3.15.20 - Who Is the Holy Spirit, Anyway? (Kenny Camacho)

SCRIPTURE: Genesis 1 & 2, Matthew 3, John 20

Before we can look at the story of “giftedness” in the New Testament, we first have to look at the story of the Spirit by whom these gifts are sent! What is the Holy Spirit, what role does this distinct person of God play in Scripture, and what are the implications for what we believe about the Holy Spirit for us, as twenty-first century followers of Jesus? The teachings in the Christian tradition about the Holy Spirit are complicated...but our hope is that a closer look at the story of Scripture will help us better understand not only the central part God’s Spirit plays, but also our roles, too, as people God is actively working in and through to reconcile this world to himself.

SERMON REFLECTION/DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

  1. Take some time to ask yourself whether or not you have experienced God’s breath, or his Spirit, in your life. What would something like that feel like? What would God’s Spirit want from you? What could the Spirit do? 

  2. And on the heels of that, ask yourself if you’ve ever said no to that Spirit. If you’ve ever felt something like the wind of God trying to effect a change in you, and you’ve resisted him. Why did you do that? What might the Spirit’s intentions have been? What might they still be?

  3. Are you willing to be open to an experience with the Holy Spirit? Are you open to asking for that? This one applies to you, whether you are a Christian already or not: no matter who you are, are you willing to invite God’s Spirit into your life, knowing that this wind will challenge and reshape you...but also that the breath of this wind might fill you with real life.

  4. How can you be a loving neighbor this week?

  5. How can you bring joy to others this week, in this season of worry and anxiety?

Kenny Camacho