God With Us, Part 1: The Holy Spirit
November 24, 2024

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Message Review

Jesus Christ was born into the world to be God with us, but He is no longer physically here. When He left, He sent the Holy Spirit to be God with us until His return. To experience God’s presence, we must continually be filled with the Holy Spirit because experiencing “God with us” is a choice.

Scripture References: Matthew 1:23; John 16:4-7; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Acts 7:51; Ephesians 5:18; Galatians 5:22-23

Bible Study      

The focus Bible passage from the sermon was John 16:4-15 Before going to the Sermon Discussion Questions, study the passage by reading through it together, then talk through it using the following Inductive Bible Study Method questions that follow:

  • Context: Discuss the context of this passage (Use the Bible Overview to learn the context)

  • Observation: What do you notice in this passage? What words or phrases stick out to you? And why?

  • Interpretation: What was Jesus’ original intent in this passage? What main point(s) was he trying to communicate, and why is that important?

  • Application: What is one key takeaway or insight you had from this passage? How can or should you apply it to your life?

  • Questions: What questions/tensions do you have from this passage that you want to discuss?

Discussion Questions

  • What were your initial thoughts or takeaways from the sermon?

  • Do you feel like God is with you today?  Why or why not?

  • Who (or what) do you think the Holy Spirit is?  What do you think the role of the Holy Spirit is?

  • Read John 16:4-7 as a group. 

    • What big idea was Jesus trying to communicate to His disciples? 

    • Why did Jesus say it was for their/our good that He physically left this earth? 

  • If Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to be “God with us”, why don’t we always feel his presence?

  • Read Ephesians 5:18 and Galatians 5:22-23 as a group.

    • The Apostle Paul instructs us to be filled with the Spirit”.  How do we choose to be filled with the Spirit continually?  How do we choose to resist being filled with the Holy Spirit?

    • According to the Apostle Paul, what is produced when we’re filled with the Spirit?  Which of those fruits are being produced in your life?  Which ones are not?   

  • According to the Writers of the New Testament, experiencing “God with us” is a choice to receive instead of resist the Holy Spirit and to be filled with the Holy Spirit continually.  We all choose to receive or resist the Holy Spirit in our lives. 

    • How are you choosing to receive Him? 

    • How might you be choosing to resist Him?

    • Choosing to receive the Holy Spirit starts with putting our faith in Jesus.  If you haven’t put your faith in Jesus, what’s stopping you from doing that today?

  • What is one next step you can take to choose to be filled with the Holy Spirit continually?

To watch or listen to Sunday’s sermon, visit our Sermons page.