Sunday, November 1
All Saints Day lifts the eyes to the great multitude around the throne, reminds the church that saintliness comes from the blood of the Lamb rather than from flawless people, and gives a people who cannot yet see that crowd a hope worth running on.
Sunday, October 25
The Holy Spirit's life in us is meant to be enjoyed, not just obeyed, and the gift of encouragement is how one person's joy in God gets handed on to someone else so the whole church can share it.
Sunday, October 18
The gift of faith is a supernatural conviction the Holy Spirit gives for a specific moment, not the saving faith every Christian already has, and it is given to build up the church and send her out to a lost world.
Sunday, October 11
The Holy Spirit gives the gift of tongues for both private prayer and public worship, and the way he gives it shows that every member of the body matters. A Spirit-filled church is measured not by its most gifted member but by whether its least equipped member can say amen.
Sunday, October 4
The Samaritan woman met Jesus at a well and her encounter with him overflowed into testimony, and the same Spirit who met her gives every believer a story to speak. Sharing what God has done is part of life with the Holy Spirit, and it is how faith reaches the people around us.
Sunday, September 20
The Holy Spirit is not a force to tap into but a person at work in the ordinary stuff of creation, and the gift of miracles is the inbreaking kingdom of God shown through people who only do what they see the Father doing.
Sunday, September 13
The sermon makes the case that God's people are meant to live expectantly, believing God still breaks in, and that one of the main ways he does it is through prophecy, a word from God through a person for the encouragement, building, and equipping of his people.