How should Christians live in the world? Do the Republicans have it right? Should we follow the Democrats? Is American life the way to go? What about some other country, like England, that has a Christian heritage? What about Spain or France or Italy which are predominantly Catholic nations. Should we follow the Catholic way? Continue reading “How Should Christians Live in the World (Introducing Acts) – Acts 1, Part 1”
Tag Archives: Holy Spirit
How to rip off labels stuck to you – Our Identity: Citizens of God’s Kingdom, Part 5
Have you ever been a part of a sports team that wears jerseys with labels on them? Usually a jersey has a team name, logo, and your player number. Some also include your last name and maybe a sponsor name and logo. NASCAR driver uniforms have, perhaps, the most labels of all. We, too, canContinue reading “How to rip off labels stuck to you – Our Identity: Citizens of God’s Kingdom, Part 5”
The Already, but Not Yet Kingdom – Our Identity: Citizens of God’s Kingdom, Part 2
Christians are citizens of the Kingdom of God now. What does that mean? How does our citizenship in God’s Kingdom matter now? The answer to that question is something called, “the already, but not yet”. We are a part of the Kingdom of God already, but that Kingdom has not yet come in its fullness. Continue reading “The Already, but Not Yet Kingdom – Our Identity: Citizens of God’s Kingdom, Part 2”
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”
How to be filled with (and quench) the Holy Spirit – Our Identity: Temples of the Spirit, Part 4
Are you filled with the Holy Spirit? Is it possible that you might have grieved or quenched the Spirit? We learned in the previous post that the Spirit of God is hard at work in lives. But what if we don’t know it, or realize it, or feel it? That would be a bummer, right? Continue reading “How to be filled with (and quench) the Holy Spirit – Our Identity: Temples of the Spirit, Part 4”
How the Holy Spirit works in us – Our Identity: Temples of the Spirit, Part 3
Your body is a temple. Have you ever heard that? What does it mean? If you google it, you’ll find lots of images of people exercising. When people say, “your body is a temple,” they are often referring to health and wellness. So to treat your body right, you should exercise, eat healthy, and sleepContinue reading “How the Holy Spirit works in us – Our Identity: Temples of the Spirit, Part 3”
Why it is good that Jesus left – Our Identity: Temples of the Spirit, Part 1
Our Identity: Temples of the Spirit, Part 1 Which of the three persons of the Trinity do you identify most with? God the Father, Jesus (who is God the Son), or the Spirit of God? My guess is that for many (most?) the Spirit is in third place. Why? Because God the father is God. Continue reading “Why it is good that Jesus left – Our Identity: Temples of the Spirit, Part 1”
How the Holy Spirit helps us have peace when we struggle with fear – Fourth Sunday of Advent 2019, Part 5
What is at the root of fear? Human nature? Maybe it is just a part of the human experience? We fear that we won’t be taken care of. Clearly so many of us, young and old fear rejection, loneliness, insecurity, or being destitute. We can fear that people will look down on us. There isContinue reading “How the Holy Spirit helps us have peace when we struggle with fear – Fourth Sunday of Advent 2019, Part 5”
How God’s Spirit is Alive in Us – Fourth Sunday of Advent, Part 4
Each stream of Christianity has its unique approach to the role and activity of the Holy Spirit in the life of the follower of Jesus. Some Christians feel that they know with certainty who the Spirit is and what the Spirit does. Some Christians have very little certainty. I grew up thinking the Spirit wasContinue reading “How God’s Spirit is Alive in Us – Fourth Sunday of Advent, Part 4”
What is Jesus most astounding promise? – Fourth Sunday of Advent, Part 3
Jesus makes lots of promises. What do you think is his most amazing promise? In this post, I think we just might have a candidate for it. We actually started studying the promise in the previous post. Jesus teaches the promises to his disciples in John 14:15-31, and he crafts in the form of anContinue reading “What is Jesus most astounding promise? – Fourth Sunday of Advent, Part 3”
Engaging Scripture 