October 16, 2022
Church 101 | Come Holy Spirit: The Heart of God
The church at Corinth gives us a glimpse into how the Kingdom landed and found shape in a rather typical First Century Roman city. There was nothing exceptional about the Corinthian church: just believers trying to learn how to walk out of familiar kingdoms of darkness and walk into the Kingdom of Light.
Songs for this week: Spotify
1 Corinthians 13
Message Questions:
- What are some of the things that we use to measure the spiritual well-being of a church? What do we use to measure spiritual maturity in our own lives?
- Read vv 4-7, substituting “Jesus” for “love.” (“Jesus is patient; Jesus is kind …) How does this prompt you to worship him?
- Look at vv 4-7 again and list the characteristics of love included there. Compare them with the fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-23. What similarities do you notice?
- Choose at least one of the characteristics of love from vv 4-7 (for example, “love is not easily angered”) and ask:
- How does our culture encourage or discourage this?
- Where have you witnessed or experienced this in action? What was the impact?
- How easy or difficult is it for you to practice this characteristic of love?
(If you have time, look at another characteristic with the same questions.)
- As you consider your life and lifestyle, is there anything that you may need to adjust to provide space for the Holy Spirit to grow your capacity to love?
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Recent Sermons
James 2:14-26 -James continues to press deep into the muscles and tissues of our faith. Is your faith doing what it was designed to do? Just like you might go to the doctor for a physical check-up, James offers a self-administered faith check-up in this passage. Where do you see signs of life in your faith?
James 1:19-27 - James is direct: angry words, thoughtless words, and religious words don’t have a place in a life of faith. Our words don’t work … but God’s word does! Our job is simply to cooperate with his word.
James 1:1-8 - James gets right down to business! For everyone not currently soaking in a hot tub, suffering is a first order of business. In just a few verses, James explains how trials can grow maturity, how wisdom helps the journey, and how to avoid wasting a suffering experience.
Empowered Baptism is recognized throughout the Church as the beginning of a ‘God thing.’ John’s baptism was a visible demonstration of the start of a new life — clearing out the junk to prepare for what God was about to do. Jesus’ baptism reveals the true heart of baptism: God’s desire to bless and express His delight. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is the start of the Kingdom. Ordinary women and men were now filled with the Spirit of Jesus to continue on the ministry Jesus started.
Luke 3:21-22 -At Jesus’ baptism, the Father said, “You’re my son. I love you. I’m proud of you.” As Christians, our baptism is a sign that we are in Christ, that what is true about him is true about us, and that the Father’s blessing now defines us.
Luke 3:1-20 - The first mention of baptism in the Bible begins with John. John was the cousin of Jesus and also His opening act. John called the people of his day to "Get Ready." The public sign of a life getting ready for God was, and still is, baptism. Get washed so God can do what God wants to do.
