To Proclaim and Practice the Living Christ

Acts 2:1-13

November 3, 2024

Paul McIlwraith

With a friend, your family or in your small group, discuss the following questions:

1.    Discuss some of the festivals that we have in our culture. How does the way that we celebrate traditions (dress, food, activities etc.)             related to that special event, set the tone for the overall theme of the festival? Why do you think the Jewish Festivals were so important       to the people in Jesus’ time?

2.    Share a time when you had to wait for something. How difficult was it for you to wait? What did you learn in the waiting?

3.    Have you ever been caught in something like a great wind or storm? Describe your experience and the effects that that weather                   system had on you and those around you.

4.    What is the significance of wind and fire in the bible? Read one of the Theophany occurrences in Exodus 3:2-5, Exodus 13:21-22 or Ezekiel         37:1-10. How does God make Himself known to His people in these passages? How has God made Himself known to you in the past?

5.    The Holy Spirit like wind; can refresh us, is powerful enough to stir things up and, it is not able to be controlled by humans. Give some             examples when you have experienced the Holy Spirit at work in your life in these ways- refreshing, powerful and beyond your control.

6.    The Holy Spirit is like fire; it illuminates, warms, purifies and spreads. Give some examples of times when you have experienced the Holy         Spirit as these qualities of fire.

7.    Why do you think the topic of the Holy Spirit has created some angst and uncertainly in the Christian faith?

8.    Where have you seen evidence of the Holy Spirit at work in the ministries of North Park Church to carry out the mission to, Proclaim and         Practice the Living Christ?

9.    What limits you from fully tapping into the power that is available through God’s Spirit in your life?

Prayer and Action Item

Pray for one another out of the key points that were discussed. Invite God to open your heart and mind to the work of His Spirit in your life. Commit to praying the following prayer each day for two weeks and make note of the ways you experience the Holy Spirit in your life.  

Holy Spirit, empower me and fill me to overflowing. I hold nothing back from you. Work your gifts in me and through me, so that the Kingdom of God may be manifested in and through my life. Each day, demonstrate to me how I can proclaim and practice the Living Christ, wherever you take me. I ask this in Jesus' Name. Amen.