Holy Spirit

(Sam gave this testimony Sunday after our sermon on Pentecost. We asked if we could post it on the blog for those not able to be there. Enjoy!)

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I grew up in church and have heard the gospel story for as long as I can remember. I can still remember asking Jesus Into my heart around the age of 6 while sitting in my high chair. But it was in my early teens that I felt the conviction of needing a “real" relationship with God. I constantly struggled with the “feeling” of not being…

Last week we looked at Philip's ministry in Samaria in Acts 8:4–25. These verses paint one of the more vivid pictures of what John the Baptist described as being "baptized in the Holy Spirit":

And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ (John 1:32–33)

As we worked…

We recently heard from David and Beth Curtis that Jackie, their oldest daughter, was healed of her chronic hearing loss. The weeks have gone on, but the miracle has remained. We asked her to write up her testimony so we could share it with you.

Do we worship what we know or what we do not know? This was the distinction made by Christ to the Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob concerning the Jews and Samaritans of his day. Jesus pointed out that God, who is spirit, was seeking true worshipers who will worship in spirit and truth.

In Team of Rivals, Doris Kearns Goodwin wrote that Abraham Lincoln "has unequalled power to captivate the imagination and to inspire emotion." For me, King David is the Bible's Abraham Lincoln equivalent in his power to capture imaginations and inspire emotions.

Mike Noel finishes his four-part series on being a prophetic Christian: Be a Person of Love.

In my last post I encouraged us to grow in walking in the Spirit. One thing that goes hand in hand with walking in the Spirit is walking by faith.

How to Be a Prophetic Christian Part 2: Be a Person of the Spirit.

John Piper recently addressed a John MacArthur conference on the charismatic where he affirmed key parts of what it means to be charismaticas well as offering some good critiques on the Charismatic Movement.