THE service on Pentecost Sunday, May 19, at Crediton Methodist Church, was planned by the Worship Group and led by Pam Murphy. The theme was “In the power of the Spirit”.

In Acts we read that the Holy Spirit filled the 11 disciples and they went out speaking in different languages so that all people in Jerusalem from different nationalities could understand them.

This was the start of the Christian church. Without Pentecost there would be no church.

Hilary said that if, like popular TV programmes, she had surveyed 100 people and asked them to name a Christian celebration, she thought the majority would say Christmas – a time when we send cards, give presents and hang decorations.

If she then asked those 100 people to name another Christian celebration, a good proportion might have said Easter – again we send cards and give gifts of chocolate eggs.

How many, though, would have known about Pentecost.  We do not send cards, give gifts or hang decorations, although later we would do just that.

Pam showed an image of the famous painting “The Light of the World” by Holman Hunt.

He is illustrating Revelation 3.20 which says “Here I am, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me”.

Holman Hunt felt strongly about being inspired to paint this picture of Jesus knocking at the door that is overgrown by plants because it has not been opened in a long time.

He said “I painted the picture with what I thought, unworthy though I was, to be divine command, and not simply a good subject”. 

We can see the door in the painting does not have a handle on the outside. The only way to open it is from the inside. It represents (and I quote) “the obstinately shut mind”.

Marjorie told us about an experience her mum had – one that she witnessed. It was a very personal moment and Marjorie felt she can share it with us.

It is now time for me to speak about my own experience of the day the Spirit came to me.

Here is where the painting comes in, because, as a young person, there were times when I heard Jesus knocking at the door of my heart and I would open the door a crack and then say “I can’t come out today” and shut the door again.  God’s patience was and still is so amazing! He did not give up. 

The day came when I was about 30 when I knew I needed Him and wanted to have Him in my life.

Then I opened the door of my heart wide to let Him in. And God was there, waiting to welcome me.

In the course of that day if felt like God came to me as our Father, as the Son – my brother, friend who somehow let me know that He would always be with me on my pilgrim journey. At the end of that day I felt a powerful warmth that was the beginning of me being enabled to follow Jesus.

From there, my Christian journeying began and it continues – as it does for us all – in the power of God – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

John Wesley spoke about “The Day of Pentecost” that every believer can have. Next Sunday is Trinity Sunday – also Aldersgate Sunday, commemorating the day when John Wesley felt “his heart strangely warmed”  – and when this happened, he was already an ordained minister.

Pentecost is not something that happened only once about 2,000 years ago and that was that! The Holy Spirit is at work in the world now, and will be tomorrow and in all the world’s tomorrows. At work in you and me. 

All of us will probably recall the fruits of the spirit that Paul lists in Galatians – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control.

They become part of who we are as we live our lives in Christ Jesus.

Paul urges us to “keep in step with the Spirit” so that we can recognise these within ourselves, and we can see how this fruit in us, that comes through the Holy Spirit, can be powerfully transforming of lives in every way that we interact with other people in all sorts of situations.

Being ordinary people, with our human traits and frailties, we rely on being “refreshed” with the Spirit’s power and we can prayerfully ask for that.

Each member of the congregation and those listening on line, were given a flame on which to write what we would like to receive from the Holy Spirit. These flames were used to decorate our Pentecost Tree.

Bronwyn Nott