This week in our Advent 2022 series on Matthew 3, we’ve been seeking to understand why Jesus got baptized. We learned that Jesus, through his baptism, demonstrates humility and togetherness, leading to joy. In today’s post, we seek to understand what Jesus meant when he said that he needs to be baptized to fulfill allContinue reading “How to be baptized with Spirit and fire – Advent 2022, Week 3, Part 5”
Tag Archives: acts 2
The model for healthy church families – Relationships: In the Church, Part 3
In Acts 2:42-27, we read about the marks of church family relationships. First, the earliest Christians were devoted to the Apostle’s teaching. This is the beauty of having the apostles’ teachings preserved in Scripture. Church family relationships are guided by the teaching of the Bible. We, too, even though we live 2000 years later, canContinue reading “The model for healthy church families – Relationships: In the Church, Part 3”
The filling of the Spirit – Ezekiel 37:1-14, Part 4
Nearly 600 years after the time of Ezekiel, Jesus taught his disciples about the soon-coming Spirit of God. In John 14, after telling his disciples that he was going to leave them, he promised that God would send another counselor to be with them, the Spirit of truth. Jesus said in John 14:17 that thoughContinue reading “The filling of the Spirit – Ezekiel 37:1-14, Part 4”
What churches need to be devoted to (and a building is not one of them) – Acts 2, Part 5
What would your church do if God brought revival to your church and in a relatively short time period thousands of new people started coming to your church? What we have seen in the first church was that 3000 people were added to their number that day in Acts 2. If that happened to us,Continue reading “What churches need to be devoted to (and a building is not one of them) – Acts 2, Part 5”
Why we need the Holy Spirit to help us speak in tongues – Acts 2, Part 4
The purpose of the filling of the Holy Spirit is to motivate you for mission. This is why Christians would do well to gather, to cry out for the Spirit to fill us, to motivate us to mission, to outreach, to boldly preach the Good News, to fill us with a method of communicating theContinue reading “Why we need the Holy Spirit to help us speak in tongues – Acts 2, Part 4”
The first revival (and could revival happen again?) – Acts 2, Part 3
Revival. What is it? We sometimes talk about a revival of an old musical production. Or when a person stops breathing, they can be revived through CPR. Revival is the breathing of new life into something that is dead or dying. While there is physical revival, as we continue studying Acts 2, we’ve come toContinue reading “The first revival (and could revival happen again?) – Acts 2, Part 3”
The moment that changed everything (also the Spirit as wind, fire…and speaking in tongues)- Acts 2, Part 2
This is the moment everything changed. Have you experienced one of those in your life? A 9/11 moment where you say, “Before that day life was one way, and now after that day, everything seems different.” It could be a job loss, a death of a loved one, a serious illness, or very positive events,Continue reading “The moment that changed everything (also the Spirit as wind, fire…and speaking in tongues)- Acts 2, Part 2”
How would you start a church? – Acts 2, Part 1
What would you do if you were starting a church from scratch? Would you dream up a creative architectural design for a building that would draw attention from the community? Would you focus on the gathering for worship and put together a certain kind of musical or artistic program? Would it be multi-cultural? What doctrinesContinue reading “How would you start a church? – Acts 2, Part 1”
How to walk with the Holy Spirit every day – Our Identity: Temples of the Spirit, Part 5
If you are a Christian, you carry the Holy Spirit around with you everywhere you go. So what? What does that matter? How do we live out our identity as temples of the Spirit? It starts with confession and repentance for the sin in our lives. Admit it, and turn away from it. One ofContinue reading “How to walk with the Holy Spirit every day – Our Identity: Temples of the Spirit, Part 5”
What is the Holy Spirit? And how do we receive the Spirit? – Our Identity: Temples of the Spirit, Part 2
What is the Holy Spirit? As a spirit, you cannot see the Spirit. The Spirit is invisible. But the Spirit is God, God’s true spiritual being. The Spirit is equal to God in every way. In Scripture we see various descriptions of the Spirit. The Spirit came like a dove alighting on Jesus during hisContinue reading “What is the Holy Spirit? And how do we receive the Spirit? – Our Identity: Temples of the Spirit, Part 2”