The Holy Spirit and Theology

Pastor Terry welcomed us, and thanked everyone who helped his family move last weekend.
Announcements included a reminder that Sunday August 13 we will be meeting at the home of Walt and Gwen Cressman, a service that will include baptisms.
Pam shared that we are seeking to fill a part-time office position on the staff. Contact Pastor White.

Terry read from Ephesians 1:3-14, to set us on fire for today's theme, the Holy Spirit. We spent time in worship,gave generously and were led in prayer by Pam Johnson.

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The Holy Spirit and Theology

We turned to John 16 for our message today. Terry began by noting that the Spirit is a part of the Gospel we do not talk about a lot, so for the next few weeks this is our theme.

In the New Testament the Holy Spirit is explicitly talked about as a seed planted within our hearts to bring us to salvation. In the Old Testament the Scriptures approaches this differently. In Book of Judges we see again and again how "the Spirit of the Lord came upon" so and so and they did mighty things for God.

The Old Testament also talks about the Spirit of the Lord in conjunction with prophets and prophecy.

To some extent the way we use the word "spirit" can create confusion. The Holy Spirit is a person, the third person of the Trinity. The way we use the word is different. "Jack is a good-spirited fellow."

In the New Testament, Jesus talks about how He is going to be leaving soon. (John 16:1-16) What He promises is that the Spirit will be coming in His stead, counseling, revealing, comforting and guiding.

One of the words to describe the Holy Spirit is advocate. The advocate is one who speaks on our behalf, watches over us to protect and represent us. The Holy Spirit is with each of us and can be with all of us at all times. Jesus, in bodily form, He reminded them, could only be in one place at a time.

The Holy Spirit inspired and drove the writing of the Bible while simultaneously illuminating our own souls as we read the Bible. The Holy Spirit is the one who makes the Bible come alive for us.

Another part of Jesus' last talk with the disciples is that the Spirit will receive from Jesus what He makes known to us.

In Acts 2 the Holy Spirit fell with flaming tongues of fire and they spoke in other languages. In another place Paul writes about the gifts of the Spirit and in Galatians he details the fruit of the Spirit. And in another places there is a command to be filled with the Spirit.

What is the meaning of all these things? In one place it is written that the Holy Spirit is a downpayment, or a deposit. In another we're commanded to be filled. How do we go from the deposit to the fulness, to the place where we are filled? This is what Pastor Terry will be talking about next time he preaches.

The Good News is that every time the Holy Spirit came upon people in the Old Testament it was for a great task that was humanly beyond them. God can do the same for us in this day and age.

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He Knows My Needs

Upcoming Events
--Women's Bible Study will be starting up again in September. A sign up sheet is in the back of the sanctuary.
--There will be a baby shower after church next Sunday, July 16, for Braelynn, daughter of Levi Landsverk.
--Pastor Terry is moving to his new home this month and could use help moving his Bonsai trees next Saturday. To help moving other things ask Terry for recommendation on best ways to help.

Children's Sermon
Susan Jessico invited the little ones up to the front and began by sharing a blueprints of our church building to show and share how important plans are. The key takeaway was how God has a blueprint for our lives, and that is what the Bible is. The children took turns sharing verse that address the various features of God's blueprint... to pray, to hide God's Word in our hearts and to trust God.

Baptism
We set aside time for the baptism of Lydia Glesner, daughter of Tom and Mary Glesner. Terry shared a few insights on how there are different views on baptism in different denominations. Most believe one view or another when it comes to baptism of infants or baptism of new believers. The Covenant Church holds a both/and position as opposed to either/or.

The Glesners came forward along with godparents and Pastor Terry blessed and prayed for Lydia and baptized her in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. The family then came forward and all were prayed for.

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The ushers came forward and took the offering as the congregation sang "'Tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus" followed by a time of prayer before the message.

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He Knows My Needs

In order to grow in the life of faith we need to know God better, to know who God is. As an illustration Terry brought a package of bread from Great Harvest.

This familiar passage from the Sermon on the Mount was our text: Matthew 7:7-14. What Jesus taught us was to ask each day for our daily bread. Ask, seek, knock...

If you, then, know how to give good gifts, how much more will God take care of you, give you good gifts. God is good. Do you believe this fundamental truth? God will take care of you.

The Lord's Prayer outlines the essentials of His care, that His kingdom would come and His will be done, that that our debts/sins would be forgiven and that we we be able to forgive others, that we be delivered from evil, that He would protect us from temptation,

Today we live in a moment of great promises. Sometimes they are short in coming and other times they are long in coming, but God is faithful and he will fulfill what He has promised.

Hold on to God's promises. God is good. Trust that He can do what He has promised.