Tell Out My Soul

Pentecost Sunday is remembered as the day that Jesus’ disciples received the power of the Holy Spirit in a special and awesome way. Pentecost is the day that the Christian church was born. The season of Pentecost allows us to meditate on our special connection with the Holy Spirit and draw the Spirit closer to us as the liturgical year moves forward. It is a period of time that varies in length depending on whether Easter is early or late. During this time, the church recalls its faith in the Holy Trinity. It seeks to relate its faith as a people of God to Christ’s mission in the world. It commences with Trinity Sunday and concludes with the feast of Christ the King. The purpose of this season is to support our common work of using the gifts we have been given in the name of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit. Prayers of praise are especially important at this time as we join together to express our adoration in the light of God’s power and mercy. I have collected a few here that we have been using for worship during the Pentecost season.

I

Let us pray:
Let us adore the God of love:
who created us;
who continually preserves and sustains us;
who has loved us with an everlasting love,
and given us the light of the knowledge of his glory
in the face of Jesus Christ.

We praise you, O God,
we acclaim you as Lord.

Let us glory in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ:
though he was rich, yet for our sake he became poor;
he was tempted in all points as we are, yet without sin;
he went about doing good
and preaching the gospel of the kingdom;
he became obedient to death, death on the cross;
he was dead and is alive for evermore;
he has opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers;
he is seated at God’s right hand in glory;
he will come again to be our judge.

You are the king of glory, O Christ.

Let us rejoice in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life:
whose witness confirms us;
whose wisdom teaches us;
whose power enables us.
By the Spirit we are born into the family of God,
and made members of Christ’s body.

All praise to you, O Holy Spirit. Amen.

II

God our Father,
we worship you in wonder and in love.
Our minds cannot contain you,
nor our words express you;
yet in Christ we see your glory,
hear your word of truth
and know your forgiving love.

But you are not our captive God,
not a god of our own making,
not bound by us, not controlled by us.

You are ahead of us, leading us,
guiding us and calling us;
you are the Lord God,
the all-wise, all-compassionate.

Almighty and most merciful God,
we have strayed from your ways like lost sheep.
We have left undone what we ought to have done,
and we have done what we should not have done.
We have followed our own ways and the desires of our own hearts.
Have mercy on us, restore us, according to your promises.
To you we lift up our hearts and worship you,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

III

Majestic God, you reveal your power every day;
Flaming sunsets, crashing waves and ocean tides, waterfalls and scorching deserts.

We see your face in the high mountains and the stillness of a lake at sunrise
The waving wheat all golden in the summer sun
The clouds that skud across the sky in autumn
We see you in the small and gentle things too,
In a delicate butterfly’s wing or a spider web sparkling with dew drops.

You show yourself in the people around us.
The gentleness of a loving touch and the strength of protective arms around us.
In so many ways, the power of your spirit rushes down,
Flooding us with hope and peace
Giving us the strength to carry on when things get tough
When things seem unbearable,
You are there to support us
Our strong foundation and buttress against the storm.

Jesus our Lord, our saving grace, the love and light of our lives,
We pray that you never leave us,
Forgive us our weaknesses and repair our brokenness,
So that we can always be aware of you at our side
and feel the comfort of your unfailing love.

You deserve all our praise and adoration,
Magnify our faith,
You deserve all our devotion,
Strengthen our loyalty to you.
Let us not be meagre with our love
But let us pour it out in quantities large enough to cover the world,
The world which you have entrusted to us.
Loving God, just as you daily reveal yourself to us,
may we reveal our thankfulness and love to you, may we show you how we feel, in small ways and in big ways, today and always.
Amen.

IV

Almighty God, you are gracious, majestic, you are an awesome god,
and yet you save us with your mercy.
Almighty God, you are the creator, your hands have carved out the beauty of the world,
and we are part of your holy creation.
Almighty God, you know each of us through and through, your heart is full of love,
yet you watch over us in our weaknesses and guide us daily.
Prince of Peace, we draw near to you and drink in the promise of eternity.
Lord of Peace, we walk with you and seek your guidance as we learn to be more loving.
Lord of Peace, in your sanctuary we are safe, safe to let down our guard and dwell in your truth.
Risen Lord, you came for the needy, the poor, the oppressed,
the forsaken and those that society has forgotten.
Risen Lord, your life renews our hearts from within,
thank you that we carry your promise of forgiveness.
Risen Lord, we ask for your spirit to work through us as we minister to the world
and share your love with all.
Almighty God, Prince of Peace, Risen Lord,
we dedicate our lives to you. Amen.