Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Plugging In

Well friends, just like Arnold, I'm back!

We had a fantastic trip but have returned to an immense load and many changes happening around here, as most of you probably know.

In light of all that, I have sensed from God a leading to preach on the person of the Holy Spirit. I began last week with a sermon on Pentectost Sunday titled - Pentecost What? We basically looked at what Pentecost was and is, and why it should make a difference for any of us.

As I am preparing to move forward now in this series I am in need of some feedback. So far here are the topics I am planning to hit:

1 - The Fruits of the Spirit. If Pentecost matters for us, then are we seeing the evidence of it being real in our lives. And what kind of a measuring stick do we use to try and gauge that? We will be looking mostly at the comparison lists from Galatians 5 as a way of helping us to see that we must be people who are exhibiting the evidence of the Spirit at work within us.

2 - The Roles of the Spirit. As we progress through this journey of growth and transformation, what other ways does the Spirit assist us in the process? I hope to examine several of the specific roles the Scripture talks about in relationship to the Spirit (counselor, guide, teacher, intercessor), and how those roles are at work within us.

3 - The Gifts of the Spirit. This is an attempt to recognize that the Spirit gifts all of us for service to God and His world. I hope to examine how we are all unique and designed to fit together in community in order to better bless the world around us.

Here's how I need your help. First, I would like your feedback and thoughts on the overall flow and topic in general. Do you think this fits well into just three weeks, or should it be expanded beyond that? (Specifically, do you think #2 above should be divided into a sub-series?) Next, I would like your thoughts on each of the individual subjects, including any Scriptures that come to your mind as they relate to each one. Finally, please comment on what you think is still missing from this series. What else should we be covering as we examine just who is this third mysterious figure of the Trinity?

As always, thanks so much for your thoughts and help. It's so much fun to process this with you!

2 comments:

Julene said...

Hey Steve--

I can't answer the questions you posed at the moment. But I wonder if you've ever heard of the Celtic traditions explanation of the Holy Spirit and our following the lead of the Spirit. It is refered to as "The Wild Goose Chase". The Wild Goose is the symbol for Holy Spirit in the Celtic tradition. I think if you do a search on the internet for "Wild Goose" and "Holy Spirit" you'll find some beautiful stuff. I learned of this from a South African at the Amahoro Conference. Doesn't this feel like life...a wild Goose chase....

Peace, Julene

jSimone said...

Hi Stephen,

I want to respond more about the fruits of the Spirit, but my gut reaction looking at all of these topics is that it's WAAAY ambitious for three weeks. I could see you spending a week on each fruit of the spirit (or at least a couple weeks on all of them as a group) and tons of time on the middle point.

Most of the time when we talk about the Holy Spirit in church, it's a one-sermon overview. I think sub-sermons that delve into those roles will be a lot more helpful in recognizing where we fit into the world and what God is doing in it--we need to understand the ways the Holy Spirit acts in order to recognize where God is at work and join Him/Her in that.

Gifts could probably be just one week. I think what will be most significant there is focusing on the Holy Spirit as a gift-giver/equipper to the body as opposed to the individual gifts (which tends to draw people more into themselves and farther away from the community mindset, in my experience).

In general, I like the flow, I like the points you're hitting, I like your instinct to spend more time on the middle one. I'll write more about the Fruits later.

:jSimone