Another beautiful sunny day at the bandstand. It is on mornings like this I rejoice that we can meet outside.

The warmth of the sun, the spectacular scenery, the bird song, people looking relaxed and happy dressed in their colourful summer togs. We would miss all this inside four walls.

Opening Worship.

Open our eyes to see the beauty of your world – seeds caught in a lovely spiders web over the river.

God of generosity, justice and peace come into our midst this morning,

Breathe your breath,

Your Holy Spirit,

Your enlivening,

Your imagination on us.

Wake us up,

Open our eyes,                                                                                                                   

Unplug our ears;

That we might hear,

That we might see,

That we might grieve,

That we might dream.

That we might follow the ways of your extraordinary kingdom. Amen.

(Jonny Baker)

Spiritual Gifts

With the season of Pentecost almost upon us Grayden led us with some thoughts about Spritual Gifts. This followed on from a full and frank discussion at the Kenyons when everyone had shared their experiences after discussing the book we are looking at.

 Chapter entitled “Charismatic Streams” in Michael Mitton’s :Travellers of the Heart. 

Grayden talked about some of what Michael Mitton called shadow side of the Charismatic movement and we were sent away with the following questions to consider:

The Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts.

• Do we need to think much more widely about what spiritual gifts are?
• Don’t we all use spiritual gifts when preparing and presenting worship at Third Space and Soul Space?
• Aren’t we using spiritual gifts when we encourage and thank each other for preparing and presenting worship? Do we need to make a point of encouraging others even more?
• Are we put off spiritual gifts because we only associate them with tongues, prophecy and healing?
• Are we shy of talking about spiritual gifts because we think that much of the language used by charismatics is insincere and false?
• When you hold a door open for someone or let someone into a traffic queue don’t you get a feeling of that’s how life should be – generous, considerate and inclusive? Are these actions gifts of the Spirit?

Thinking about spiritual gifts.

Our discussions continued over coffee … 

Third Space hopes to be like the early Christian monks who set off in their coracles, sails hoisted, so the wind of the Spirit could take them forward.

So we need to continue to be open to the leading and guiding of the Holy Spirit.

DISCUSSIONS TO BE CONTINUED …

Bread and wine to share

The bread and wine of Jesus.

This is the bread and wine of new expectations

This is the bread and wine where everyone can come to receive

This is the bread and wine for those who haven’t met Jesus yet

This is the bread and wine of reconciliation

This is the bread and wine of acceptance

This is the bread and wine of the kingdom of God

This is the bread and wine of justice and generosity

This is the bread and wine of community

This is the bread and wine of Jesus, our Lord

adapted from Jonny Baker

Closing Prayer.

Kindle in us a love for the wild beauty of the creation of God.

Fan the flame of passion for community.

Heat us to white hot with yearning for culture to be transformed,

And people to know the God who breathed life into them.

Spark in us a fire which rages with all consuming heat against injustice, oppression and evil.

Bright flame, for whom Aidan of Lindisfarne was named,

Passed on from generation to generation,

From winter to winter,

From summer to summer,

From day to day,

Set alight in us the love of the Christ who walks in the world,

Blow on us with the wind of the Spirit…………Amen.

Jonny Baker worship trick 89