International Presbytery of the Church of Scotland
Whitby sunset (Photo: Irene Bom)
(based on Psalm 148:1, 7-11, 13)
Praise the Lord!
You creatures of the ocean depths,
fire and hail, snow and storm,
wind and weather that obey him,
mountains and all cedars,
wild animals and all livestock,
reptiles and birds,
kings of the earth and all people!
Let them all praise the name of the Lord.
For his name is very great;
his glory towers over the earth and heaven!
~ from re:worship
Come Spirit like rain, refresh, renew, revitalise.
Come Spirit like fire, embolden, enlighten, enable.
Come Spirit like a mighty wind, move, challenge, enkindle.
Come Spirit like wave, move, tear down, lift up.
Come Spirit, come Breath, draw us close, make song, bring intimacy.
Come Spirit, come Love, make one, make justice, make peace.
Come Spirit, come Kingdom, come Love.
— written by Martin Brown, and posted on the CAFOD website.
For further study
Fire: Matt 3:11, Acts 2:3-4
Oil: Ex 29:7. Lev 8, Ex 27:20, Mark 6:13; James 5:14
Wind: John 3:8, Acts 2:1-4
Water: John 7:37-39, Is 44:3, Joel 2:28-29
From the blog
Newness of life
3 Prayers for summer
Guest post #1 : Fire reflections
God of Pentecosts,
we have received from you an inheritance of fire, not of ashes.
You have breathed your Spirit into us and we have been born anew.
And now our raised hands look for your purpose.
Our feet look for your path.
We look to spend our inheritance as fools for your grace,
As fools in your grace.
As fools by your grace.
Amen.
~ written by lutheranjulia, and posted on RevGalBlogPals
John the Baptist:
“I baptize you with water.
But one who is more powerful than I will come,
the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
God of grace and glory,
you call us with your voice of flame
to be your people, faithful and courageous.
As your beloved Son
embraced his mission in the waters of baptism,
inspire us with the fire of your Spirit
to join in his transforming work.
We ask this in the name of our Saviour Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Amen.
~ from Revised Common Lectionary Prayers
From the blog
The Gift
a 12-part series of readings and prayer poems on the Holy Spirit originally published on the PRAYER MATTERS blog in the run-up to Pentecost in 2017