This blog is based on Rev. Kim's sermon "The Holy Spirit and Resurrection Hope", preached on October 22nd, 2023:

​1. What are some non-Christian beliefs about what happens to us after we die? In your view, how do those beliefs affect grieving?
2. What does the Bible say will happen after we die? Some important texts to look at: I Peter 1:3-9, Ephesian 1:19-20, I Cor. 15:3-8, John 11:24-25, I Cor. 6:14, Romans 6:4
3. What difference does it make to your personal approach to your own death that there will be a general resurrection?
4. What difference does that make in how you live your life now?
5. MAID, Medical Assistance in Dying, is legal in Canada. In your view, what are some Christian responses to MAID?
6. What would you say to a Christian who is contemplating using MAID?
7. What is one thing you would say to someone who is experiencing long term suffering? What does Romans 8:18 say about this?

October 15th – Les Kovacs         
Although my sermon on Sunday concerned the Holy Spirit’s role in spiritual conflict, I don’t want to give the enemy any more ink than I already have.  I would rather focus on what the Holy Spirit does for us all the time.  I would rather focus my attention on the Giver of Life whose work it is to transform us more and more into likeness of our Lord Jesus Christ.  The Holy Trinity is the One who deserves all our attention, aspirations, and adoration.

The Holy Spirit is a divine helper, our paraclete, who strengthens and guides us every day.  The Holy Spirit transforms our lives by renewing our minds to be like the mind of Christ. He convicts us of our sins and leads us to repentance.  Through our repentance, He wipes out what was dirty in us and allows us to bear good fruit.  As we allow Him to continue nourishing that fruit, we grow to resemble Jesus more closely.

The Holy Spirit works in us through the word of God.  He uses the power of Scripture to convict us and influence our way of thinking and opens the way to shape us into godly people. The Holy Spirit gives believers the power to live like Jesus and be bold witnesses for Him.  He sends us out as witnesses and gives us the power to do it effectively.

The Holy Spirit helps Christ-followers in our weakness and intercedes for us with the Father.  He leads, speaks, fills, reveals, teaches, and helps.  He sends, forbids, constrains, convicts, and warns.  He also gives life (new birth), empowers, sanctifies, and loves.  He dwells within, seals (or better yet, is the seal), gives gifts, and grieves with us. 

Simply put, the Holy Spirit is the divine helper who strengthens and guides us every day. He transforms our lives by renewing our minds to be like the mind of Christ.  He works in believers by convicting us of sin and leading us to repentance.  Through repentance, He wipes clean any record of our sin and allows us to bear good fruit to the glory of God the Father.  As we allow Him to continue nourishing that fruit, we grow to resemble Jesus more.

Questions:  Have you ever asked the Holy Spirit to help you understand a Scripture passage that troubled you?  Have you ever felt unable to pray because of some deep hurt and just let Him hear your groans and cries? 

Do we always have to like people in order to love them? How does this change your perspective on Christian love?

Read John 14:15-16. Why does Jesus say "If you love me, keep my commands, and...the Father will give you another advocate..."? Why are loving and obeying so crucial to receiving the Holy Spirit?

Does your translation have a different word than "advocate" in John 14:16? 

In your experience, what kinds of things happen when the Holy Spirit comes? Was it unexpected? Or not really a surprise to you?

Read Acts 2:1-4. Do you think the believers at Pentecost expected what happened? Were they ready for what God did that day?

How do we test if a word or activity is the work of the Holy Spirit or not?

Do you see your self as primarily a sinner who sometimes gets it right, or a saint who sometimes sins? Why?

In what ways does God assure you that God loves you? 

Pray: 
Lord Jesus, thank you for choosing to draw me to yourself. Holy Spirit, I can't imagine being without you. You fill my life with your glory, the glory of our Father in heaven. Help me to spread this, the hope of heaven to everyone, in my family, in my community and everywhere. Amen.

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”  1 Corinthians 1: 18
 
Reading: John 17: 20-26
 
Introduction
     Last Sunday we resumed our focus on our Triune God, specifically upon the Holy Spirit in the ministry of Jesus, His wisdom and teaching. Looking at 1 Corinthians 1: 18-31 and 2 Corinthians 2, we saw that Jesus’ wisdom and authority came from God empowered by the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the wisdom and power of God. This wisdom is powerfully found in the ministry of reconciliation achieved at the Cross, where by God’s power, sin and death were defeated. We then saw how we, as God’s Children and Jesus’ Body (the Church), now carry on this teaching and ministry of reconciliation. We are His ambassadors empowered by the Holy Spirit in us (2 Corinthians 5: 16-21). In Jesus’ teaching, in John 15: 1-13, we saw how this can be achieved by us remaining in Him through obedience. We then remain in His love, secure His joy and bear fruit, to God’s pleasure, as His disciples.
 
The Ministry of Reconciliation
     At our One Body Worship event (that same Sunday) we continued, to some degree, looking at this Ministry of Reconciliation by focusing on Jesus’ prayer for us (John 17: 20-26). Here Jesus states that He has given us the glory that the Father gave Him (22&24). This glory is evidenced by ‘Unity.’ As we are reconciled to God, through Christ, we share in the communion of ‘His Unity’ with Himself as the Triune God (the relationship between Father, Son and Holy Spirit). If we then have unity amongst ourselves, not only do our individual lives tell the story of reconciliation, but so does the Church.
 
Application
     So, what is this ‘glory’ that Christ has given us? We can look to three areas of God’s glory in Jesus: the Cross; His relationship with His Father; and His obedience. Jesus’ glory came through the ‘wondrous cross,’ a self-sacrifice that made reconciliation possible and where death and sin were defeated. The witness of His relationship with His Father displayed the truth of this power and wisdom and His obedience enabled Him to remain in His Father and therefore within His love.
 
The Question of Application
     How does this ‘glory’ then lie within us? When we are reconciled with God through faith in Jesus, and by His grace, we are born again by the power of God, in Christ, through the achievement of that Cross. His Holy Spirit enters us as new creations and we have access to His wisdom; He is in us! The ‘crosses’ we then bear can be to the glory of God. Our relationship, our unity, with Him and our brothers and sisters, can give witness to the truth of this reconciliation and reality. For that to occur we need to remain in Him through obedience. So, we need to ask ourselves: do we give glory to God in the crosses we carry; does our relationship with Him and the Church reflect His glory and truth; and is our obedience enabling us to remain in His love? Do we display His glory?
 
Prayer
Echoing Jesus’ prayer we pray for ourselves as we believe in Jesus through the message of the Cross; may we be one, Father, just as you are one. May we remain in you so that the world may believe in Jesus Christ. May we display the glory that you gave your Son and He gave us, that we may be one, brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent the Lord Jesus who has loved us even as you, Father, love your Son, Jesus Christ. May the love you have for Jesus be in us so that Jesus Himself may be in us. Amen
Adapted from John 17: 20-26
 
Praise
When I survey Wondrous Cross – Keith & Kristyn Getty
At the Cross – Chris Tomlin