228

Send Us Your Spirit

Scripture References

Confessions and Statements of Faith References

Further Reflections on Confessions and Statements of Faith References

It is difficult to isolate certain confessional themes in each song about the Holy Spirit. Rather, there are several themes that are woven together in nearly all of these songs. The Holy Spirit is identified as one with the Father and the Son in the Holy Trinity; we plead for the coming and indwelling of the Spirit in our lives; the Spirit’s work is evident in creation and in God’s people throughout redemptive history; the Spirit calls and empowers the church for mission; and the Spirit is the source of power, fruit, and hope. These themes are expressed in confessional statements such as these:

  • Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 20, Question and Answer 53 testifies, “…the Spirit, with the Father and the Son, is eternal God.” In addition, the Spirit “makes me share in Christ and all his benefits, comforts me, and will remain with me forever.”
  • Our World Belongs to God has helpful references to these multiple themes of the Spirit’s work and ministry.
    • “Jesus becomes the baptizer, drenching his followers with the Spirit, creating a new community where Father, Son and Spirit make their home” (paragraph 28)
    • “The Spirit renews our hearts and moves us to faith… stands by us in our need and makes our obedience fresh and vibrant” (paragraph 29).
    • “God the Spirit lavishes gifts on the church in astonishing variety…equipping each member to build up the body of Christ and to serve our neighbors.”
    • “The Spirit gathers people from every tongue, tribe and nation into the unity of the body of Christ” (paragraph 30).
    • “Men and women, impelled by the Spirit go next door and far away…pointing to the reign of God with what they do and say” (paragraph 30).  
  • Our Song of Hope also contributes very clearly regarding the Spirit’s work:

    • “The Holy Spirit speaks through the Scriptures…has inspired Greek and Hebrew words, setting God’s truth in human language, placing God’s teaching in ancient culture, proclaiming the Gospel in the history of the world” (stanza 6).

    •  “The Holy Spirit speaks through the church, measuring its words by the canonical Scriptures…has spoken in the ancient creeds, and in the confessions of the Reformation” (stanza 7).
    • “The Spirit sends [the church] out in ministry to preach good news to the poor, righteousness to the nations, and peace among all people” (stanza 16).
    • “The Holy Spirit builds one church, united in one Lord and one hope, with one ministry around one table” (stanza 17).
    • The Spirit calls all believers in Jesus to respond in worship together, to accept all the gifts from the Spirit, to learn from each other’s traditions, to make unity visible on earth” (stanza 17).

“…The Spirit works at the ends of the world before the church has there spoken a word” (stanza 20).

228

Send Us Your Spirit

Call to Worship

God of life,
as we prepare for worship today,
help us not to take lightly the highly charged message we proclaim.
Help us sense the power, beauty, and mission of your Spirit.
Through Christ, our Lord, Amen.
[The Worship Sourcebook]
— Worship Sourcebook Edition Two
Lord God,
especially today as we remember the coming of your Spirit,
teach those of us who lead worship not to rely on our own strength
to make worship meaningful and inspiring.
Rather, give us joy and freedom in knowing that worship is a gift
made possible by the work of your Holy Spirit.
Through Christ, our Lord, Amen.
[The Worship Sourcebook]
— Worship Sourcebook Edition Two
God will pour out the Spirit on all flesh,
and our daughters and sons shall prophesy.
Our old ones shall dream dreams,
and our young ones shall see visions;
and all who call upon the name of the Lord shall be delivered.
Come, let us call upon the name of the Lord.
—based on Acts 2:17-21
— Worship Sourcebook Edition Two

Words of Praise

Holy Spirit, you are the fire of holiness
that surrounds the throne of God.
You burn away our sin and blindness;
you fill us with the beauty and purity of Jesus, our Lord. Amen.
[Reformed Worship 31:4]
— Worship Sourcebook Edition Two

Confession

Burn in us this morning, Holy Spirit.
We give you the places of our hearts
that have been choked by the cares of this world.
We give you our tiredness, our sin, our struggles with apathy.
We await your fiery cleansing. Amen.
[Reformed Worship 31:4]
— Worship Sourcebook Edition Two
Sovereign Lord,
you have anointed us with your Spirit,
yet we have not shared your great gift.
Create in us a clean heart, O God.
Restore to us the joy of your salvation.
We have not proclaimed your good news to the poor.
We have not bound up the brokenhearted.
Create in us a clean heart, O God.
Restore to us the joy of your salvation.
We have not proclaimed your freedom to the captives.
We have not comforted those who mourn.
Create in us a clean heart, O God.
Restore to us the joy of your salvation.
Forgive us for closing our eyes to the needs of others.
Forgive us for limiting your abundance.
Create in us a clean heart, O God.
Restore to us the joy of your salvation.
Open our minds, Lord. Open our hearts, Lord.
Open our hands, Lord. Open our lips, Lord.
Give us a willing spirit to show your love to your world. Amen.
—based on Psalm 51; Isaiah 61
[The Worship Sourcebook]
— Worship Sourcebook Edition Two
God of grace, we grieve that the church,
which shares one Spirit, one faith, one hope, and one calling,
has become a broken communion in a broken world.
The one body spans all time, place, race, and language,
but in our fear we have fled from and fought one another,
and in our pride we have mistaken our part for the whole.
Yet we marvel that you gather the broken pieces to do your work,
that you bless us with joy, with growth, and with signs of unity.
Forgive our sins and help us to commit ourselves
to seeking and showing the unity of the body of Christ.
In his name, Amen.
—based on Our World Belongs to God, st. 40
— Worship Sourcebook Edition Two

Blessing/Benediction

Reader 1: “Lord God, we hear your Word today:
Reader 2: “When the day of Pentecost came, they were together in one place,
and those disciples heard a violent wind and saw tongues of fire upon each of them.
Filled with the Holy Spirit, they spoke in strange tongues,
and the people around them thought they were drunk!
But Peter quieted the crowd,
reminding them of the prophet Joel’s words from long ago,
that our God would pour out his Spirit,
and that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Reader 1: “So now too, Lord, may we, your people,
speak your name and trust your Spirit;
may we see your Son at your right hand and not be shaken.
With glad hearts and rejoicing tongues, may we call upon your name.”
—based on Acts 2
[The Worship Sourcebook]
— Worship Sourcebook Edition Two
Loving God,
we have heard your call to live as one body.
We thank you for your Son, the head of the body.
We praise you for your Spirit, who works to make us one.
Now as we leave to worship you
in our work, fellowship, and leisure,
we pray for the grace to live together in harmony.
We pray for imagination
to find ways to strengthen our unity in Christ.
We also pray for courage
to carry out these commitments in a spirit of joy,
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
— Worship Sourcebook Edition Two

Additional Prayers

Come, Creator Spirit, and move over this chaotic world.
Come, Creator Spirit, and bring life to this world.
Come, Creator Spirit, and move over the chaos of our lives.
Come, Creator Spirit, and bring us new life. Amen.
[Reformed Worship 35:20]
— Worship Sourcebook Edition Two
Spirit of the living God, visit us again on this day of Pentecost.
Come, Holy Spirit.
Like a rushing wind that sweeps away all barriers,
come, Holy Spirit.
Like tongues of fire that set our hearts aflame,
come, Holy Spirit.
With speech that unites the Babel of our tongues,
come, Holy Spirit.
With love that overlaps the boundaries of race and nation,
come, Holy Spirit.
With power from above to make our weakness strong,
come, Holy Spirit. Amen.
[Reformed Worship 39:32]
— Worship Sourcebook Edition Two
God of the church, your Son prayed that we might be one—
the one body of Christ throughout the whole world.
Fill us with your love, we pray,
that we may be brought to complete unity,
so all may know that you sent Christ
and that you have loved us even as you loved Christ.
We long to see your glory in the church. Amen.
— Worship Sourcebook Edition Two
God of rushing wind,
coming from where it wants
and going to where it wants,
pour out your Spirit upon us.
God of fire,
flaring on gathered disciples
and burning away their stubborn pride,
pour out your Spirit upon us.
God of miraculous speaking and hearing,
amazing the faithful
and riveting their attention to what is about to happen,
pour out your Spirit upon us.
God of the young who see visions,
of the old who dream dreams,
of male prophets and female prophets,
pour out your Spirit upon us.
God of wonders above and signs below,
God of blood and fire and billowing smoke,
God of blackened sun and bloodied moon,
pour out your Spirit upon us.
You raised up Peter to prophesy on Pentecost,
Peter to preach straight truth to a crooked generation,
Peter to accuse people he loved of complicity in the death of Jesus;
pour out your Spirit upon us.
God of wind and fire and tongues,
God of visions and dreams and prophecies,
God of signs and wonders,
pour out your Spirit upon us.
You raised up Peter to preach Jesus to a skeptical audience,
and with the two-edged sword of Peter’s word
you cut through the armor of a crooked generation,
you pricked their hearts and saved them.
Great God, send your Spirit to save us too.
You sent your Spirit to assail hard hearts.
You sent repentance and faith,
baptism and forgiveness,
teaching and fellowship, communion and prayer.
Great God, send your Spirit to save us too. Amen.
[The Worship Sourcebook]
 
— Worship Sourcebook Edition Two
Almighty Lord of the church, we pray to you
from rural meeting houses and downtown cathedrals,
from ranch homes and thatched-roof huts,
from factories, hospitals, and classrooms:
Make your people one!
Almighty Lord of the church, we pray to you
with saints of old and newborn disciples,
with your church around the world,
with men, women, and children:
Make your people one!
Almighty Lord of the church, we pray to you:
Fulfill in us the prayer of Jesus to make your people one. Amen.
— Worship Sourcebook Edition Two
228

Send Us Your Spirit

Tune Information

Name
SEND US YOUR SPIRIT
Key
D Major
Meter
Irregular

Recordings

Musical Suggestion

This is a classic of liturgical renewal repertoire. Guitar should be the lead instrument, and a cantor (soloist) should sing the stanzas when the song is first introduced. This song balances the heavier feel of some of the other Spirit invocations in the following pages. It would follow well after D minor Pentecost songs like and Lift Up Your Hearts #232 “Come, Holy Ghost” and #239 “Wind Who Makes All Winds That Blow”.
— Greg Scheer
228

Send Us Your Spirit

Author and Composer Information

David Haas (b. Bridgeport, Michigan, 1957) resides in Eagan, Minnesota, where he is director of The Emmaus Center for Music, Prayer and Ministry and serves as campus minister at Cretin-Derham Hall in St. Paul, Minnesota where he also directs the CDH Liturgical Choir.
 
Highly regarded as one of the preeminent liturgical music composers in the English-speaking world, he has produced more than 45 collections of original music. His liturgical works are sung and prayed throughout the world and appear in hymnals of many Christian denominations and in many languages.
 
David’s newest projects with GIA include A Changed Heart, Your Call Is Constant (a book of prayers and reflections), and Mass for A New World. Other recent projects with GIA include Living Spirit, Holy Fire; God Is Here, and Reach Toward Heaven. His live recording and video “Glory Day” continues to receive international acclaim, and he has served as a consultant for the various editions of the popular GIA hymnals Gather and Gather Comprehensive.
 
— GIA Publications, Inc. (http://www.giamusic.com)

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