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Text: Prepare
On this Pentecost Sunday, thank God for the fulfilment of his promise to his prophet Joel that 'I will pour out my Spirit on all people' (Joel 2:28). Thank God for his Spirit in you and in his church.
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Bible passage: Bible reading: Psalm 67

Psalm 67

For the director of music. A psalm. A song to be played on stringed instruments.
1 God, show us your favor. Bless us.
May you smile on us with your favor.
Selah

2 Then your ways will be known on earth.
All nations will see that you have the power to save.
3 God, may the nations praise you.
May all of the people on earth praise you.
4 May the nations be glad and sing with joy.
You rule the people of the earth fairly.
You guide the nations of the earth.
Selah

5 God, may the nations praise you.
May all of the people on earth praise you.
6 Then the land will produce its crops.
God, our God, will bless us.
7 God will bless us.
People from one end of the earth to the other
will have respect for him.

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Text: Explore the Bible

How things should beThis wonderful psalm, in the form of a prayer, gives us a vision of how things should be - and one day will be.
On the one hand we have a vision of what God will do. He pours his blessings on all peoples, and he smiles upon them (v 1). He rules and guides the nations justly (v 4). As a result his ways and his salvation are known across the face of the earth (v 2).
Renewal and restoration

To this generous blessing the peoples of the earth respond with grateful, heartfelt praise and worship (vs 3-5). And there's a wonderful result of this generous blessing and joyful response. The whole created world will enter into renewed and restored fruitfulness: 'the land will yield its harvest . and all the ends of the earth will fear him' (vs 6,7). One day, all of God's wonderful creation will be healed and restored.
The Jewish feast of Pentecost was the day when the first fruits of the harvest were celebrated. The gift of God's Spirit is the 'firstfruits' (Romans 8:23) of the restoration of all things, of God's final glorious harvest.
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Text: Respond
Praise God that you are part of his harvest - and that you have your own part to play in bringing in the rest of the harvest, for him.
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Text: Deeper Bible study

When God called Abraham, he blessed him to be a blessing to the nations (Genesis 12:2,3). This psalm begins with the Aaronic blessing (v 1; Numbers 6:24-26) and quickly proceeds to the blessing of the nations through Israel. It is important that God's people long for the nations to come to know God's ways and to experience his salvation (v 2). God chose the Jews so that through them he might save and bless all the nations, this being God's mission. Notice how frequently the words 'nations' and 'peoples' appear in this psalm. They reveal God's heart for the nations.
Today is Whit Sunday. At the original Pentecost, 'God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven' were gathered, and when they heard the Spirit-filled disciples speaking in tongues, 'each one heard their own language being spoken' (Acts 2:5,6). This was a great reversal of the event at Babel, when God dispersed sinful humankind with a confusion of languages (Genesis 11:1-9). The Pentecost event revealed God's ultimate plans for the nations. Among those gathered on that day were Egyptians and Arabs. We are reminded of what God said through Isaiah: 'Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance' (Isaiah 19:23-25). God's salvation and blessings are not only for Israel, but for all nations, even her enemies.
The prayers of the psalmist correspond to the actions of God in his mission to the nations of this world. We too must pray likewise, sharing the heart of God for all the peoples of earth, longing to see all nations saved by God's grace, all praising God. We must pray that God will bless all nations and that 'all the ends of the earth will fear him' (v 7). With people from many nations now living near you, you can turn your prayers into missional action.
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Text: Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year. Today's readings are:

1 Kings 6,7

1 Corinthians 12

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