Sunday service - 31 May 2026

Added: 2026-06-02

[00:00:17][music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [applause] >> Woo!

[00:07:50]>> Good morning.

[00:07:52]Good morning. Welcome to the English Reformed Church.

[00:07:55]Whether this is your first time in the church, whether you are a regular here, whether it is the first time in in a long time, or if you're watching online, we are delighted to have you. And you're most welcome.

[00:08:07]The service today is led by our minister, Reverend Marius Nel.

[00:08:11]And we will have coffee, tea, and refreshments after the service. They they will be served there on the left.

[00:08:19]So, we hope you will you will manage to to stay for a moment of fellowship over coffee, tea, and and perhaps a slice of cake.

[00:08:29]Now, in terms of some some dates for your diaries as to the upcoming events.

[00:08:35]This week, on Wednesday, June the 3rd at 7:00, we will be hosting a lecture here in the church by Archbishop Thabo Makgoba from the Anglican Church in South Africa. Um Archbishop Makgoba already led here in April the green service. Some of you might might have been in attendance to that one. And this time he will deliver a lecture on the topic of hope entitled "Trouble Times, Can We Be Surprised by Hope Again?"

[00:09:09]So, certainly a very interesting promises to be a very interesting lecture.

[00:09:14]Then, later on, may I bring to your attention the annual general meeting, which is taking place on the 14th of June, so in 2 weeks, here in the church after the service.

[00:09:27]The annual general meeting is open to to everybody, so everybody is welcome to to attend. We have prepared some documents for the annual general meetings, and the annual report, which is basically a retrospective on the work of the church last year. We've got the financials of the church for last year, and then also the minutes of last year's meeting.

[00:09:50]Um so, if you if you would like to to take your own copy, the documents are available in the vestibule. So, you can pick them up as you as you leave.

[00:09:59]Especially the annual report is you know, is a collection of contributions from various members about the church activities. So, it is a nice read for for anybody who's interested in the church activities.

[00:10:13]Last announcement, uh our church picnic on Saturday the 20th of June, starting at 12:30 in the Amsterdamse Bos.

[00:10:24]Now, this goes back quite a long time, especially before COVID, we used to have church picnics in various parks here in Amsterdam. So, we we thought that that it would be a good time now to go back to our old habits, and have indeed a good picnic.

[00:10:42]You can read more information about that in the liturgy sheet. There is an opportunity also to join the organizing team, because of course these things are nice, but we need hands to make them uh work. So, take a look at the at the announcements.

[00:10:59]Now, without any further ado, I'll I'll just pass it to Marius. Marius, over to you.

[00:11:11]>> Good morning, everyone.

[00:11:13]Especially warm welcome to everyone watching online.

[00:11:18]Let's just come into this space by greeting one another and saying hi to one another. It's if it's your first time here indeed, a warm welcome, and nothing weird will happen in this moment. We just want to know what is is name. There we go. Let's greet one another.

[00:13:25]All right, then.

[00:13:31]And so, let's also take a moment to settle into the space and to become aware of the presence of God. We are in Pentecost time uh and we are busy with a small series on the work and the attributes of the Holy Spirit.

[00:13:47]And in that sort of spirit um I thought for this morning's moments of silence it is good to remind us that the old Hebrew word for God which we say today in English is Yahweh is really four consonants that you can't pronounce. And what the ancient rabbis used to say is that these are breathing sounds. So, it's yod, he, vav, he. And every time we take a breath we are saying the name of God all the time.

[00:14:24]And so, with that, may you enjoy the silence. May you enjoy God's presence as you say the name of God with your breath this morning.

[00:14:34]And as we do that, Matia I will invite you to light the candles.

[00:14:38]Thank you.

[00:15:23]Let's stand together for the call to worship.

[00:15:30]For this morning's call to worship, we will respond by singing hymn 758. So, I will say the part that is in plain text and then we as a congregation respond together with the words of hymn 758. And those words are written at the bottom of the call there, but we will use it after each call and then we will respond each time with hymn 758.

[00:15:56]We will practice it once and then we will go into the call.

[00:16:10]>> [music] [music] >> Breath of God, breath of life, bre- breath of deepest yearning.

[00:16:40]>> [music] [music] [music] >> Comforter, disturber, interpreter, enthuser.

[00:17:04]>> [music] >> Heavenly friend, lamplighter, revealer of truth, midwife of change.

[00:17:22]>> [music] [music] [singing] [music] >> The Lord is here.

[00:17:41]>> [music] [music] >> And with that we enter our worship this morning with him 595, Breath of Life come sweeping through us.

[00:18:10]>> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [singing] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> Let's pray.

[00:20:23]Holy Spirit, Lord and giver of life.

[00:20:28]At the beginning of time, you moved over the face of the waters.

[00:20:33]You breathe into every living being the breath of life.

[00:20:39]Come, creative spirit, and renew the whole creation.

[00:20:45]Holy Spirit, voice of the prophets, you inflame us with a passion for your truth and through us call your people to the ways of justice and compassion.

[00:21:01]Come, spirit of righteousness, and burn in our hearts.

[00:21:08]Holy Spirit, Spirit of Jesus, by your power Jesus came to bring good news to the poor and release to those held captive.

[00:21:20]Come liberating Spirit and free us from the powers of sin and death.

[00:21:27]Holy Spirit, wind and flame, you fill disciples with joy and courage, empowering them to preach your word and to share your good news.

[00:21:39]Come Spirit of power, make us bold witnesses of your redeeming love.

[00:21:46]And Holy Spirit of peace, you break down barriers of language, race, and culture, and you heal the visions that separate us.

[00:21:58]Come reconciling Spirit and unite us all in the love of Christ.

[00:22:05]Let's pray together the Lord's Prayer in whichever language you choose.

[00:22:12]Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come.

[00:22:19]Thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven.

[00:22:22]Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.

[00:22:31]And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever.

[00:22:41]Amen.

[00:22:47]I would like to invite the children to come forward and join me in front.

[00:23:00]Hey.

[00:23:03]This is the first time that my own child is in front with me.

[00:23:07]I'm a bit more nervous than than normal.

[00:23:12]Hi, welcome.

[00:23:16]Your first time.

[00:23:18]I focus. Okay.

[00:23:21]How are you? Doing okay? Yeah?

[00:23:23]You're good?

[00:23:25]All good?

[00:23:26]Wonderful. Hey Chloe, good to see you.

[00:23:28]Do you know this chocolate?

[00:23:31]Do you know this chocolate?

[00:23:32]Yeah? Eddie, can you taste it?

[00:23:36]So this chocolate is very unique to Amsterdam, right? Or to the Netherlands.

[00:23:41]It's called Tony's Chocolonely.

[00:23:45]And I want you to just stand a bit closer so that I can show you how the inside of this chocolate looks.

[00:23:51]Come and join me.

[00:23:53]Chloe, do you also want to see?

[00:23:55]Come and look.

[00:23:56]So shall we open it?

[00:23:58]What do you think it looks like inside?

[00:24:02]Dark?

[00:24:05]Dark brown?

[00:24:06]Let's have a look.

[00:24:08]With some nuts inside. Let's have a look.

[00:24:14]Dark brown with nuts inside. You were completely right. Yeah, yeah, oh.

[00:24:19]And let's turn it around. Look at this.

[00:24:22]Have you ever seen a chocolate that looks like that?

[00:24:26]Now imagine that we were to divide this chocolate among us, right?

[00:24:32]And I say, you know what, Emmanuel, you can have this piece.

[00:24:37]But then Esther, you can have this piece over here.

[00:24:41]How How does that sound to you?

[00:24:45]This one's much bigger and this one's much smaller, right? So if I give Emmanuel this piece and you this piece, that's a little bit unfair. Don't you think?

[00:24:54]Apparently, the reason why they make the chocolate like this is to teach us that sometimes it happens that life is unfair. Some people only get a small part and some people get a very big part.

[00:25:09]And what we are talking about today is that the spirit of God comes to give each person an equal piece, not only of the chocolate, but of life. God wants the same thing for every person.

[00:25:24]God wants every person to be happy, to live in freedom, to have enough food to eat, to have a safe place to stay. And when that doesn't happen, when some people get a small part and others get a big part, then you know what happens? God sends his spirit to set things right so that every person gets their due, gets what's what comes to them.

[00:25:49]Right?

[00:25:51]Now, I don't want to get you too excited for the service. So, this is the promise. If you come to me after the service, we can share this chocolate equally. Does that sound like an idea?

[00:26:02]Fantastic. Thank you. You can have a seat again.

[00:26:06]Eddie.

[00:26:25]Okay, all children are welcome, always.

[00:26:30]Let's sing together hymn 608, Spirit of Truth and Grace.

[00:27:03]>> [music] [music] >> Spirit of joy and peace.

[00:27:21]>> [music] >> Come to us >> [music] >> in this grace.

[00:27:30]Heart [music] may we be one.

[00:27:35]>> [music] >> Open our >> [music] >> eyes to see truth and >> [music] >> love and liberty.

[00:27:51]Help us to live >> [music and singing] >> in the will of God and grow together.

[00:27:59]>> [music] >> Spirit of joy and peace.

[00:28:05]>> [music] >> May all our strife >> [music] >> now cease.

[00:28:13]With knowledge of the word >> [music] >> and prayer may we be one.

[00:28:23]>> [music] >> May we grow to love all that we >> [music] >> have known.

[00:28:32]May our joy that we each day be >> [music] >> uncontrolled and merry.

[00:28:43]>> [music] >> Spirit of light and love.

[00:28:49]>> [music] [music] [music] [music and singing] [music] [music] >> Good morning.

[00:29:56]Our first reading this morning is from the Gospel according to Luke from chapter 4 verses 16 to 20 which you can find on page 59 of your pew Bibles.

[00:30:22]When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day as was his custom.

[00:30:31]He stood up to read and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him.

[00:30:37]He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it is written The spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.

[00:30:52]He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind to let the oppressed go free to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.

[00:31:11]And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down.

[00:31:18]The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.

[00:31:24]Here ends the first lesson.

[00:33:34]>> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> Our second reading is from the book of the prophet Isaiah.

[00:36:08]Chapter 11 verses 1 to 5 and 9 to 10.

[00:36:13]And this can be found on page 650 of the Old Testament section of your pew Bibles.

[00:36:29]A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.

[00:36:39]The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

[00:36:54]His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.

[00:37:00]He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth.

[00:37:17]He shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.

[00:37:27]Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins.

[00:37:40]They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the the sea.

[00:37:54]Here ends the second reading. Thanks be to God for his holy word.

[00:38:11]>> Let's contemplate these readings as we sing hymn 600, Spirit of God unseen as the wind.

[00:38:32]>> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [singing] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [singing] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> Let us pray.

[00:41:16]Lord, will you send upon us your spirit and inspire us to be agents of transformation in our communities, in our families, and in our world.

[00:41:28]Amen.

[00:41:31]>> [clears throat] >> Last Sunday, we imagined ourselves standing with Pope John Paul II on Victory Square in Warsaw in 1979 as he prayed for the spirit to come down and renew the face of the earth.

[00:41:54]And as a result, we said we saw things change very concretely in Poland.

[00:42:02]Today, I would like to invite you to time travel with me yet again.

[00:42:08]This time, imagine yourself standing at 312 Azusa Street in Los Angeles.

[00:42:19]The year is 1906.

[00:42:23]We move into the building as we listen to the Reverend William J. Seymour give a powerful sermon on Acts 2, the work of the Spirit.

[00:42:36]But something strange starts to happen.

[00:42:40]First one and then six others in his meeting begin to speak in tongues and shout aloud praising God so loudly that the neighborhood was alerted.

[00:42:54]The news quickly spreads.

[00:42:57]The The whole city is moved.

[00:43:00]Crowds begin to gather at the church.

[00:43:03]Services are then moved outside to accommodate all the people who is coming from all around.

[00:43:09]And people fall down as they approach and attribute it or attribute it to God.

[00:43:17]People say that they believe that they were baptized by the Holy Spirit and that the sick have been healed.

[00:43:27]In fact, people are so moved by this moment that they begin to say of themselves for centuries later or for years later, "I am saved, sanctified, and filled with the Holy Ghost."

[00:43:45]What we have just witnessed was the start of what would later be known as the charismatic or the or Pentecostal Christianity. Probably one of the biggest movements in Christianity today, which social scientists say will in the next more or less 20 years reach 1 billion people.

[00:44:05]Now, what I find surprising is that this event at Azusa Street, which was the birth of Pentecostalism, has often been reduced over time to a group of people displaying all these external signs and wonders, such as speaking in tongues and healings and prophecy, but with little meaning for people today.

[00:44:33]But perhaps the power of that Pentecostal revival, as many people say, was not in the weird manifestations of speaking in tongues and healing, but rather in the miracle of black and white people worshipping together, of men and women preaching together and decrying racism and sexism by their very presence in one place.

[00:45:03]Because see, in 1906, that was the height of the Jim Crow era era of racial segregation.

[00:45:11]It was 14 years prior to women having the right to vote in the United States.

[00:45:16]Yes yet here in this service on Azusa Street, the world was turned upside down in that moment.

[00:45:27]And divine equality set in by the powerful work of the Spirit.

[00:45:37]And so perhaps this is the question we need to ask ourselves today as we are looking at the attributes and the character of the Spirit in the Bible.

[00:45:46]Have we perhaps focused so much on the strangeness and the weirdness of the Spirit of God manifesting in all these ways that seem quite strange to us, that we forget that the spirit of God is a spirit of justice and equality that radically joins people together to carry God's heart of justice into the world.

[00:46:18]To put it bluntly when the spirit of God comes down to rest on us justice comes down to rest on us.

[00:46:30]Segregation is diminished, people are made equal, and the most vulnerable fringe figures are drawn to the center of power.

[00:46:43]That is what happened on 312 Azusa Street.

[00:46:48]That's what happened at Pentecost.

[00:46:50]And that's perhaps what is still happening today when the spirit moves.

[00:46:57]And once we see this it becomes hard to miss when we read the Bible.

[00:47:04]In fact understanding the spirit of God as a spirit of justice and inclusion and mercy and equality may be one of the central keys to understanding the work of spirit throughout the whole scripture.

[00:47:19]Take Isaiah for example, from which we just read.

[00:47:23]In three passages in Isaiah, Isaiah 11 Isaiah 42 and Isaiah 61 we hear the promise that the spirit of God will come to rest upon a Messianic savior-like figure.

[00:47:46]As soon as the spirit of God rests upon this person, Isaiah tells us that person receives power and authority.

[00:48:00]And that power and authority comes with a certain calling.

[00:48:04]And that calling is always in exactly this order and structure to establish justice, to do mercy, and to share the knowledge of God in the world.

[00:48:20]This calling is not only for the sake of of the person who receives the spirit, but for the sake of all people.

[00:48:31]In other words, the one upon whom the spirit rests is uniquely responsible for the restoration of justice, for the showing of mercy, and fulfilling the land with the knowledge of God.

[00:48:48]Now, what is striking about these specific three things, justice, knowledge of God, and mercy, are that they are the three central pillars of the law of God.

[00:49:06]From the very start of the Bible, if you read Exodus, for example, perhaps if you've ever tried to read those laws, they can be quite confusing and dense.

[00:49:15]Why were these laws given? What sense do they make?

[00:49:19]A quite a few people have said that if we look closely at the law, we we see that it can be divided into three parts.

[00:49:29]They are laws that deal with matters of justice in the legal sense of the word. If you wrong someone, there are repercussions.

[00:49:40]Then there is a second group of laws concerned with how to worship God publicly, the cultic laws. These laws are all about how much water you can use at the altar, what kind of animals you can sacrifice and eat and so on.

[00:49:56]The life around the temple of God.

[00:49:59]But then there is a third group and perhaps a little less obvious.

[00:50:04]But apparently when we look at it closely, it seems to teach people how to live in such a way that they do not trample on others or misuse them.

[00:50:18]Ways to live so that you do not enhance yourself at the cost of others.

[00:50:25]These are the laws one might say that deal specifically with mercy. And we've talked about this once before here in church.

[00:50:35]The law gives many concrete examples of this.

[00:50:39]It is all about how we treat slaves and foreigners and strangers and widows and orphans and the poor and people without power and status.

[00:50:51]What is important about this specific group of laws though is that they aren't optional.

[00:50:59]As though the law merely hopes that people will be nice to the poor or start some sort of charity initiatives or care for widows and orphans on a sort of random basis.

[00:51:14]No, for the law, these provisions of mercy belong at the center of a society.

[00:51:22]And are meant to be lived out rhythmically as part of one's ordinary routine as a society.

[00:51:31]So caring for the vulnerable in our society must become a policy.

[00:51:36]It must become a way of life, a pattern by which the society is known.

[00:51:43]It is all about placing the poor, widows, orphans at the center of society so that they may share in the privileges of that community.

[00:51:54]Whether that is economic means, or political power, or social standing, they draw the fringe people out and place them in the center.

[00:52:05]What is striking though at the is that these laws of mercy are really the measure of how well a society is doing in biblical times.

[00:52:15]According to the law, there can be no justice where there is no mercy.

[00:52:20]What is called right cannot truly be right if it only further oppresses the poor, the orphan, and the widow.

[00:52:29]In the same way, a true and genuine relationship with God, our worship, a real knowledge of God, is not possible without justice and mercy.

[00:52:40]So, if mercy is absent, then both our relationship with God, and our sense of justice, what is right in the world, are damaged.

[00:52:49]Then our society is ill and in need of healing and repair.

[00:52:55]If worship takes the place without it takes place without justice and mercy, it becomes a misuse of worship.

[00:53:04]It becomes grotesque.

[00:53:06]And so, the prophets would say it bluntly, God is sickened by our offerings and worship when there are members of society that are being marginalized, excluded, and mistreated.

[00:53:20]And so, in short, as soon as this mercy is forgotten, the whole community begins to crumble.

[00:53:29]The balance, the beautiful balance that God set in place, starts to spin into all kinds of directions.

[00:53:39]And so, whenever the other laws are balanced with these laws on how to treat the vulnerable, then we see a society that can really start to flourish, that can live in peace, shalom.

[00:53:59]And so, that was a bit of a detour just about the law.

[00:54:02]But, if we understand that, then we begin to understand what Isaiah meant when he said that the spirit of God comes to rest on someone.

[00:54:12]Because that person becomes responsible for maintaining this delicate balance between justice and mercy and worship.

[00:54:24]They receive special powers, in other words, to set things right.

[00:54:31]And so, Isaiah tells us, "But, with righteousness he shall judge for the poor and decide with equity for the oppressed of the earth.

[00:54:41]Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins."

[00:54:49]This person will bind up the brokenhearted, proclaim liberty to the captives, and release the prisoners, and comfort those who mourn.

[00:54:59]This is what it looks like, in other words, when the spirit of God comes to rest on someone.

[00:55:08]Life is restored because the law of mercy and justice are being taken seriously.

[00:55:18]When Jesus then comes, so the story goes, this is exactly what happens.

[00:55:24]The spirit descends on him when he is baptized in the river river Jordan.

[00:55:30]And from that moment onward, we see Jesus being the Messiah who establishes justice, mercy, and the knowledge of God.

[00:55:42]He later begins preaching in the synagogue, and then he opens the scroll of Isaiah, the text we just read this morning, and then he tells the people there, "The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor."

[00:56:00]And he goes on to explain what that means.

[00:56:03]In other words, what Isaiah had promised now takes shape in the life of Jesus.

[00:56:12]The life of Jesus was a life of justice and mercy, of setting things right.

[00:56:24]And so, now at Pentecost, as the story continues, this is exactly what happens to us.

[00:56:33]The same spirit of God that came to rest on Jesus comes to rest on us.

[00:56:41]We now become the custodians of righteousness in the places where we live and breathe.

[00:56:50]At Pentecost, Peter reminds everyone there that the disciples are fulfilling what has been proclaimed, that in God's kingdom, young and old, men and women, and especially the poor will prophesy.

[00:57:05]To prophesy is to carry a message of the mind of God into the world.

[00:57:13]And the thing is, God's mind is always on justice, on the end of oppression, on living fully and equally.

[00:57:26]And so, what Pentecost tell us is that we all have messages about defending life.

[00:57:35]Messages that God wants others to hear.

[00:57:38]The Holy Spirit is moving in our midst, resting on us.

[00:57:45]And the question is, how will we become agents of justice, and mercy, and righteousness in our communities?

[00:57:56]Amen.

[00:58:24]Let's sing together hymn 616, There's a spirit in the air. And we will sing verses one and two, and then verses four to seven.

[00:58:53]>> [music] >> There's a spirit in the air.

[00:59:06]>> [music] >> Telling Christians everywhere.

[00:59:12]>> [music] >> Grace and love of Christ we >> [music] >> share.

[00:59:25]Living >> [music] >> by faith and prayer.

[00:59:30]No >> [music] >> mortal can stay.

[00:59:37]Tell the world >> [music] >> what God has done.

[00:59:44]God in Christ has come >> [music] >> to save.

[00:59:51]Let all mortals bow.

[00:59:55]>> [music] >> Sing the Spirit >> [music] >> is our light.

[01:00:07]Sing the Father sent in light.

[01:00:12]>> [music] >> God in Christ has come to save.

[01:00:20]Let all >> [music] >> mortals bow.

[01:00:29]Praise the >> [music] >> Spirit Father all Praise the Son all >> [music] >> Praise the Christ we know.

[01:00:49]>> [music] >> Here we worship Thee in the world.

[01:00:59]Praise the >> [music] >> Spirit in our praise.

[01:01:06]Guide our >> [singing and music] >> thoughts and change our ways.

[01:01:14]>> [music] >> has come to save.

[01:01:17]>> [singing] [music] >> Let all mortals bow.

[01:01:27]>> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> Oh my God, let us pray.

[01:02:30]Great and awesome God, help us now to concentrate in prayer, and please have patience with us.

[01:02:40]We may think we know what we need and what we need to ask you for, but only you can truly see into our hearts and only you know exactly what we need.

[01:02:53]We do need humility and meekness in our lives.

[01:02:57]Teach us to humble ourselves before you and before others, acknowledging our dependence on you and our need for your grace.

[01:03:07]Give us the same mind as Jesus, who humbled himself and took the form of a servant.

[01:03:14]Clothe us with humility towards one another, for you give grace to the humble.

[01:03:21]Spirit of life and power, revive us in this hour, and stir our hearts to praise with true devotion. Fill us with heavenly fire, and every heart inspire, that we may serve the world with your compassion.

[01:03:38]Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

[01:03:43]Loving Father, give us direction and guidance in our lives. We often lose our way and forget where we were heading.

[01:03:53]Lead us by your spirit and by your word into your perfect will.

[01:03:58]Show us the path that you have prepared and make our steps firm.

[01:04:03]Lord, be our light and our lamp, our shepherd and our guide.

[01:04:08]Help us to seek you with all our heart and acknowledge you in all our ways.

[01:04:14]Help us to discern your voice from the noise of the world, and follow you faithfully wherever you call us to do your work.

[01:04:23]Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

[01:04:29]Oh God, we need physical, emotional, and spiritual healing.

[01:04:34]We come before you asking you to be bring restoration and wholeness to our bodies, minds, and souls.

[01:04:41]Lord, we pray for doctors, nurses, and medical professionals.

[01:04:46]Grant them wisdom, skill, and compassion.

[01:04:50]May your healing power flow through them and bring comfort and relief to those who are suffering.

[01:04:56]Strengthen the faith of those of us who are sick and our loved ones, and remind us of your faithfulness and love.

[01:05:06]May the spirit fill our praise, guide our thoughts, and change our ways. God in Christ has come to stay. Live tomorrow's life today.

[01:05:16]Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

[01:05:19]Glorious Lord, please be with us as we face challenges, trials, and difficulties.

[01:05:26]Grant us strength and endurance to persevere.

[01:05:29]We often feel lost and powerless.

[01:05:32]Help us to trust in you and to rely on your grace and power.

[01:05:37]Help us not to grow weary or lose heart, but to renew our strength in you.

[01:05:43]Lord, be our shield and defender, our rock and fortress.

[01:05:47]May we May we overcome every obstacle by your spirit and experience your victory in our lives.

[01:05:55]Isaiah told us the Lord is the everlasting God who does not faint or grow weary. He gives power to the faint and increases the strength of those who have no might.

[01:06:06]Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles.

[01:06:13]They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint.

[01:06:19]Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

[01:06:23]Dear Father, we need wisdom and understanding in our lives. We often fool ourselves convinced of our own righteousness and strength and ability.

[01:06:33]Give us a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of you and the immeasurable greatness of your power towards those who believe.

[01:06:42]Lord, be our wisdom and our teacher, our counselor and guide.

[01:06:47]Give us wisdom in faith without doubting.

[01:06:50]Be with us all in all our decisions and actions glorifying you in everything we do.

[01:06:57]Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

[01:07:01]Prince of peace, we live in fear, anxiety, and turmoil. The world and your creation groans in pain and suffering.

[01:07:10]Fill us with your peace that surpasses all understanding, guarding our hearts and minds.

[01:07:16]Lord, please be our refuge and strength, our help and hope.

[01:07:22]We may cast all our cares upon you, knowing that you care for us.

[01:07:28]May we experience your presence and power in the midst of our troubles.

[01:07:33]Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

[01:07:37]Lord of hope, we often feel hopeless and discouraged. Sometimes we see no way forward.

[01:07:44]Help us then to recall your promises to us.

[01:07:48]Fill us with your hope which does not disappoint.

[01:07:52]Anchor our souls in your promises and your faithfulness.

[01:07:56]Lord, be our hope and future, our anchor and assurance. Let us rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, and constant in prayer.

[01:08:06]Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

[01:08:11]Wonderful Father, we need joy and happiness in our lives.

[01:08:15]Sometimes our lives are so filled with bad news that we are almost overcome by the weight of our responsibilities.

[01:08:23]Fill us with your joy that is unspeakable and full of glory.

[01:08:28]Lord, be our joy and crown, our delight and reward.

[01:08:33]May we rejoice always in you, giving thanks in all circumstances.

[01:08:39]Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

[01:08:43]Loving God, give us love and acceptance in our lives. Pour out your love into our hearts by your Holy Spirit.

[01:08:51]Lord, be our love and life, our friend and father. We will never fathom how wide and long and high and deep your love for us is, for that surpasses all knowledge.

[01:09:05]Make us love you with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.

[01:09:09]Make us love one another as you love us.

[01:09:12]Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

[01:09:17]Without your help, we fail, our Lord. We cannot live this his way.

[01:09:21]We need your power. We need your strength following Christ each day.

[01:09:26]Spirit of God, unseen as the wind, gentle as is the dove, teach us the truth and help us believe.

[01:09:33]Show us the savior's love.

[01:09:36]Faithful God, we need faith and trust in our lives.

[01:09:40]Increase our faith and help us to trust in you and your promises.

[01:09:45]We sometimes question our faith and have difficulty believing, but you still believe in us.

[01:09:52]Lord, be our faith and assurance, our confidence and conviction. Help us to be faithful to you and to your calling.

[01:10:00]Send us your spirit.

[01:10:02]Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

[01:10:06]Amen.

[01:10:18]Let's now have a moment for the offering.

[01:11:00]>> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> Mhm.

[01:12:59]>> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> Mhm.

[01:14:50]>> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [applause] >> Let us pray.

[01:18:29]Lord, will you take this offering and the offering of our lives and use it as you will.

[01:18:36]Amen.

[01:18:42]The spirit is not only a spirit of justice.

[01:18:46]The spirit is also a spirit of creativity, creation, and imagination.

[01:18:52]So, for the next 3 weeks, we will be exploring those themes. The spirit of creation, imagination, and creativity. And I invite you warmly to join us uh for that. Let's sing together our closing hymn 626, Holy Spirit, Truth Divine, verses 1 and 2 and 4 to 6.

[01:19:36]>> Holy [music] Spirit, Truth Divine, breathe upon >> [music] >> this soul of mine.

[01:19:46]Give me the power and live the >> [music] >> light.

[01:19:54]Make my spirit pure and my heart.

[01:19:59]Holy Spirit, Love Divine, >> [music and singing] >> dwell within this heart of Kindle every hallowed desire.

[01:20:14]Perish naught [music] of sin and earthly Holy Spirit, Mighty Light, >> [music] >> give me within my conscious might give me >> [music] [music] [music] [music] >> May the grace of our Lord and friend Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you now and forever.

[01:21:51]>> Amen.

[01:21:55]Amen.

[01:21:56]>> [music and singing] >> Amen.

[01:22:00]Amen.

[01:22:03]>> [music and singing] >> Hallelujah.

[01:22:31]>> [music] >> Hallelujah.

[01:22:43]Hallelujah.

[01:22:49]Hallelujah.

[01:22:54]Hallelujah.

[01:22:59]Hallelujah.

[01:23:02]>> [music] >> Hallelujah.

[01:23:09]Hallelujah.

[01:23:15]Hallelujah.

[01:23:20]Hallelujah.

[01:23:25]Hallelujah.

[01:23:31]Hallelujah.

[01:23:36]Hallelujah.

[01:23:41]Hallelujah.

[01:23:46]Hallelujah.

[01:23:52]Hallelujah.

[01:23:57]Hallelujah.

[01:24:02]Hallelujah.

[01:24:07]Hallelujah.

[01:24:13]Hallelujah.

[01:24:18]Hallelujah.

[01:24:23]Hallelujah.

[01:24:25]Amen.

[01:24:27]Amen.

[01:24:30]Amen.

[01:24:32]Amen.

[01:24:35]Amen.

[01:24:37]Amen.

[01:24:40]Amen.

[01:24:43]Amen.

[01:24:45]Amen.

[01:24:48]Amen.

[01:24:50]Amen.

[01:24:53]Amen.

[01:24:55]Amen.

[01:24:58]Amen.

[01:25:00]Amen.

[01:25:03]Amen.

[01:25:06]Amen.

[01:25:08]Amen.

[01:25:11]>> [music] >> Amen.

[01:25:13]Amen.

[01:25:16]Amen.

[01:25:18]Amen.

[01:25:21]Amen.

[01:25:24]Amen.

[01:25:26]Amen.

[01:25:29]Amen.

[01:25:31]Amen.

[01:25:34]Amen.

[01:25:36]Amen.

[01:25:39]Amen.

[01:25:41]Amen.

[01:25:44]Amen.

[01:25:47]Amen.

[01:25:49]Amen.