On Sunday we covered Ephesians 5:18 and Paul's command to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Of course, the Spirit's work in our lives is a much bigger topic than we can tackle in one sermon and raises a lot of questions. We're hoping to do a teaching series or seminar on the Spirit soon, but until then here are some places to start exploring the Spirit's Work. 

The Holy Spirit: Here & Now

My friend Ian McConnell replanted a church in urban Philly and now serves as the Director of Church Planting for Sovereign Grace Churches. I love his passion for mission and his passion for truth and he combines both in this very helpful introduction to the Spirit on his blog Blue Collar Gospel.

He writes:

"We read in our Bible that there were days when God’s Spirit moved powerfully in and through followers of Jesus—thousands were converted at one time, sick were healed, the spiritually oppressed were delivered and prophetic gifts were strengthening the church and giving foretastes of the future in the present. But let’s face it, that was then and this is now. Right? This kind of nostalgia is common and I am convinced it is inappropriate. Why? Because the Scriptures teach that the Holy Spirit continues to work in the here & now just like he did there & then. The Holy Spirit continues to empower & edify God’s people to spread the fame of Jesus for the glory of God the Father just like he did in the 1st century."

It will only take you a few minutes to read each of these blog posts, but they're rich with Bible texts and places to study further: 

• Part 1: The Example of Jesus –– Why Jesus pattern of life in the Spirit gives us an example to trace today
• Part 2: The Teaching of Jesus –– Jesus taught that the Spirit would be for us here and now
• Part 3: The Example of the 1st Century Church –– Tracing the pattern of the early church and the Spirit's work 
• Part 4: The Teaching of the 1st Century Church –– What Paul and the other apostles taught about the Spirit's work 
• Part 5: Response –– How do we respond to the example and teaching of Scripture? 

Books & Articles for Further Reading

Ian also put together a great list of resources on the Spirit's work. If you want to dive deeper, start here. 

Together, let's obey the command to be filled (continually!) with the Holy Spirit for the advance of God's mission and the good of his people.