Dear Church Family,
“On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.” – Acts 2:1-4
For many of us, when it comes to the subject of the Holy Spirit, our knowledge is limited to the statement in the Apostles’ Creed, “I believe in the Holy Spirit.” Does this matter? Do we really need to know more about the Holy Spirit than the basic understanding that he is a member of the Trinity in whom we believe? I think we do.
The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit is the Lord, the giver of life, and the one who brings us into fellowship with God the Father and God the Son. In other words, if it wasn’t for the Holy Spirit, you and I could not have a relationship with God. That should matter greatly to all of us.
I admit that the Holy Spirit makes most of us feel awkward. We don’t know how to relate to him. God the Father and, especially, God the Son are more straightforward but God the Holy Spirit makes us nervous. So we treat him like an uninvited guest in the Trinity. We keep him at arm’s length with stiff, dry doctrines that only those who attend Seminary need be concerned with. We wearily back away from the Holy Spirit instead of warmly embracing him and drawing near to him.
I want to know the Holy Spirit better, and I want you, our church, to know the Holy Spirit better. To that end, Pastor McLane and I will be preaching a sermon series on the Holy Spirit beginning September 2. By doing so, we hope to offer not the rarified and impractical theological nuances of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, but rather a broad and down-to-earth study of God’s Word as it tells us about the Spirit of God. In other words, we will be talking more about what the Holy Spirit does than who the Holy Spirit is.
I look forward to taking this journey of discovery with you so that together we may come to know and love the Holy Spirit as much as we know and love the Father and the Son.
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Steve