Does God's church have a mission, or does God's mission have a church? This week we'll explore the mission we find in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. This God-centered mission comes to full speed as God pours his Holy Spirit into it and sends us out, filled with his Spirit.
In Romans 8 Paul says that the Holy Spirit brought about our adoption into God’s family. This week we’ll explore this unique gift of being daughters and sons of God. As God’s children we experience new freedom that we didn’t have before, and we have an inheritance waiting for us because “we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.” May the Holy Spirit grant us joy and power as true children of the living God.
For the past few weeks we’ve celebrated what God has done for us through the Holy Spirit, which is all true, yet sometimes we don’t experience it fully. Why are there still so many ups and downs in the life of faith? This week we’ll explore our role in the Bible’s charge to us that we be filled with the Holy Spirit. May God kindle our spiritual imaginations, build our faith and prompt us to action as we seek him.
One of the Holy Spirit’s main roles is to point us to Christ. The Word of God (both written in the Bible and incarnate in Christ) and the Spirit of God minister in harmony. If we are going to experience the Holy Spirit’s presence and work in our daily lives, we need to foster a desire for God’s revelation, devotion to Christ, and dependence on the Holy Spirit for all of this. May our hearts seek to Follow the Word-Pointing Spirit.
What does it mean to be “baptized with the Holy Spirit”? Some Christians believe it’s a gift that only comes to some believers, but we see a deeper reality in the way the Bible refers to this baptism. We see Jesus fulfilling God’s Old Testament promises, and “the ascended Jesus becomes the baptizer, drenching his followers with his Spirit, creating a new community where Father, Son, and Holy Spirit make their home.” (Our World Belongs to God, 28)