LAUNCH
Omar recently became a follower of Christ, but lately he’s been having a hard time in his relationship with God. He feels grateful that God has forgiven his sins and wants to keep growing spiritually, but he feels like he’s hit a wall. Does he have what it takes to be the kind, loving, unselfish person he knows God wants him to be? He’s not so sure. In what ways can you relate to Omar’s experience?
INTRO
Who is the Holy Spirit? is he a who? Is he a what? Is he a ghost? When Jesus left the earth, he said that he had to leave so that the Holy Spirit could come. Why is this Holy Spirit so important? The Bible says the Holy Spirit is the power source to our spiritual life. It’s like the electricity to a light bulb. Without electricity, the light bulb is powerless and useless. In the same way, without the Holy Spirit guiding our lives, a Christian will have no power to live the kind of life God calls us to live. He will just feel defeated and always kinda stuck. Let’s take a look at what the Bible says about the Holy Spirit and why he is so important to our lives.
EXPLORE
According to the Bible, the Holy Spirit is God who lives inside of every Christian and empowers us to live the Christian life.
Read 1 Corinthians 2:9-16
1. What does 1 Corinthians 2:9 say about God’s plans for those who love him?
2. In verse 10, how does God’s Spirit help us experience God’s plans for us?
3. What do we learn about God’s Spirit in verses 11-13?
THREE TYPES OF PEOPLE
As you go through these three types of people, refer to the diagram at the bottom of the page.
4. NATURAL PERSON – Read 1 Corinthians 2:14. How does this verse describe people who don’t have God’s Spirit?
5. SPIRITUAL PERSON – Read 1 Corinthians 2:15-16. How do these verses describe people who have God’s Spirit “on the throne” of their lives, filling, controlling, and empowering them?
6. WORLDLY PERSON – Read 1 Corinthians 3:1-3. How do these verses describe worldly people who have God’s Spirit but remain “on the throne” of their lives?
APPLY
7. As you consider the 3 people described in 1 Corinthians 2:14-3:3, which one best describes you and why? (see the picture below)
8. Which kind of person would you like to be and why?
9. So, how do you get from one to the other? Putting Christ back on the throne of your life is also called “being filled with the Spirit”. You are filled with the Spirit in the same way that you become a Christian in the first place – by faith. If you would like Christ to, again, sit on the throne of your life, take a moment now to silently
1)Confess your sins
2) Invite Christ to sit on the throne of your life
3)Trust, by faith, that he is now on the throne of your life and will empower you to live the Christian Life
10. Think of a difficult situation you’re facing right now. How could God’s Spirit help you deal with it? Pray as a group or in pairs for those situations.
THE STUDY
LAUNCH
Keisha has a passion to dunk a basketball on a 10-foot rim. So she’s been working out her lower body, wearing ankle weights, and practicing every time she gets the chance. But she’s only 4-feet 10-inches. So it doesn’t seem like she’ll ever be able to dunk. How would you feel if you were Keisha? How is this like what we sometimes feel in our relationship with God when we try to follow him but feel like we don’t have the power to do so?
EXPLORE
1. Read Ephesians 5:18. What two things does the writer talk about in this verse?
2. How does being drunk affect a person’s thinking, speech, and actions?
3. Why does this verse say not to get drunk?
4. Why do you think it’s God’s will for us to be filled with his Spirit?
5.Just as people think, say, and do things we normally wouldn’t when drunk, we think, say, and do things we normally wouldn’t when we’re filled with the Spirit. Read Ephesians 5:19-21, Galatians 5:22-23, and Acts 1:8. What are some of the things we should expect to see in our lives when we’re filled with the Spirit?
6. Read 1 John 5:14-15. Based on these verses, how do you think God will answer if we ask him to fill us with his Spirit since we know from Ephesians 5:18 that this is his will?
APPLY
7. Take a minute for silent prayer. If you’d like to have Jesus in control of your life, ask him to fill you with his Spirit right now.
8. We all get off track with God every day. How do you think “Spiritual Breathing” (“Exhaling” by confessing our sin to God as soon as we become aware of it and “Inhaling” by asking Jesus to fill us again with his Spirit) can help keep Jesus at the center of our lives consistently?
9. How should we handle it if we don’t feel any different after asking God to fill us with his Spirit?
If we are flying in a plane we need to place our faith in the trustworthiness of the plane and pilot. Our feelings of confidence or fear don’t affect the ability of the plane to transport us, but they do affect how much we enjoy the flight. In the same way, we don’t depend on feelings or emotions to tell us if we’re filled with the Spirit; we place our faith or trust in the trustworthiness of God and the promises of his Word.
10. Think of something happening in your life right now that’s really important to you. What’s a specific way you’d like to experience his power to change you in this area and know him better as you trust him to fill you with his Spirit?
THE STUDY
LAUNCH
It’s felt like a war zone in Pete’s house for the past several months. The whole family has been on edge because his parents just got divorced. There’s been enough yelling and ugliness to last a lifetime. Now Pete is left with constant traveling between his parents’ homes and anger and hurt toward both his parents for the part they played in breaking up their home. If Pete came to you for advice on how to love his parents, what would you tell him?
EXPLORE
1. Read John 13:1-5. What is Jesus doing as this story begins?
2. In the first century, people wore sandals on dusty, dirty roads. The lowliest servants were in charge of washing people’s feet when they entered a house. Of all the ways to display love, why do you think Jesus chose to wash his followers’ feet?
3. Judas is the disciple who betrayed Jesus and turned him over to his enemies to be killed. Judas was there, and Jesus even washed his feet. What does it say about Jesus’ love that he even washed Judas’ feet (see verse 2)?
4. How would it feel to you to wash the feet of someone who had hurt you deeply?
5. Read John 13:7-11. Why do you think Peter didn’t want Jesus to wash his feet?
6. Read John 13:12-17. What is Jesus saying to his followers?
7. How does Jesus washing his followers’ feet point to the ultimate love he showed when he died on the cross and washed away our sin?
8. Read John 13:34-35. How does Jesus’ command summarize this story and the love he showed when he died for us.
9. Read John 13:34-35 and Romans 5:5. What do these verses say about the way Jesus calls us to love and the power source for loving people with Jesus’ love?
APPLY
10. Tell about a time in your life when this undeserved, overflowing love of God became real to you.
11. Think about someone in your life who’s hard to love. What difference would it make for you to let Jesus love this person through you in the Spirit’s power instead of trying to love this person in your own power?
Practical Suggestions to love those who are hard to love:
- Pray for them (Matt 5:44)
- Pray that God would help you want to love them (Mat 21:22)
- Recognize that God loves them and died for them
- Recognize that you are sinful too
- Act lovingly toward them (John 13:34)
- Read this short article and tell someone about it: https://www.cru.org/train-and-grow/transferable-concepts/love-by-faith.html
LAUNCH
“My name is Grace Ha, and because of the alphabet I am constantly stuck next to Miranda Hall. I hate it….she is mean and a bully and treats the 9th graders like dirt! Her locker is next to mine, we are together in gym class, and whenever we have a class together there she is right next to me. Then one day in math I saw it. Big tears coming down her face, her head lowered in an attempt to hide. I never knew the problem but from then on I decided to treat her like everyone else….as a person who needed to know about Jesus. The problem was I didn’t know where to start. How do you share Christ with someone you don’t even like?” In what way can you relate to Grace?
EXPLORE
First five questions are from Acts 8:26-40
1. Read Acts 8:26. How does the story begin?
2. Read Acts 8:27-28. What happens once Philip starts down this road?
3. Read Acts 8:29-35. How does God’s Spirit lead Philip in these verses?
4. Who does Philip focus on as he explains the Scripture to the Ethiopian?
5. Read Acts 8:36-40. How does the Ethiopian respond once Philip tells him about Jesus?
6. Read Acts 1:8. How does this summarize how God wants to work through us?
APPLY
7. What can we learn about the Spirit working through us from Philip’s experience?
8. God brought the Ethiopian and Philip together. Who has God brought into your life that may need to hear about Jesus?
9. Success in talking to people about Jesus is taking the initiative to share Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results to God. How does this apply to you?
10. Take what we’ve discussed and think about Grace’s story. How would you want to respond to her?
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