5-31-20 Sermon Notes “Are You Thirsty for More?” Pentecost Sunday

Have you ever awakened in the morning with a song stuck in your head? Sometimes, it is really annoying, like when you have a jingle from a commercial stuck in head…or a song you don’t even really like stuck there…just stuck there, looping over and over. Other times, though, the song seems to fit where you are, and becomes a prayer on your lips. I had two songs in my head this morning, and they both fall into the “prayer” category…not the “annoying” category.

One is “Fill My Cup, Lord”

Like the woman at the well, I was seeking
For things that could not satisfy
And then I heard my Savior speaking –
“Draw from My well, that never shall run dry.”

Fill my cup, Lord;
I lift it up Lord;
Come and quench this thirsting of my soul.
Bread of Heaven, feed me till I want no more.
Fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole.

This song fits in so well with the Scripture that we will read this Sunday – Pentecost Sunday:

37 On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, 38 and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.’” 39 Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified. (John 7: 37-39 NRSV)

The song, “Fill My Cup, Lord,” is a prayer that is a perfect match for one of our Pentecost Prayers. It is a prayer for the Lord to come and fill those thirsty places in us…the places that cannot be quenched by the things of the world. On the day when we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit, we pray, “Fill us with the Holy Spirit, too! Fill us to overflowing! We lift our cups to you, Lord!”

The other song I had in my head goes to the other Pentecost Prayer. It is a little chorus that we used to sing when I was in church growing up. It’s Called “River of Life.”

I've got a river of life flowing out of me
Makes the lame to walk and the blind to see,
Opens prison doors, sets the captives free.
I've got a river of life flowing out of me.
Spring up, O well, within my soul.
Spring up, O well, and make me whole
Spring up, O well, and give to me
That life abundantly

We need both these Pentecost songs. We need both these Pentecost prayers. We need the Holy Spirit to fill our cups, don’t we?! But let’s not forget, we need to ask the Holy Spirit to be a river of life flowing out of us. Abundant life is not something that we keep all to ourselves!

Join us this Pentecost Sunday online through livestreaming on our website, or through our GFUMC Facebook live broadcast. Start a watch party! Help us celebrate Pentecost Sunday.

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Sam