Growing in Spirituality - SERMON NOTES

Below are Pastor Ben's sermon notes from this past Sunday, in case they may be helpful for further study.

Intro: (1) what does it look like to be filled with the Spirit? (2) first must recognize our spiritual emptiness apart from Christ (cf. Jeremiah 2:13, John 4:14, 7:37-38) (3) all forms of spirituality outside of Christ are empty, for it is only through Christ that we can be filled with God via the Spirit (cf. 2 Peter 1:4)

Spirit-filled living (15-18): (1) wise living requires intentional caring (2) step 1 is making good use of time  extreme dangers of laziness or busyness, learning to cultivate rhythms of work/rest/play (cf. Psalm 90:12, sabbath) (3) step 2 is discerning God’s will — “general” (i.e. faith in Christ, ten commandments, loving God and others) vs. “particular” (i.e. spouse, career, church, how many kids to have, etc.) (4) step 3 is self-control  excessive alcohol an escape from reality, Spirit enables us to endure in our realities

Spirit-filled singing (19): (1) description of the horizontal and vertical aspects of corporate singing — “psalms, hymns, spiritual songs” probably interchangeable (2) vertical considerations — biblically sound, God-focused rather than felt-needs focused, who the writer/producer is (3) horizontal considerations —singable, lights on, volume, style preferences (4) physical expressions (5) one way we uniquely experience the Holy Spirit is by singing corporately — it’s okay if you sing bad

Spirit-filled thanksgiving (20): (1) gratitude an intended characteristic of one who has experienced Christ’s forgiveness and new life (2) frequency — “always” refers to something ongoing, though this does not mean we are to be thankful FOR everything (3) we can be thankful IN a difficult circumstance (cf. Rom. 5:3-5), while not being thankful FOR it (i.e. ongoing physical challenge, suffering abuse at the hand of someone else) (4) kids getting shots (5) sharing service

Spirit-filled submitting (21): (1) submission = being “arranged under” someone else (i.e. soldier/officer, athlete/coach) — not a “value” word (2) first application — general humility toward one another, with Christ as the ultimate example (cf. John 13:14-16, Philippians 2:3-5) (3) second application — three specific ways in which submission is intended to play out (i.e. husband/wife, parent/child, master/servant) (4) also include submission to spiritual and political authorities (5) filled with HS = living under God’s authority

Conclusion: (1) four points on “be filled with the Spirit” (2) it is a command — not an option (3) it is plural — not possible solo (4) it is passive — comfort for weak (5) it is present — exhortation for complacent (6) which of these four are you doing well at and which one might you need to address?