In an effort to help you catch up, Cliff Notes method, with where we are in the book, Wes' notes will be posted on the blog. We want to see everybody at small group every other week.When we're also reading a book, it sometimes feels like we have to "do" something for our group meeting. But we would really just rather see your face.
The next get together will be next week - November 1st (can you believe it's November?!)- not sure of the location just yet. But I'm sure we'll all be super pumped up on Halloween candy, right? That week we'll discuss Chapter 4. Sounds like a lot of weeks coverage, but really we did two chapters the first week. SO - review the notes to catch up or review to re-evaluate your experience with the book and the Holy Spirit or to prepare for the next small group gathering.
See you soon!
Forgotten
God-Ch.1&2
What do you
know about the Holy Spirit?
Some of what
God’s word says about the Spirit (very basic stuff):
· - It’s
purpose (John 14:16)
· - It’s
home (Romans 8:9, 1 Cor. 6:19-20)
· - It’s
importance (John 16:7)
· - It’s
power (All through Acts, but summed up in 4:13)
· - It’s
results (fruits, Gal. 5:22)
If then we
have this amazing counselor with us, shouldn’t there be a huge difference
between ourselves and the rest of the world?
Why isn’t there? Maybe it’s
because we aren’t in touch with the power of the Holy Spirit in the way God
meant for us to be.
2 Questions
that serve as a kind of barometer to how much you experience the Holy Spirit in
your own life on daily basis:
-Rhetorical Question
1: If you woke up tomorrow and discovered that it is not true that the Holy
Spirit lives inside of us, how much different would your life look?
-Rhetorical Question
2: When was the last time you can say you undeniably saw the Spirit work in or
around you? If you find this difficult
to answer, it may be that you are ignoring the Holy Spirit, or that you may
have a lot of head knowledge about the Spirit, but not much of a relationship
with Him.
This is the
crux of the problem. The goal is not to
learn more head-knowledge about the Holy Spirit, although that may happen along
the way. The goal is to gain intimacy
with the Spirit so that we experience His power and presence more fully in our
life.
So what are
we afraid of?
1) Fear of
being wrong
- Are you willing to look past “what you have
always been told” (not that it is necessarily wrong) and let your mind be
renewed by the truth of Scripture?
Are you ready to accept that you may have had some misconceptions
or faulty theology regarding the Holy Spirit?
2) What if
God doesn’t come through?
- Are you afraid to trust in the bounty of promises
God has made toward you?
3) Do I even
want this?
- Perhaps you are afraid of relinquishing control
to the spirit? Are you afraid of
the pain that might come along with the changes He brings? Are you afraid of where or what God
might call you to?
4) Is my
reputation in the way?
- What will others within my circle think of me? (Ex. “Conservative” vs. “Liberal” views
of the Spirit.)
Quenching
the Spirit- see what Francis says at end of chapter
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