Wednesday, October 1, 2008

The Power of the Spirit


Here are the discussion Q's from the small group time. Interact with them as you did in D groups or add a new comment that you thought about since you got home. Feel free to post some good Scripture support and quote other great thinkers!


• Have you ever had the chance to witness to someone but chose not to? Why didn’t you
share your faith?

• What does it mean to trust the Holy Spirit? What is one way you can demonstrate that trust?

• After Jesus ascended into heaven, the apostles waited prayerfully. What can we learn from
their example about how to act in uncertain times? How are you handling uncertainties in your
life right now?

• The disciples were told to witness to the world. We are charged to do the same. What are you doing to witness to the ends of the earth? What are some practical ways you can focus on carrying the gospel to the world?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

OK, so I guess I have missed alot of stuff by not looking at this thing in like 6 months but now I am ready redeem myself! :-D OK, here goes.....actually rather than a comment I have more of a question.....the question that PM put up about what does it mean to trust the HOly Spirit and how can you display that trust....well, because we cant see or hear Him and it isnt like with God how He speaks to us through his Word how can we really demonstrate trust to Him.....would it just be like acting on things that you believe the Spirit has convicted you of.....????? I dont know rather confusing......is there any teen out there that nkows the answer????

Anonymous said...

I would say that trusting in the Spirit would mean haveing faith in that little voice in your head, and trusting that there is a reason why that voice is saying what it is. for example - the Spirit convicts you of something youve done wrong, but you dont want to confess it. if the Spirit is convicting you it must be out of love. so you must trust that the spirit (being God)is convicting you for your own good. at least thats what i think out of personal experiance. hope that helps you jac.

Pastor Mike Paris said...

so let's just recap the good comments -- 1. The Spirit is God. 2. He does communicate to believers and convicts them of sin. 3. Conviction of sin is an act of love, not hatred.

But if I follow this "anonymous" tip, I will believe that the Spirit looks and sounds like Jimminy Cricket? Anything that you think the Spirit is saying has to line up with Scripture -- it is all God's Word and the Spirit uses it (it is after all the sword of the Spirit -- see Eph 6).

How do we know if a prompting is HS driven or emotions driven?

the ever-loving eye-poker,
Pastor Mike

Anonymous said...

dear ever-loveing eye-poker,
that is were the hardness of trusting him comes in. is it trusting what the spirit says is truth and for your own good, or trusting that it is the spirit speaking?

Pastor Mike Paris said...

Sean,
Your "promptings of the Spirit" had better be in line with what the WORD says! So, I can never get the "prompting" to kill my pastor because he write numbing posts -- the WORD says "thou shalt not kill".

I can get a prompting to minister a cheesecake for the sake of caring because the WORD says a minister is worthy of his hire! :)

Send Cheescake,
PM

Pastor Mike Paris said...

Guys,
Here's another quote to through into this mix:
"the true seeker after God does not trust his own mind or resources when He comes to the Book of God"
Read the whole (short article) and ponder its worth in the discussion that is going on in this thread.

http://www.biblestudyministriesinc.com/TheHolySpirit.htm

Let me know what you "thinkabowddit" :)
PM