Fill us afresh with Your Spirit! 

Acts 2 “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues<sup data-fn="#fen-NIV-26954a" data-link="[a]”>[a] as the Spirit enabled them.”

On the day of Pentecost, seven weeks after the resurrection of Jesus, the Holy Spirit was poured out upon those followers of Jesus who had gathered together in Jerusalem. What happened on the first Pentecost still happens to Christians throughout the world today. God pours out the Spirit upon all who put their faith in Jesus Christ and become his disciples (see Romans 8:1-11).

As Christians, we are meant to live in the presence and power of the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit helps us to confess Jesus as Lord (1 Cor 12:3), empowers us to serve God with supernatural power (1 Cor 12:4-11), binds us together as the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:12-13), helps us to pray (Rom 8:26), and even intercedes for us with God the Father (Rom 8:27). The Spirit guides us (Gal 5:25), helping us to live like Jesus (Gal 5:22-23).

What does this mean for us? Pentecost presents us with an opportunity to consider how we are living each day. Are we relying on the power of God’s Spirit? Are we an open channel for the Spirit’s gifts? Are we attentive to the guidance of the Holy Spirit? Is the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, etc.) growing in our lives? Most Christians would claim they live in the presence and power of the Spirit, but only to an extent. We are limited by our fear, our sin, our low expectations, not to mention our tendency to be distracted from God’s work in us. Pentecost offers a chance to confess our failure to live by the Spirit and to ask the Lord to fill us afresh with his power.

Speakers for June

2nd       am   Revd Peter Cho                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              pm   Dr Chris Palmer

9th        am   Jacqui Maguire                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              pm   John Gibby

16th      am   Revd Peter Cho                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              pm   Geoff Champion

23rd     am    Revd Peter Cho                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            pm    John Palmer

30th     am    Revd Peter Cho                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            pm   Dr Chris Palmer