SUNDAY ONLINE WORSHIP 31/05/2020
Welcome to the Pentecost Sunday worship 24/05/2020 of the Eastern Region of the Riverina Presbytery. Multiple people from the Eastern Region are leading this pre-recorded service. Four YouTube videos are included to provide music.
Let us join together, wherever we are, and sing our first hymn, ‘’O Breath of God, come sweeping through us”. To help with the singing, the words of all hymns will display within the video.
Hymn: “O breath of God, come sweeping through us”
‘O breath of God, come sweeping through us” is sung at the EMW Conference, Aberystwyth, Wales. The hymn is by Elizabeth Ann Head.
Welcome & call to worship
The ‘Call to Worship’ and ‘Opening Prayers’, which are in the video below, are led by Rev. Keith Robinson. The words are underneath the video.
‘When the day of Pentecost had come, the disciples 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.’ (Acts 2:1–4a)
Welcome to the Sunday online worship 24/05/2020 from the Eastern Region of the Riverina Presbytery. Today we celebrate Pentecost, the day when the Holy Spirit descended on the first disciples in Jerusalem. The day of Pentecost symbolizes a new beginning and the unleashing of the Holy Spirit on the world to empower believers in their lives.
We light the candle as a reminder that the light of Christ is always with us.
Light candle
Acknowledgement of country
As we begin our worship, let us also acknowledge the Wiradjuri people. They are the first inhabitants of our region, and part of God’s good creation. We honour them for their custodianship of the land, on which we live today.
Opening prayer
Let us pray,
Holy Spirit, you poured yourself out on the people of the early church, pour yourself out on us now. Holy Spirit, you set their tongues on fire with languages so as to speak to one another in ways that could be understood. Set our tongues on fire to speak in different languages and ways so others may hear the good news about Jesus. Jesus, you said you had to go away so that the Holy Spirit, the advocate, the counselor would come and it was so. Come once again Holy Spirit as the advocate that we all need, as the counselor we all need, and as the helper we all need. Come Holy Spirit, fan your flames of love and empowerment, set us on fire for you once again. Bring life to each of our dry bones. Amen.
Musical reflection
The musical reflection for today is, “Breathe on me breath of God“. The music was sung by “The mountain anthems”, with words by Edwin Hatch.
Brief message – Rev. Nigel Hawken
Rev. Nigel Hawken, Presbytery Minister for Riverina Presbytery, leads us with a brief message on his early life, his role as Presbytery Minister, and discusses 1 Corinthians 12 and some of its implications on the Church during the COVID-19 pandemic & beyond.
Bible readings
Arnold Spackmann & Lorna Spackmann from Boorowa Uniting Church lead us in the readings from 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13 & John 20:19-23.
Reflection
The speaker is Rev. Keith Robinson. There is a video of the message in the window below. The text can also be downloaded as a printable pdf file.
Prayers of the people & Lord’s Prayer
Go to the video below for the ‘Prayers of the people’, which are led by Cohen family, from Cootamundra Uniting Church. The video also include the ‘Lord’s Prayer’ & a closing blessing by Keith.
Word of mission & blessing
So now we leave this time of worship. And while so much of the road ahead is uncertain, the path constantly changing, we know the Holy Spirit is there, found in the space between all things, closer to us than our next breath, binding us to each other.
Go in peace, and until we meet we again, may the love of the Father enfold us, the wisdom of the Son enlighten us, and the fire of the Holy Spirit kindle us. Amen.
Hymn: “Shine, Jesus, shine”
The closing hymn is, “Shine, Jesus, shine.”, and it is sung at The Royal Albert Hall, London.
Postlude: “Holy Spirit, living breath of God”
Today’s postlude is, “Holy Spirit, Living Breath of God”, written by Keith and Kristyn Getty.
