Spirit-filled families

1 John #6 – Children of God

At The Trinity Church in Scottsdale, Pastor Mark Driscoll recently taught a Bible study series to the core launch team entitled “1 John: The Father Heart of God.” Recorded in black and white as the church plant was in its infancy.

Jesus Rejoices in the Holy Spirit

The bad news is we have an enemy who’s at war against us. The good news is Jesus is in authority over him and he delegates his authority to us. Even better than that, if we are Christians, our names are written in heaven. So, Jesus tells us to rejoice because he wins, rejoice because we know God, and rejoice because the kingdom is coming. Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit, not his circumstances. Pastor Mark also offers ten practical life applications for rejoicing in the Holy Spirit.

Asking For The Holy Spirit

Jesus teaches some parables and principles for prayer. First, our God is good, loving, gracious, and kind, so we should come to him, day or night, 24/7, and ask, seek, and knock. Second, God is a good Father and if we ask him for a good thing, we won’t get a bad thing. A good Father gives good gifts and the greatest gift is the Holy Spirit. Ask, continually, for the Holy Spirit and his help.

Spiritual Gifts Part 1

Jesus said that one day Christians would do even greater ministry than He did by the empowerment and gifting of the Holy Spirit. This gifting, however, is often misunderstood. Paul provides clear teaching on the purpose, nature, and goal of “spiritual gifts”.

The Lord’s Supper

The Corinthian church had turned the practice of Communion into a mockery of the Gospel by using The Lord’s Supper to partake in drunkeness and favoritism, with little or no focus on Jesus Christ Himself.

Jesus’ Life, Your Life

What are you looking forward to, hoping for, dreaming about? Visions lead to plans. These can be God-willed; sometimes, however, they leave out God completely (“Godless”) or are so vague it’s hard to tell whether they involve God at all (“God-light”). James warns us that life is too uncertain, brief, and important to abandon our priorities.

Jesus’ Life, Your Life

What are you looking forward to, hoping for, dreaming about? Visions lead to plans. These can be God-willed; sometimes, however, they leave out God completely (“Godless”) or are so vague it’s hard to tell whether they involve God at all (“God-light”). James warns us that life is too uncertain, brief, and important to abandon our priorities.

V. HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER

What comes to mind when you think of your father or mother? For some, the thought is uplifting. For others, it’s devastating. Yet the Bible says, “Honor your father and mother” and provides no exception clause for those of us who have had horrific experiences at the hands of our parents. So what does it means to honor them? How do we do this?

Empowered by the Spirit to be Generous

Jesus says that people are prone to worship God or money. Money, perhaps along with sex, is the most pernicious, pervasive idol in our culture today. Despite whatever the Bible has to say about it, it’s a topic that’s met with the greatest resistance. This sermon looks at what God’s word has to say about issues of stewardship, and greed versus generosity.

Empowered by the Spirit to Pray

The church moves forward against an increasingly strong headwind of suffering, persecution, and opposition, and this text is a case study of why Christians suffer and how they should. It’s important to remember that when Christians and non-Christians disagree, they’re disagreeing on the issue under the issues: whether or not the Bible is the very word of God. Amid persecution, do you have Christian friends to pray with? How do you keep trusting in God’s sovereignty?