Good evening everyone.

Please see the attached Bible Study Outline “the Role of the Holy Spirit” which is the next topic in our Quarter Series on the Foundation of the Christian Faith.  Our main text is John 14:12 – 26 and the key learning points are as follows:

1.     The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity.  He is co-equal with God the Father, and God the Son and is present throughout the Old Testament from creation to the prophets. 

2.     Jesus and the Father sent the Holy Spirit to apply the work of salvation to the lives of believers as our indwelling Helper (John 14:16).

3.     The Holy Spirit reveals Christ to us and establishes Christlikeness in us as we cooperate with Him through hearing and obeying (John 14:16; 15:26; 16:13-15).

Regards

Hello Everyone,

Attached is the Bible Study Outline on the topic: “Manifestation of the Holy Spirit” which is the next one in our Quarter Series “The Foundation of the Christian Faith.  The main text is Acts 2:1-47 and the key learning points are as follows:

1.     The power to proclaim God’s glory (Acts 2:1-10)

2.     The power to boldly proclaim the Gospel (Acts 1:8, 2:13-36, 3)

3.     The power to convict men of sin (Acts 2:37, John 16:8-11)

Have a richly blessed day.

Brethren,

How have you been? I trust you are well.

Last week, we looked at Christian unity. This week, we shall be looking at Keeping the Unity of the Spirit. How is this different from what we studied last week? What does that look like? And how does it apply to me? These are all questions we shall be exploring in the study.

In the study, Apostle Paul reminds us to keep the unity of the Spirit by:
1. Staying united by the gospel that unites both Jews and Gentiles in the family of God. 
a. united by the gospel that makes Gentiles acceptable to God, just as it does the Jews.
b. united by the Holy Spirit who is the seal on all who have received the gospel – Jews and Gentiles alike.
2. Staying united in the gospel – in fellowship, sharing with fellow believers who may be in need 
a. united in generosity, sharing with fellow believers who may be in need.
b. united in hospitality, opening our homes to fellow believers.
3. Staying united for the gospel – in actively participating in taking the gospel to others and in coming alongside those who have devoted themselves wholly to taking the gospel to the unsaved.
a. united in our willingness and readiness to bear our share of the responsibility for fulfilling the Great Commission.
b. united in coming alongside those who are risking all for the sake of spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ.
c. united in praying for the open doors for the gospel.

See attached outline for your further reference.

Brethren,

The Christian life is like the Israelites’ journey through the wilderness – they did not know the way and needed God to lead the way.

For us as followers of Jesus Christ, we also do not know the way, and so we need the Holy Spirit to lead us. That is what our Sunday study takes a look at under the topic: The Spirit-led Life.

Key Learnings:

1. A Spirit-led life is regulated from within us instead of from external law and rules. One who is Spirit -led does not need external checks, balances, and penalties to do right.
2. It is impossible to please God without submitting to a Spirit-led life because it is the Spirit of God who helps us to say no to our sinful desires (Romans 8:5-8, 12-13)
3. The Spirit led life does not take away the believer’s responsibility (role) in sanctification. (Romans 8”12-14)

See attached outline for your further reference.

Let us walk in the Spirit.

Brethren,

I trust you are well and that your week is going well.

We continue our quarter series on ‘The world eagerly awaits your manifestation.’ This time, we focus on manifesting the gifts of the Spirit. See attached outline for your reference.

Key Learnings include:
1. The way that we use our spiritual gift(s) is much more important than which specific gift(s) we receive. The purpose of spiritual gifts is to build and edify the body of Christ – His bride.
2. The gifts of the Spirit are many and are diversely distributed. God expects these gifts to work in harmony among the brethren and be complementary to one another in the building of the Church.
3. Some of the gifts the Spirit bestows upon us may be more desirous than others, and believers have the freedom to desire any gift. However, such striving after a particular gift should not be for showmanship or self-gratification, but to serve the Body of Christ, and please the giver of these gifts.

The Spirit has given each of us a special way of serving others. Let’s manifest it to His glory and for the edification of His Church.

This SUnday, we continue our study on the blessedness of those who are poor in spirit. This time, our focus is on humility and dependence as aspects of that poverty of spirit.

Key Learning points include:

1.     Dependence on God enables humility because we realize Jesus is the only possible strength for our weakness. To pretend otherwise is folly.

2.     When we all humble ourselves before God and one another (whether we are in a position of authority/leadership within the church/society or otherwise), the church is a beautiful representation of the kingdom. It is a loving, supporting spiritual family and a strategic outpost for outreach and ministry in the world. 

3.     One cannot receive the good news of the Gospel, embrace the word of God, or learn from it if he/she has not first recognized a desperate need for it. In this sense, being “poor in spirit” is a prerequisite to receiving the grace of God. 

See attached outline for your reference.

May every blessing be yours.

This week we dig into the kingdom blessings. Our first stop is surrender as an aspect of being poor in spirit.

Key Learning points include:

1.     Jesus came to this earth not to set up a physical, material, or political kingdom but to usher in a spiritual kingdom, the kingdom of heaven.

2.     To be candidates for God’s kingdom, we need to be spiritually poor – this requires that we surrender our old beliefs and ways to receive the new things of the kingdom of the heavens.”.

3.     As people of the kingdom of God, we must never allow our spiritual experiences and God-given talents and abilities to hinder us before our great God and Father.

This SUnday, we conclude our quarter series on the person and work of the Holy Spirit. And fittingly, the concluding topic is ‘The Holy Spirit Unites us’

 Key Learning Points Include:

1.      The Holy Spirit unites the believer with Christ and places him in the body of Christ, the Church. 

2.      The believer has a part to play in this unity of the Spirit. We do that with the graces which the Holy Spirit provides.

3.      The Holy Spirit unites the Church in faith and doctrine. The theological foundation for the unity of the Church is the work of the Spirit through the written word of God that He inspired. The word of God is truth (John 17:17, Ps. 119:160). The unity of the Church is the work of the Spirit with and through the written word of God. 

Please take some time to dig into the study in preparation for Sunday. If you would be involved in leading either on zoom or in-person, please review the referenced passages and the key learning points to prepare adequately for guiding the discussions.

May the word of God take root in our hearts and bear fruit to His glory and praise.

This Sunday, our Bible study will be exploring the work of the Holy Spirit in giving us spiritual gifts. Attached is the outline for your perusal.

Key Learning Points:

1.     Spiritual gifts are divinely given capacities to perform the various needs in the Church. Just as the human body has members with different capacities, so individual Christians forming the church as the body of Christ have different capacities for ministry to the Body.

2.     The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every Christian for the benefit of all. Spiritual gifts are God’s provision to equip His children for Ministry “in ways beyond mere human capability and ingenuity”.

3.     We are free to desire spiritual gifts. But they are bestowed by the sovereign choice of God and need to be exercised in the power and under the direction of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit does not give us spiritual gifts for our own vainglory, but for the service of the Body and for the benefit of all. 

May God grant us grace to faithfully exercise our gifting for the benefit of all.

This Sunday, we shall be looking at another exciting aspect of the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit in the believer – helping us bear spiritual fruit. The outline is attached herewith for your perusal.

Key Learning points:

1.     Though we are saved when we believe in Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection, yet that faith must go beyond mere intellectual conviction to manifest in the way we serve each other in love. And that must be by the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

2.     The sinful nature is incapable of knowing and obeying God. That is why the Holy Spirit must produce His fruit in us. We cannot produce the fruit of the Spirit by ourselves.

3.     Though the Holy Spirit produces His fruit in us, we must actively play our part by walking, living and being led by the Spirit. And we do this by living by the word of God.

May the fruit of the Spirit be manifest in us in increasing measure.