This week’s Prayers and Readings :
The Collect for the 4th Sunday after Easter
Almighty God, whose Son Jesus Christ is the resurrection and the life: raise us, who trust in him, from the death of sin to the life of righteousness, that we may seek those things which are above, where he reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen
The Post Communion Prayer for this Sunday
Merciful Father, you gave your Son Jesus Christ to be the good shepherd, and in his love for us to lay down his life and rise again: keep us always under his protection, and give us grace to follow in his steps; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
The Psalm for this Sunday is Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. 2He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; 3he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning is now and shall be forever. Amen
The First reading for this Sunday is taken from the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 4, verses 5-12
5 The next day their rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem, 6 with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. 7 When they had made the prisoners stand in their midst, they inquired, ‘By what power or by what name did you do this?’ 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers of the people and elders, 9 if we are questioned today because of a good deed done to someone who was sick and are asked how this man has been healed, 10 let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead. 11 This Jesus is “the stone that was rejected by you, the builders; it has become the cornerstone.” 12 There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.’
This is the Word of the Lord Thanks be to God
The Gospel reading for this Sunday is taken from the Gospel according to to St John, Chapter 10, verses 11 - 18
Hear the Gospel of our Lord, Jesus Christ, according to John Praise to You, o Lord !
11 ‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.’
This is the Gospel of the Lord Praise to You, o Christ
The sermon this week is based on the following reading from the book of the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 1, verses 1 - 8
In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning 2 until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3 After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over the course of forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. 4 While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. ‘This’, he said, ‘is what you have heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’6 So when they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?’ 7 He replied, ‘It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’
This is the Word of the Lord Thanks be to God
The sermon this week is delivered by Rev'd Rod Bevan
The Holy Spirit Empowers Us
I want to suggest that for a lot of us one of the biggest problems we have faith wise is telling other people about Jesus, telling them about the faith we’ve discovered. For many of us we feel nervous about talking about faith because we wonder what people will think of us. Or we just feel we don’t know what to say – we feel awkward and ill equipped. There is nothing new in this. Jesus knew that would be a problem even for the first disciples, let alone us. And he had an answer. This is what Luke tells us: “On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command:‘Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptised with water, but in a few days you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit.’ “
The Gift
We may have all kinds of hang ups about talking to others about Jesus. Jesus had an answer and it was a gift he wanted all believers to receive. The gift was and is the Holy Spirit. A gift promised by God the father and spoken about by Jesus himself. I love the idea that the Holy Spirit is a gift. Gifts are given for all kinds of reasons, but all gifts say that the recipient means something to the giver. Jesus said wait for this. Don’t attempt anything until you have the gift. Then receive it. A gift only truly becomes a gift when its received. The gift of the Holy Spirit has been given, but have we received it – have we opened the package and got to know the gift or are we still looking at the wrapping paper?
The Baptism with The Holy Spirit
The second thing that Luke tells us about is the expectation that the disciples will be baptised with the Holy Spirit. Receiving a gift is one thing but what is Luke trying to tell us here. To be baptised means to be dipped, plunged into or immersed in something. And Luke is telling us that the disciples had to wait to be immersed in the Holy Spirit. Think of a sponge soaking up water. Luke says the disciples will soak up the Holy Spirit. Its a great image. Its very different from the idea that when we become a Christian we get a little dose of Jesus, a little of God coming to live in us. Luke’s image is one that speaks of the Holy Spirit literally soaking into every part of our being, soaking into our minds, our human spirits, our actions and behaviours, our speech and influencing the way we live. What would you rather have? A drop of the Holy Spirit landing on your head or literally being soaked in the Holy Spirit from head to toe? The latter is more biblical so ask to be baptized with the Holy Spirit.
The Power of The Holy Spirit
It’s in verse 8 that the real purpose of all this comes to light. Luke tells us that Jesus gave his disciples an explanation for why they should wait for the gift of the Holy Spirit, why they should be baptized with the Holy Spirit; “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ Jesus wants witnesses. We wants witnesses in every age and in every place. The disciples were to be his witnesses. We are to be his witnesses, telling people about Jesus – who he is, what he did for us on the cross – taking our sin , taking our punishment and then through his resurrection opening up the way for us to have a relationship with the God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And to do this effectively we need the Holy Spirit to empower us, to equip us to speak , because otherwise we are hesitant and timed and reluctant. The Holy Spirit comes first of all with the power that enables us to speak when we don’t feel capable. If the church in this valley is to grow we need the power of the Holy Spirit because without that power we will lack the courage and the determination and the words to speak of Jesus. The Church in this place needs the power of the Holy Spirit to enable it to fulfil its purpose. If you know Jesus you can be a witness. But to be more than a Silent Witness you need the power of the Holy Spirit – to fire you up, send you out and show you the words to say.
Writer and Christian leader Francis Chan wrote “Yes, it is God who works in you. And, yes, there is work for you to do. Yes, the Spirit empowers you to do the work. And, yes, you do the work.” Like Paul, who said that he did everything for the sake of the salvation of others, we too should live our lives as personal witnesses of Christ, his resurrection, and everything else that he did. And we can only do that with the power of the Spirit working in us. Do you want to be a Spirit Powered disciple in a Spirit powered Church? Let’s call on the Holy Spirit to be the fire burning in us now.