Joy and life in God's Spirit

Sunday, June 14, 2020 - 10:15 AM

COVID Worship Week Thirteen—Sunday, June 14

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Preparatory content

Read our memory verse Romans 14:17

Romans 14:17

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,

Galatians 5:16-23

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Romans 8:1-11

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

Worship service

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Align time

Connect with your group for discussion of our text together. 

Questions to probe our text and live it: 

  1.  Welcome new peeps! Who else could we include?
  2. Public worship returns to GCC’s campus on July 5. We will offer recorded worship services for any who are unable or cautious about returning to meeting all together if there is enough interest. Please email pastor@hhgcc.org to indicate your interest continuing remote church.
  3. Groups of 10 or less may meet face-to-face with appropriate social distancing if your group is ready. The Welcome Center and ABF 4/5 with their big TVs are available for groups on a pre-scheduled basis (email church office 48 hours before planned use).
  4. Jesus instructed His disciples to WAIT for the Holy Spirit to come and empower them to carry out the Great Commission. Discuss how easy or how hard it is for you to wait or depend on the Holy Spirit to empower you to do His work. 
  5. Talk about how having the Holy Spirit in you gives you a deep down joy that is there to stay. 
  6. Read Romans 8:6–7. Discuss the difference between a person who lives according to the flesh and one who lives according to the Spirit.
  7. Read Galatians 5:19–23. Talk about bad fruit verses good fruit. Is there bad fruit I need to clean out of my fridge? What good fruit can I add to your fridge? Do you find joy in knowing that the Holy Spirit is the one who will help you to do this?
  8. Galatians 5:25 says, “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” What are some steps I can take to improve my walk with the Spirit? How can this make you more aware of the joy you have in the Spirit that is there to stay? 
  9. Please give us other updates or prayer needs? As we thought through about things others have given us, and possessions or qualities we would like to pass along to others, did any names come to your mind? Let’s pray for these ones together.
  10. Read the memory verse, Romans 14:17, again.

Resources

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