Without the Holy Spirit’s help we can’t understand God any more than a chicken can understand a human being. We need the Holy Spirit’s help to both illuminate our minds and calibrate our hearts to understand him, to relate to him, and to know...
It is typical in the church calendar for preachers to start sermon series on the Holy Spirit after Easter. This is because Pentecost chronologically follows Easter. Jesus is crucified, is buried, resurrects, ascends to heaven, then sends the Holy...
The Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force. The Holy Spirit is a person. As a person the Holy Spirit has a will, emotion, and intelligence. He can be angered, frustrated, grieved (Eph. 4:30). He can also be pleased and satisfied (Acts...
The role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church is indispensable. Without the Holy Spirit, the Church has no breath, no life, no vitality. Without the Holy Spirit, the Church fails to fulfill its mission to embody the reign of Christ to the...
In Matthew 12:31 Jesus says, “Therefore I tell you, people will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.” This verse causes problems for many because it seems to contradict other passages in...
One of the fundamental teachings of Christianity is that Jesus is our model for life. One of the better-known Bible verses that talks about this is Philippians 2:3–5ff which says, “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking...
Too often I beat myself up over not being spiritual enough. I constantly tell myself that I don’t pray enough, I don’t fast enough, I don’t read my Bible enough, I don’t worship enough, don’t practice solitude enough, don’t take communion enough—the...