully place some blue tissue strands in the centre of the blue felt square. Set the ornamental fish in the centre of the strands.
Life-giving water – this is a sign of God's presence in the world. It comes from the heart of God…
Unroll the white fabric completely to see the red square.
On the day of Pentecost all Jesus' friends 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… their fear left them and they were filled with joy.
Place the red candleholder (with a tea light candle inside). Light the candle
Tongues of fire – this is a sign of God's presence in the world. It comes from the heart of God…
Wondering questions
I wonder which of these signs of the Spirit you like best?
I wonder which of these signs you think is the most important?
I wonder which of these signs most touch you?
I wonder if there are any other signs we could have?
Place the items on the communion table and roll up the fabric, naming each as you go….
Tongues of fire…
Life-giving water…
The dove of peace…
Oil of joy and healing…
The soft whisper of a voice…
The breath of life…
A flame of hope…
These are the signs of God's presence in the world. They come from the heart of God.
The Lord’s Prayer
SongLoving Spirit
Really Exciting Discovery Day
We made a really large wooden (mdf) flame, cut up as a jigsaw puzzle, spray painted the pieces gold and then wrote the verse references on the back in vivid pens. However you could also do this with a large piece of cardboard, and gain a similar effect. The truth statements about the Spirit was written on A4 pieces of card and blu tacked to the walls around the worship space.
This is time to discover 7 truths about the Holy Spirit…
Scattered around the church are 7 pieces of a flame –on the back of each piece is a Bible verse and your task is firstly, to discover the truth that fits your verse… find it from on the walls around the church –then attach it to your piece of flame…
Then, in light of this truth, discuss the following questions
- Have you known the Holy Spirit to be this in your life? If yes, how?
- Have you seen this in someone else’s life? If yes, how?
- Do you have questions about this aspect of the Holy Spirit?
Then we will gather back together and piece our discoveries together …
The Holy Spirit -
- is invisibleJohn 3:8
- helps us worshipJohn 4:23
- gives lifeJohn 6:63
- helps us know we are God’s children Romans 8:15
- helps us know the truthJohn 16:13
- gives us powerActs 1:8
- is a gift giver1 Corinthians 12:4
SongGod sends us his Spirit
Prayer of Intercession
We made a wooden 3D flame with shelves for tea light candles which were lit following each sentence, but any assortment of 16 candles at the front will work.
Leader: Sometimes we forget about God’s Holy Spirit at work in our world; forget to listen to God or to one another. Sometimes we are too lazy to understand and care for our world. But now we take time to say sorry, and to pray for our world. We will light (16) candles to remember our need for God’s Spirit in our world and in our own lives. Let us pray…
16 people (all ages) have been given a photocopied sheet of the prayer with their line highlighted and come up one by one and read their sentence and light a candle.
- We confess to you our selfishness and lack of love: fill us with your Spirit.
- We confess to you our fear and failure in sharing our faith: fill us with your Spirit.
- We confess to you our stubbornness and lack of trust: fill us with your Spirit.
- You, God, meets us in the messiness of different languages and do not ask us to speak Your language. Instead, You choose to speak our many languages, for this we say thank you.
- Come upon us, move among and within us, that our minds may discern you more surely, our hearts love you more dearly, and our worship and work glorify you more purely.
- Holy Spirit, come with your light that overpowers all darkness and brings warmth and safety and hope.
- Holy Spirit, come with your energy, blow through us like a wind, bringing life to old bones and new breath to stale cold hearts.
- Holy Spirit, come like tongues of fire upon our heads, removing distortions, renewing minds and removing fear.
- Holy Spirit, come with your truth, and lead us beyond the false values and arrogance of this world, into authentic truth.
- Holy Spirit, come with your cleansing, life giving water that fills us to overflowing
- Holy Spirit, come with your anointing oil that blesses and heals
- Holy Spirit, come with the free grace of Christ Jesus, forgiving, redeeming, healing and resourcing the things that are good and true.
- Holy Spirit, come with your many gifts and replace our ineptitude with a better use of our abilities and an increased fruitfulness.
- Come with your supreme gift of love, and with Christ as our tutor, make us humble but adept practitioners in the art of loving one another.
- We seek your blessing, God, on your church in its service to the world, that we may be empowered to live in unity, to seek radical change and justice, to love deeply, to offer wise counsel and to care well for those who are hurting.
- Spirit of the living God, Fall afresh on us we pray, Amen.
SongBreathe on me breath of God
Benediction and Sung Amen
May you tread gently with the Spirit when you are confident
may you walk humbly with the Spirit when you are successful
may you rise grace-fully with the Spirit when you fall badly
may you rest gratefully with the Spirit when you are weary.
and may you trust simply the Spirit, when you feel all alone
And may the blessing of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God and the fellowship of the holy Spirit
be with you this Pentecost Day and always, Amen.