First aired May 16, 2020
John the Baptist promised that Jesus would baptise us with the Holy Spirit & with Fire! Jesus told his disciples to wait on the promised Holy Spirit to receive power to be His witnesses throughout the whole earth.

Spirit and Fire

Icebreaker

Do you like campfires? Tell a story about a good fire you remember.
Or – maybe it’s a good candle you remember. Think about a flame that made you smile and share the story.

Praise and Worship

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KghIqH8l6cY[/embedyt]

Sermon

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_lkxss2i6o[/embedyt]

Digging Deeper

Reflect on the sermon today – did any ideas strike you that you’d like to comment on?

One of the texts Jose referenced was in Acts 1. Read Acts 1:1-9 in your group to get the broader context, then answer the following questions:  What are your initial thoughts when you read this passage?

This is Luke summarising the gospel and setting the scene for the entire book of Acts that follows. Therefore, he seems to suggest that Holy Spirit Baptism is the key point to bring out of the entire “Jesus Narrative”. Of all the gospel passages to quote, would you have quoted John The Baptist, if you were writing Acts? Why do you think he references this text? (verse 5)

The original text from John the Baptist is found in Luke 3:16 and also Matthew 3:11.  
Flick to both of these texts. Are there any differences in the gospels here? What differences can we learn from Matthew vs Luke?

Both in Matthew and in Luke, the verse about baptism with spirit and fire is followed by:
“His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”  
What does this verse mean?

What is your understanding of the difference between baptism by water, and baptism by the Spirit?   
Is it the same thing? Did anything that Jose said change your view?

Traditionally, more conservative streams of Christianity have been afraid of baptism by the Spirit, and have associated it with Pentecostalism, and something not quite right. What do you think?  
How can we reclaim baptism by the Spirit within our church community, without fear?

Challenge

The Holy Spirit is God living in us today. God has sent the Holy Spirit to live with us since Jesus is no longer here on earth.  
What can I do this week to tap into the Holy Spirit’s power in my life?