From Sunday 11th January, we’ll be starting a new series of sermons on the acts of the Spirit, entitled The Spirit says…
We’ll look at how the Spirit acted in the Bible, and how that challenges our expectations of life now.
11th January – The Spirit says Come
From the opening verses of the Bible to the final words, the Spirit is present in the Bible. Always creative, always bringing new life into being, always pointing forwards.
18th January – The Spirit says Live
The Spirit is involved in the creation of the world, the people of God and the church. He is the life-giving Spirit – God’s breath living in us.
25th January – The Spirit says Create
In Exodus 31, the people for God are creating a structure where they can worship God. The Spirit gives Bezalel gifts so that he can create something of beauty. How does the Spirit work like that in our lives?
1st February – The Spirit says Speak
All-age service – no sermon
God’s intention is that he be heard and understood. And one major way that he achieves this is by enabling his people to prophesy. We will be looking at how that happens and what it means in practice.
8th February – The Spirit says Act
The gifts of the Spirit are given to the church, not to individuals so that the body of Christ can act in effective ways in their world. What does it mean for us to embrace the gifts that the Spirit offers the church?
15th February – The Spirit says Change
The Spirit is the agent of transformation in our lives, enabling us to become more like Jesus. What is it reasonable for us to expect?
Then, from 22nd February up to Easter, we’ll look at some of the ways we can choose to grow in faith, in our series Do something new. We’ll look at the spiritual disciplines of fasting, praying, giving and such like. It will be a chance not only to hear about them, but also to practice them.
If you would like to read something that might be helpful on the Spirit, I recommend:
1) Fresh Air: The Holy Spirit for an Inspired Life (Jack Levison)
and on the spiritual disciplines
2) The Life You’ve Always Wanted (John Ortberg).
