On the Feast Day of Pentecost all the believers were together in one place. Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, there was a sound like a raging cyclone - and nothing could be heard above it anywhere in the house. And then the Holy Spirit burst in among them like a bushfire, with sparks and fireballs leaping out to engulf every one there. With fire in their guts and the Holy Spirit unleashing their tongues, they began to speak of God in languages they had never learned.

Now in Jerusalem at that time, there were faithful Jewish pilgrims from all over the world. The wild noise among the believers quickly drew a crowd. What they heard bewildered them because everyone, no matter where they were from, heard their native language being spoken by the believers. Almost unable to believe their ears, they asked:

“Don’t all these people come from Galilee? How come we can all hear them speaking our own native languages? Some of us are Parthians, some Medes, others Elamites. There are people visiting here from Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the Cyrenene occupied parts of Libya. There are immigrants from Rome, both ethnic Jews and converts. Some here are even Cretans and Arabs! But these Galileans are speaking all our languages and telling us about the extraordinary things God has done.” 

They were all in a spin, unable to make head nor tail of what was happening. They kept asking one another what was going on and what it could all mean. Others though, just sneered and said, “They’ve been on the turps. They’re just a bunch of drunks.” 

Peter stood up with the other eleven and addressed the crowd as loudly and clearly as he could:

“Men and women of Jerusalem, locals and visitors, listen up and I’ll let you in on what this is all about. If you think that these people are drunk, you are wrong. Think about it - the pubs aren’t even open this early in the morning. No, what is happening here was explained long ago in the words of the prophet Joel: 

“This is what I will do
when time reaches its climax, God declares: 

I will pour out my Spirit on everyone.

Your sons and your daughters
shall speak as prophets.
The young among you will see visions,
and the old will dream dreams. 

  I even have men and women among those
whose rights no one cares about,
and in those days
I will pour out my Spirit upon them too;
and they shall proclaim my justice. 

  I will perform miraculous signs in the sky above
and awesome wonders on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and clouds of smoke. 

  The sun will go black and the moon blood-red
before the dawning
of the awesome and glorious day of the Lord. 

  And everyone who cries out to the Lord
shall be saved.”

©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Acting on the LORD’s instructions, Moses sent for seventy of Israel’s most respected and influential tribal elders and had them assemble in a circle around the Sacred Tent while he went inside. The LORD came down, hidden in cloud, and spoke with Moses. As they talked, the LORD touched the seventy elders with the same spirit that was at work in Moses. During the short period of time that the spirit rested on them, they were all shouting words of prophesy.

Two of the seventy elders who Moses had sent for were named Eldad and Medad. They had not made it to the Sacred Tent, but the spirit touched them just like the others and they began shouting words of prophesy right where they were in the camp. A young man ran and reported this to Moses, saying “Eldad and Medad are shouting like prophets in the camp!”

Joshua son of Nun, who served as right hand man to Moses, said, “You can’t let them do that, Boss. Have them stopped.”

But Moses replied, “Why? Are you worried about protecting my position? I only wish that the LORD would give the same spirit to all the people so that the whole lot of them would become prophets!”

After that, Moses and the tribal elders all returned to the camp.

©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

O LORD, what a wildly fabulous world!
Working hand in hand with wisdom
you have made
an earthful of wonderful creatures. 

Just look at the deep wide sea,
swarming with life beyond our imagining,
from coral to crayfish, from mussels to marlin.

Ships plough the waves,
while mythical monsters cavort in the depths.

Like seagulls at a picnic,
every creature looks to you for food.

They gather around in eager expectation,
and gorge themselves when you open your hand. 

If you turned your back, they’d be panic stricken;
if you withdrew your Spirit
they would have nothing to breathe,
their bodies would quickly crumble.

But when you breathe your spirit into them,
life sprouts up fresh and fragrant again
and the earth itself is revived.

Glorious is all you do, LORD,
may you be honoured forever.
May everything created be a joy to the LORD.

One look from the LORD makes even the earth quiver;
one touch and even the mountains erupt.

With every breath I will sing to the LORD;
as long as there is life in me,
I will give honour to my God in song.

Even my unspoken thoughts I offer to the LORD,
for the LORD is a delight to me. 

May wickedness be wiped from the earth,
may enemies of life no longer be found.

O bless the LORD, everything within me.
Praise the LORD! 

©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

If you hear people say, “For better or for worse, we’ll do what Jesus wants,” you can take it as read that they couldn’t have said that if the Holy Spirit was not a force in their lives.

When it comes to spiritual abilities, there is a huge variety, but you can trace them all to the same Spirit. There are all sorts of different ways of doing the Lord’s work, but it’s the same Lord who is served in all of them. Some people get enthused and energised about one thing, some about another, but it is the same God who fires the passions in both.

The Spirit is at work in everyone, and that work takes shape in each person in a way that will be of benefit to all. In one person you see it expressed in the ability to give wise advise; that ability has been given through the Spirit. In another person you see the ability to draw on a wealth of knowledge for the benefit of others; that too comes from the Spirit. Another person is able to keep trusting God when everyone else starts doubting, and of course faith like that comes from the Spirit. Someone else has a gift that enables them to heal the sick, and you guessed it, the same Spirit again! Someone else can work miracles, someone else can tell you what God wants you to hear. Another has the uncanny ability to discern what sort of spirit is behind whatever’s going on. Another is gifted with the ability to speak strange languages and still another with the ability to translate them. All these gifts, and more still, are triggered off in people by one and the same Spirit. The Spirit takes account of each person’s unique potential and decides accordingly how best to equip them.

The Church is a single body — the body of Christ. In some ways it is just like your own body; it is made up of many different parts, each with their own jobs to do, but it is still one body. When we were baptised, we became part of Christ’s body. The Holy Spirit integrated us all into this one body and so now we are first and foremost identified with the body, rather than with our individual characteristics. Whatever your nationality, and whatever your occupation or background, you all tap into the one Spirit for your life, just as all the cells in the body are nourished in the same way through their relationship to the whole.

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

On the Feast Day of Pentecost all the believers were together in one place. Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, there was a sound like a raging cyclone - and nothing could be heard above it anywhere in the house. And then the Holy Spirit burst in among them like a bushfire, with sparks and fireballs leaping out to engulf every one there. With fire in their guts and the Holy Spirit unleashing their tongues, they began to speak of God in languages they had never learned.

Now in Jerusalem at that time, there were faithful Jewish pilgrims from all over the world. The wild noise among the believers quickly drew a crowd. What they heard bewildered them because everyone, no matter where they were from, heard their native language being spoken by the believers. Almost unable to believe their ears, they asked:

“Don’t all these people come from Galilee? How come we can all hear them speaking our own native languages? Some of us are Parthians, some Medes, others Elamites. There are people visiting here from Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the Cyrenene occupied parts of Libya. There are immigrants from Rome, both ethnic Jews and converts. Some here are even Cretans and Arabs! But these Galileans are speaking all our languages and telling us about the extraordinary things God has done.” 

They were all in a spin, unable to make head nor tail of what was happening. They kept asking one another what was going on and what it could all mean. Others though, just sneered and said, “They’ve been on the turps. They’re just a bunch of drunks.” 

Peter stood up with the other eleven and addressed the crowd as loudly and clearly as he could:

“Men and women of Jerusalem, locals and visitors, listen up and I’ll let you in on what this is all about. If you think that these people are drunk, you are wrong. Think about it - the pubs aren’t even open this early in the morning. No, what is happening here was explained long ago in the words of the prophet Joel: 

“This is what I will do
when time reaches its climax, God declares: 

I will pour out my Spirit on everyone.

Your sons and your daughters
shall speak as prophets.
The young among you will see visions,
and the old will dream dreams. 

  I even have men and women among those
whose rights no one cares about,
and in those days
I will pour out my Spirit upon them too;
and they shall proclaim my justice. 

  I will perform miraculous signs in the sky above
and awesome wonders on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and clouds of smoke. 

  The sun will go black and the moon blood-red
before the dawning
of the awesome and glorious day of the Lord. 

  And everyone who cries out to the Lord
shall be saved.”

©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

It was a Sunday – the first day of the week – when the tomb was found empty. That same evening, the disciples met together. They locked all the doors of the house where they were meeting because they were afraid of being tracked down by the religious authorities. Suddenly, Jesus appeared and stood among them saying, “Good evening to you all!”

He proceeded to show them the deep scars in his hands and side. The disciples, of course, were over the moon at seeing the Lord again. Jesus spoke again, saying, “All the best to you. God sent me into the world, and in the same way, I’m sending you.”

Having said that, he breathed a big breathe onto them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit; all of you. If you forgive anyone who has sinned, then their sins are forgiven. If you withhold forgiveness for any sins, they remain unforgiven.”

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Jesus was speaking to the crowds in the Temple on the big final day of the sacred festival. Rising to his feet, he cried out, “If any of you have a raging thirst that will not go away, come to me. Any of you who will trust me, come and drink deep. The scriptures promised this, saying, ‘Rivers of life-giving water will well up from deep within you.’”

Jesus was referring to the Holy Spirit who was soon to be given to those who put their trust in him; but at this time no one had yet received the Spirit, because the moment of glory for Jesus had not yet come.

©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Let us lift up our hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.

It is indeed right to give you our thanks and praise, O God,
for you have amazed us with your deeds of power.

With your own hands you shaped the creation
and filled the earth with your wonders.
You breathed into us and we rose from the dust;
the face of the earth came alive.
From the cloud you spoke to Moses
and through your prophets you promised
to pour out your Spirit on all flesh.

In these last days you sent your child, Jesus the Christ,
to speak your words of mercy and peace.
Though he was killed, you raised him to new life,
and now he comes to all who are thirsty,
pouring out the new wine of the Spirit,
intoxicating us with visions and dreams,
awakening within us your marvellous gifts
of wisdom, faith, healing, prophesy and discernment,
and firing our tongues with everlasting songs of joy.

Therefore with .....

©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

We give you thanks for your son, Jesus Christ,
who pours out the new wine of your Spirit,
intoxicating us with visions and dreams,
and awakening within us your marvellous gifts
of wisdom, faith, healing, prophesy and discernment.

©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
for you have amazed us with your deeds of power.

With your own hands you shaped the creation
and filled the earth with your wonders.
You breathed into us and we rose from the dust;
the face of the earth came alive.
From the cloud you spoke to Moses
and through your prophets you promised
to pour out your Spirit on all flesh.

In these last days you sent your child, Jesus the Christ,
to speak your words of mercy and peace.
Though he was killed, you raised him to new life,
and now he comes to all who are thirsty,
pouring out the new wine of the Spirit,
intoxicating us with visions and dreams,
awakening within us your marvellous gifts
of wisdom, faith, healing, prophesy and discernment,
and firing our tongues with everlasting songs of joy.

Therefore, with our hearts lifted high,
we offer you thanks and praise at all times
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.

©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Hear the words of Christ:
“If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven them.”
Therefore know for sure
that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord
will be saved.

Sisters and Brothers,
  your sins are forgiven;
    be at peace.

©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Go out into the world,
sent as Christ Jesus was sent,
gifted and empowered for the common good.
Dream dreams, pursue visions
and speak of God’s goodness
in the words of those who would hear.

And may God give hope to your dreaming;
May Christ Jesus set rivers of life flowing within you,
and may the Holy Spirit unite you as one body and set you ablaze with joy.

We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
   In the name of Christ. Amen.

©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net