welcome
Imagine that you are writing a postcard to a close friend back at home. What would you say on it? This can be a helpful way of finding out how everybody is doing at the moment.
worship
It might be a good idea, as we are start looking at the Holy Spirit, to take communion together.
One way to do this would be to put in the middle of the room a loaf of bread and a glass of wine and some other things that symbolise aspects of the Trinity. For example, a candle (light of the world), an incense stick (the fragrance of the Holy Spirit), a bible (the word) and so on. You could then spend time thinking and praying on your own about each of the symbols before praying together and then taking the bread and the wine.
word and witness
read
Romans 8:14-16. He helps us relate to God as our father.
Galatians 4:6,7. He makes us children who are heirs and not simply slaves.
Ephesians 1:13,14. His presence in our lives guarantees this inheritance.
2 Corinthians 3:18. His glory transforms us to become like the Lord.
John 16:13. He is the one who shows us the truth.
2 Thessalonians 2:13. We are saved through his sanctifying work and truth in our lives.
discuss
Understanding what the bible says about the person of the Holy Spirit is vital if we are to experience the Holy Spirit more fully in our lives. Using these verses, briefly discuss the characteristics of the Holy Spirit.
reflect
In some churches, the Holy Spirit is seen simply as the power of God, referred to as “it” or portrayed as impersonal, scary, or not mentioned much.
question
Is that true in your experience or knowledge of Christianity?
It is quite clear from the verses above that the Holy Spirit is one who is very involved in our lives and the developing of our faith and relationship with God.
discuss
What are the reasons that the Holy Spirit has been misunderstood or ignored?
There are all sorts of reasons: eg the Enlightenment - emphasis on man not spirit; world religions - emphasis on creator, impersonal God not Son or Spirit, or fear of demonic supernatural; rationalist evangelicalism - emphasis on personal salvation through the person of Jesus, unbelief and resistance to intimacy and vulnerability between us and God - John 14:17.
further reading
Jesus’ view of the Holy Spirit is interesting. In John 14-17, he talks a great deal about himself, the Father and the Holy Spirit. His understanding of the Holy Spirit is that, above all, he is our friend, counsellor, helper who will guide us, convict us, empower us and lead us to Jesus.
When we become Christians the Holy Spirit lives in us - we become his temple and the more we are filled with the Spirit the more like Jesus we become. Throughout the bible people are anointed with the Spirit of God and receive power to live and act in God’s will. Jesus now baptises, floods, overwhelms us with his Spirit so that we are more full up with him. Sometimes our experience of this filling is challenging, convicting and humbling. Sometimes it is exciting, comforting and liberating.
Paul clearly teaches that everyone who is a Christian has the Spirit of God already living within him or her. However, he also encourages us to keep on being filled with the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 5:18).
think
What evidence of the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life do you have that you can give thanks for (remember that the Holy Spirit is as much about changing our characters as giving us gifts!).
- Tell one another about your own experiences and changes through being filled with the Holy Spirit.
Do be aware of different levels of experience in people. Watch out for people who have never experienced the Holy Spirit and perhaps are shy to say so and nervous about being prayed for.
Encourage them to be bold!
application
Pray for one another to be filled with the Spirit of God. You simply need to ask him (Luke 11:13), obey him (Acts 5:32) and be prayed for (Acts 8:17). You may want to pray specifically for an aspect of the Holy Spirit’s person that you need more revelation of.
Pray particularly that the Holy Spirit will help us in evangelism and then pray that the Holy Spirit would minister to our friends.
