Pentecost Praise Songs of Praise

Oh, hello.

We're at a very special birthday party,

and you've joined us just in time for the cake!

ALL: Happy birthday!

Yes, it's Pentecost Sunday,

the day that Christians celebrate the birth of the Church.

# Happy birthday to you...

Far too many candles on this cake!

This week, we're in Nottingham for some Pentecost praise.

We find out what's attracting crowds to city centres,

and the party continues

with some lively Pentecost music led by Steve Thompson.

Pentecost is certainly a red-letter day for Christians

here in the East Midlands,

eager to mark one of the most important festivals

in their calendar.

People from all over Nottingham

have come to St Nic's church in the heart of the city centre

to celebrate Pentecost

with worship leader Steve Thompson and his band.

We begin our Pentecost fest with a well-known song

written by a local lad

who was also the founder of the Salvation Army -

the one and only William Booth,

O God of Burning, Cleansing Flame.

Pentecost, to me, is when the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples

to empower them and equip them to what they needed to do.

Pentecost, for me,

means that Christianity's not just religious actions that we go through

but that God is really real, by the Holy Spirit he's really here.

The moment of Pentecost and the consequence of it through the generations

is real and active and living in my life today.

In order to understand Pentecost,

we need to go back to the very beginning, to the Bible.

It was 50 days after Easter,

and Jesus's disciples were gathered together in Jerusalem.

As they were praying, the Holy Spirit descended on them.

The disciples became elated, began to speak in different languages,

and at that very moment, 3,000 people were converted.

In Nottingham, we love Pentecost.

We have prayer meetings with people

from all sorts of different churches,

praying for the revival of the Church

but also that we will bring

love and peace and harmony within the city of Nottingham.

And it is because of the Holy Spirit being poured out at Pentecost.

We're not individual Christians, we belong together as a family.

When I think about where is God right now,

I know that he is with me, as the Holy Spirit is with me right now.

The Holy Spirit is somebody who's constantly with me.

He's a companion, gives me advice on what to say

when I don't really know what I'm doing.

If you've got the Holy Spirit to talk to,

you're getting the instincts, getting the knowledge of God,

who created everything and knows everything.

So what or who is the Holy Spirit?

When Christians speak of God, we speak of God the Father,

God the Son, the Lord Jesus,

and God the Holy Spirit.

But the whole purpose of the Holy Spirit is to point people

to the Lord Jesus and to glorify him.

This morning, you can see there's a gentle wind.

I can't touch it, I can't feel it, but it's real.

The Holy Spirit is just as real.

You can't touch him, you can't feel him, but he's real.

When I read my Bible and meet with Jesus there,

that's the Holy Spirit helping me.

When I join with other people in worship from all languages and nations,

like the first Pentecost,

it's the Holy Spirit welling up in my heart,

helping me to worship Jesus.

Modern worship songs have become a popular part of the Christian music scene,

and music director Steve Thompson

has been leading worship for many years.

You're just encouraging people not just to sing songs

but to use songs to worship.

Music is a wonderful, universal language,

and it's amazing, you know - you can get a group of people together,

you start playing a selection of music...

# Once again I look upon the cross where you died... #

..and it will affect each individual so differently.

# ..mercy and I'm broken inside

# Once again I thank you

# Once again I pour out my life. #

I just think music is just a beautiful gift

that God has given this planet for our pleasure,

for his pleasure - you can use music to worship.

But it joins people together

in a very, very special way.

I believe everything that I do is because of my faith.

And certainly leading worship, I am saying,

"I know who I'm singing about."

If you do not know Jesus, well, certainly by the end of the worship

may you not only find him through the songs we're singing

but who I am.

# In Christ alone my hope is found... #

I can sing the same song over and over again,

and each time I sing the song,

I see a different aspect of the lyrics.

And I believe the Holy Spirit helps us

to see a little bit further than with the natural eye

and very much inspires the way I lead worship.

Leading worship is not just the leading of the songs,

it is really living a life of worship.

And the Holy Spirit helps me to do that.

I love those moments of worship where it becomes personal,

the individual is communicating with God,

God is communicating with the individual.

The Christian Church has been growing

since that first Pentecost

and now numbers more than a billion around the world.

Here in Nottingham, a group of city-centre churches

are finding that their contemporary style of worship

is attracting bigger congregations.

# Joyful music leads us sunward

# In the triumph song... #

'The gospel is the power of God and if we actually'

believe the message and give people a sense of value

and worth to their lives, then they are going to want to sign up.

Give them something they die for, they have something to live for.

THEY SING

'That is all at the core of why,'

in any community - there are other cities, I'm sure, like Nottingham -

but the favour of God does appear to be on a number of congregations.

THEY SING

'David, there seems to be'

a great lot of action between the churches. What are you all doing?

There is a lot of prayer, there is a lot of prayer for one another.

THEY PRAY

'I think, in the churches, there is a sense

'where there is a grace come upon us'

to touch people's lives. We are humbled by that.

There is a definite commitment, in the different spiritualities

to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives as individuals

and in us as communities, that we are going to help people.

David's church is still growing and work

has just started on a new, even bigger, building.

And across town, another church is so popular

it is meeting in a converted warehouse.

Trent Vineyard has gone from strength to strength

since it was founded 15 years ago.

It began with a congregation of just two and now has 2,000

and rising, with about 1,500 people attending on a Sunday.

Such is its popularity, it has even outgrown this enormous building.

THEY SING

And unusually for a church, they even have a bar,

where people can relax and chill after a service. Cheers!

'I think the Christian community owes it to the nation to say,

"You may have been told that God isn't around anymore

"and the Church is redundant.

"People have said that for 2,000 years and we're still here."

I'm trying to inspire a younger generation to say,

"Look, the Gospel is as good as it was 2,000 years ago.

"It has transformed the world.

"There are hundreds of millions of Christians, living in faith,

"to the ends of the Earth. The Gospel is penetrating the world

"more than in any other generation."

People in Britain and Europe need to believe in the Gospel again

and let the Gospel advertise itself.

In the early days, Christians didn't worship in church buildings,

but at home, where they met to pray and discuss their faith.

2,000 years on, Johnny Kinch has rekindled the idea,

but with a modern twist. He brings people together

in their local coffee shops.

Ladies and gentlemen, there are two new

Sunday Night Lives opening tonight!

CHEERING

# ..empty, if you had not filled me

# You are where I begin... #

'Sunday Night Live was about putting on an event

'that would attract people in'

out of a desire, out of an interest, to see fantastic music

in a great coffee shop, because there is a massive cafe culture.

# This is how you bring me round... #

'It's for Christians'

and non-Christians. It's to showcase the Church, in all of its greatness

and all of its glory.

APPLAUSE

We're not here to preach, not here to teach,

but what we want to do is inspire people to live better...

'As Christians, it's lovely to actually'

see something going on that is accessible to everybody.

I'd like to find out a bit about Danny's faith.

-You're a Christian, Danny?

-Yep.

'People come up and do their testimonies, say why they love God'

and all that. Yeah, it's been really great. It's lovely here.

Get yourselves a coffee, get yourselves a drink.

Introduce yourself to somebody you don't know. Let's make new friends.

'Live music, good coffee, just a nice chance just to chill.'

What more could you want?

We want communities to come together, to go away refreshed

and encouraged and equipped...

I came over to check everything was all right between you.

Oh, a relationship counsellor as well as a doctor? You must be busy.

Sunday Night Live is a change of direction for Johnny.

On screen he was a successful actor,

appearing in soaps and sitcoms, but in real life,

the picture was very different.

'I was absolutely aware that I had problems, but like most people,'

I didn't want to own up to it. I was in denial.

'I had an enormous hole that I was trying to fill with drugs, drink,

gambling, relationships - whatever I could fill in there,

to get satisfaction for a short period of time.

One minute, there I was working on television in different programmes,

the next minute, I'm walking into a hostel and I just wanted a bed.

I was so low and they recognised me and yet, I was so embarrassed,

I felt so distraught inside. They eventually gave me a bed

and they couldn't believe I was asking for a bed.

And so, that was a very, very difficult time.

I now know you can't fill a spiritual hole with physical stuff.

In essence, I challenged God - "I'll give you a certain amount

"of time to change my life."

I've got drug dealers after me. I owe this money, that money.

I've got a drug problem myself, alcohol problem, gambling problem.

I'm swearing, I'm fighting.

I thought, "If you can make something out of that,

"then all the best to you."

Thousands of people across the UK...

'Before I met God,

'I denied Him, I denied everything that was good.

'Now, I've met Him, now I've been empowered

by the Holy Spirit, I'm quite happy to say,

"Fantastic, look at what God can do with something

"that was rubbish and turn it into something good."

# In your presence there is fullness of life

# And healing flowing for body, soul and mind

# God of miracles

# God of the impossible is here

# God is here

# God is here

# Let the brokenhearted

# Rejoice

# God is here

# Let the sick say

# "I am well"

# God is here

# Let the weak say, "I am strong"

# God is here

# His wonders to perform

# In your presence there is perfect peace

# In the stillness I behold your deity

# God of wonders

# God of power is here

# God, God is here

# God is here

# Let the brokenhearted rejoice

# Lift up your head

# God is here

# Let the sick say

# "I am well"

# All sufficient One

# God is here

# Let the weak say, "I am strong"

# Let the weak say, "I am strong"

# God is here

# His wonders to perform

# Oh, His wonders

# Yes, His wonders

# His wonders to perform

# Oh, His wonders

# Yes, His wonders

# His wonders to perform

# His wonders to perform. #

Holy Spirit, sent by the Father,

ignite in us your holy fire.

Strengthen your children with the gift of faith.

Revive your church with the breath of love.

And renew the face of the Earth

through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Amen.

We've nearly come to the end of our programme here in Nottingham,

but we will be back to hear more about this great city

and its thriving church community.

And we finish our Pentecost celebration with a song

that reminds us that today's church started with just 12 men

and now there are over a billion Christians over all the Earth.

Next week on Songs of Praise, the countdown to London 2012 begins.

Aled Jones takes a look inside the Olympic Stadium,

as the builders are about to move out,

and meets the vicar who needs to don a hard hat

to visit his parishioners.

And, of course, some fantastic hymn singing.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

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