The Works of the Holy Spirit

The weekend doesn't have to end. Keep Talking on your own or with a group.

Start Talking - Find conversation starters for the group or with a friend.

• What was the most impactful part of the Heart For The House video for you? 
• What are you most excited about that we get to do as a church family?

Keep Reading – Read the Scripture and ask a question to get the group thinking.

Read these Scriptures out loud:

Acts 4:13, 5:15

These 2 verses reveal different areas in which the Holy Spirit wants to empower us. 

When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.

As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by.

• What we see from these 2 passages is that the Holy Spirit provides a supernatural ability to operate beyond our own strengths and abilities. 
• Do you have a dream or vision for your life that is so big that it seems impossible? If so, you're in good company. Take the time to read through Acts over the next 5 weeks of our Acts series to see what God can do in and through His people when we submit to and partner with the leadership and empowerment that is available to us through the Hole Spirit. 

Acts 6:3

 Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them.

• It's worth reading the larger context of this verse (Acts 6:1-8), but as Pastor Ryan mentioned, the key qualification for leadership shown here was being full of the Holy Spirit.
• Why do you think this was the qualification the church looked for when putting people in leadership positions? What can we learn from this for today? 

Keep Talking – Choose questions to create openness.

1. The earliest followers of Jesus were completely dependent on the Holy Spirit—and so are we. 

• Pastor Ryan presented a list of the acts of the Holy Spirit in the life of the early church that is revealed throughout the book of Acts: The Holy Spirit speaks, directs believers to a particular place, gives wisdom, brings joy, confirms the Gospel with signs and wonders, helps people make decisions, gives visions, gives dreams, enables people to speak in tongues, enables people to prophesy, and empowers people to preach the good news of Jesus.
• Have you been trying to live life more or less on your own? How do you think becoming completely dependent on the Holy Spirit, as the early church did, would impact your life? How can you become more aware of the Holy Spirit's presence in your life on a daily basis?

2. The earliest followers of Jesus were continually filled with the Holy Spirit—and so should we be. 

• In the book of Acts, we see that being filled with the Holy Spirit is not a one-time event but is something that we need to seek on a continual basis. For example, look at Acts 2:4 and 4:31; Acts 2:4 shows when Jesus' followers were first filled with the Holy Spirit, but in Acts 4:31, we read that they were "filled with the Holy Spirit" again. 
• Pastor Ryan stated that the Holy Spirit moves and operates the same today as He did in Acts. If God has more for us, to enable and empower us to live the life He has created us to live, why would we not want that? 

3. If we are going to turn the world upside down for Jesus, we need to be desperate for the Holy Spirit.

• Pastor Ryan shared the story of the believers in Ephesus whom Paul met (Acts 19:1-7). From this, we know that someone can come to saving faith in Jesus Christ yet not receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit. As we see repeatedly throughout Acts, it is the baptism of the Holy Spirit through which we receive the ability and empowerment to live the kind of lives we read about in Acts—the same kind of life God intends us to live today. 
• Do you have a desperation for more of the Holy Spirit in your life? What could change if you began living empowered by the Spirit rather than living out of your own strengths and abilities?

Keep Moving/Going – Commit to a step and live it out this week.

• How can you become more dependent and seek to be continually filled with the Holy Spirit throughout this week?
• Pick one of this week’s key Scriptures and make it a reminder in your phone. Spend a few minutes repeating it and thinking about it each day.
• S.O.A.P out the Scripture this week.

Keep Praying

• Prayer requests from everyone at group
• Prayer

Keep Praising

"You Are Good" - Israel Houghton

"Come Spirit Come" - Christ Fellowship Worship

"I Speak Jesus" - Charity Gayle

Or check out our "Faith Over Fear" playlist on Spotify and Apple Music.

Keep Up with What's Happening at Christ Fellowship.