Leader Guide
In the weekend message we learned what it looks like to experience the Holy Spirit. When we are walking in the Spirit our lives will be filled with joy. Let's look at how we can experience the Holy Spirit, day by day.
What you will need: A Bible or your Bible app, a notebook, pen, and highlighter. The verses highlighted below are linked so that you can easily access them during your study time.
Jump Start
Leader’s: This section is designed to get discussions started, examine God’s truth, and apply it to our week. Life Group leaders should not assume everyone in their group is a Christ follower. Because they are taking part in a Life Group, they must have some openness to knowing more, exploring. Pray for the Holy Spirit to work and let Him lead you as well.
1. Share an experience where you had prior knowledge of something but then encountered it firsthand and how you felt about it. Examples: Seeing the ocean for the first time, birth of a child...
2. Read Ephesians 5:18. What are we commanded to be filled with? How can we know what the will of the Lord is? How does being filled with the Spirit change our lives?
Leader’s: As Christ followers, we have the gift of the Holy Spirit to guide us. The Holy Spirit is a part of the trinity, God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit, but can also be the hardest aspect of God to understand. We start to clearly see the Holy Spirit working in the book of Acts as the early church begins and will focus on this more in the next weeks of this sermon series. We encourage you and your Life Groups to start reading the book of Acts.
3. Read Ephesians 5:19. Why is music such a significant part of experiencing the Holy Spirit? What are some practical ways to apply this verse to our everyday lives?
Leader’s: Praise and worship show our passion, devotion, and excitement around who God is and what He is doing in our lives. When we sing, we get to express our heart and soul to God. There is power when we praise Him. The Spirit fills us up and works through and in us. It can take time and practice to become comfortable participating. Ultimately, singing to God isn’t about us, it’s about honoring God. We were made to worship. This can look like celebrating daily what God has done through singing songs to the Lord and reflecting on the lyrics.
4. Read Ephesians 5:20-21. How does giving thanks change our hearts? Why can it be a challenge to give thanks for everything?
Leader’s: Walking with the Spirit gives us joy that withstands our circumstances. There are always going to be problems all around us that need to be fixed, but when we constantly focus on the negative, we are not walking the way Jesus intended for us. When Jesus lived on earth, He had the ability to fix every problem with society but that was not His mission, and that is not our mission. Positivity changes our perspective and our encouragement changes others.
5. Action Steps: This weekend we were challenged to practice worship. At home with some praise and worship music first and on the weekends when we are together. Giving thanks, commit to writing down five things you are thankful for every time you have a negative thought this week. Serving others. Practice putting others’ needs before our own. Ask God to help us walk in the Spirit.
Deeper
6. Read Genesis 1:2, 1:26. Who do we see mentioned here right in the beginning? In verse 26 notice the word, us. What is God trying to show us?
Leader’s: Clearly here in the beginning of God's word we see the Spirit of God. Then we see in verse 26 the mention of the trinity.
7. Read Acts 1:4-8. What had the Father promised them?
Leader’s: God the Father had promised them the presence of the Holy Spirit. Here Jesus had risen from the grave and was with them and reminding them that they would be filled with the Holy Spirit soon.
8. Read Acts 2:1-4. As you read this about the coming of the Holy Spirit, how does it make you feel? What was the purpose of the Spirit allowing them to speak in other languages?
Leader’s: The promise was fulfilled, and the Spirit filled the believers, they were able to share with the power of the Spirit and many were added to their numbers.