Coming out of Sunday March 21’s teaching on “The Holy Spirit”, spend some time in prayerful reflection and dialogue with your Home Church/Friends/Family around any combination of these questions:
- Reflect back on Sunday’s message. How did God speak to you? What is one thing you took away from the message?
- Jeff spoke about two extremes that Christians and Churches sometimes take regarding the Holy Spirit: 1. To overly fixate on Him, or 2. To ignore Him. Which side of the ‘poll’ do you find yourself on at times? Why?
- What are some of the reasons why Christians and Churches tend to ignore the Holy Spirit? If this has been your experience, why do you think you have ignored him? What has this looked like for you?
- In his book called “The Forgotten God”, Francis Chan said: “We are not all we were made to be when everything in our lives and churches can be explained apart from the work and presence of the Spirit of God.” How do you react to this quote? Can you think of any examples of this in your life or in the church?
- Romans 8:11 says, “The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you.” How could this truth impact the way we approach our daily lives, including some of the struggles that we face (i.e. sin/addiction issues, discouragement, negative attitudes etc…)? Why is it that we so often ‘forget’ this truth and do not live into it?
- Jeff talked about 8 different things that the Holy Spirit does, according to Scripture:
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He is our Helper (Jn 14:16)
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He leads us into all truth (Jn 14:17, 16:13)
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He gives us wisdom and revelation (1 Cor 2:10-12)
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He convicts us of sin (Jn 16:8)
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He leads and guides us (Rmns 8:14)
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He gives us spiritual gifts (1 Cor 12:4-6)
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He sanctifies us and makes us more like Jesus (Gal 5:16-23)
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He empowers us to be His witnesses (Acts 1:8)
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- Which one(s) most resonate with you? Why? What would it look like for you to ‘live into’ this? Take some time to reflect on the different things that the Holy Spirit does in our lives, looking at the corresponding verses. What is the Holy Spirit saying to you?
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Jeff wrapped up with two reflection questions. Spend some time discussing these two questions, and then spend time in prayer together as a group:
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1. In what ways am I trying to live the Christian life in my own strength and ability instead of the Holy Spirit’s power
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2.What is one step I can take to be more intentional to live in dependence on the Holy Spirit this week?
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