Bible Study - THE HOLY SPIRIT PPP - Expect Different
Sermon-Based Bible Study – October 31, 2021
- What is something God has done for you that you are thankful for, or are celebrating? How have you experienced God’s love and faithfulness this week?
- Where are you experiencing stress, anxiety or discouragement? How would you like to see God move in your life or in the life of someone close to you?
- What did you hear in this week’s sermon that was new or particularly interesting? Did anything stand out to you as puzzling or troubling?
- Which of the following examples of the Spirit empowering or gifting people to do certain things or fill certain roles in the Old Testament surprised you the most? Why? Have you ever thought of praying for the Spirit to empower you do these things or teach others to do what you are able to do?
- Exodus 35:30 - Bezalel and Oholiab with arts and crafts skills to construct the tabernacle and mentor others;
- Numbers 11:24-29 - Moses and the seventy elders to prophesy or speak the Word of the Lord;
- Numbers 27:18; Deuteronomy 34:9 - Joshua with leadership skills and wisdom; or
- Judges 3:10; 6:34; 11:29 - Israel’s judges to deliver His people from their oppressors
- Read John 5:19 and Philippians 2:6-7. Jesus humbled himself and become a human being just like you and me. Scripture affirms that everything Jesus did, from His birth to the resurrection, He did as a human being by the power of the Holy Spirit. Is that a new thought for you? How does Jesus’s dependence on the power of the Holy Spirit encourage you? How does it challenge you?
- Read Acts 1:8 and Philippians 2:13. What does the Acts passage seem to be saying is the overarching purpose for the power of the Holy Spirit? What does the Philippians passage say the power of the Spirit accomplishes in the life of a believer? What is the connection between a transformed life and witnessing/testifying about Jesus?
- Read 1 Corinthians 4:19 and 2 Timothy 1:8. Chris compared the power of the Spirit to dynamite that is used both below and above ground. How have you experienced the Spirit’s power at work in your heart and mind to transform you from the inside (underground)? How have you experienced the Spirit’s power at work in a more overt or tangible/visible way (above ground)? Has your faith tradition over-emphasized or excluded either of these ways the power of the Holy Spirit is expressed? How has that impacted your walk with the Lord?
- What is a simple, next step you could take in obedience to what the Spirit is saying to you through this time in the Word? Who would benefit, or be interested in hearing about what you’ve learned in this study?