Week 1 –The Fruits of the Spirit Introduction
Days 3 and 4
There is an expression we sometimes use in the church to describe someone who is full of the Holy Spirit, living in obedience to God and living out their faith in Jesus.
You’ll often hear them called Spirit-filled.
And if you’re in the church and used to hearing this, you probably intellectually know that it means someone who has submitted their life to God and their life is bearing fruit and how they live is the evidence that their faith is genuine, and the Holy Spirit is in them.
But.
What does being Spirit-filled really mean? And what does that mean to our neighbors who may not have accepted Christ and really don’t understand who the Holy Spirit is or why it is important to be filled with the Spirit?
In today’s study, we’re going to take a closer look at the third member of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. Since this is a more involved study, this will be a two-day lesson for reading, prayer time and response questions. However, I know that two days is still not a lot of time to really study the Holy Spirit in detail, so I would encourage you join me in spending time in prayer in the days ahead asking God to reveal His Holy Spirit in a very tangible and personal way. I am also including a resource list of books about the Holy Spirit in case you would like to do further reading about the Holy Spirit and His role in our lives. Also, we can turn to our best primary source, God’s Word, to do in-depth topic studies and focusing on verses about the Holy Spirit, which are also included below.
Even if you already know a great deal about the Holy Spirit, please consider joining us in asking God to help us see His Holy Spirit with fresh eyes. Sometimes, we can become complacent or so familiar with our routine that we miss opportunities to grow, learn and experience life in a more vibrant and complete way.
Have you ever found yourself praying and you realize it often sounds a lot like the last time you talked with God? Or maybe you always go through the grocery store the exact same way, buying the exact same brands over and over again – quite possibly missing something new or just something you’ve never purchased before? So, for today’s lesson, I would encourage you to ask God to reveal His Holy Spirit to you and help you see Him and His majesty and glory through fresh eyes that enable you to see the Holy Spirit’s possibilities, perspectives and power in your life!
Before we get started on our lesson, though, I’d like to ask you to join me in prayer for two groups of people.
First, please continue praying for the students in Florida who are grieving and mourning and who are working through their own sorrow and loss even as they work to effect change in legislation and awareness about gun violence. Please lift them up in prayer – together, we can pray for them to be encouraged, blessed and strengthened. Pray that God would bless their sweet, precious hearts and that they wouldn’t become disheartened or disillusioned by the people insulting or arguing with them.
I don’t know where these young people have found the strength to organize and mobilize after all that they have already endured in the last two weeks. I am amazed by their fortitude and faith and they are such a bright hope for our nation as they commit to honoring their fallen classmates and teachers through activism and calling on our nation’s citizens and legislators to write, discuss and vote on legislation that would protect young people in their schools as well as protect all of us from those who seek only to harm and kill.
Sadly, there are some who are insulting, mocking and disparaging these brave young students from Florida as they have rallied for safer schools and communities.
Even those who do not support their proposed legislation should be able to find it in themselves to treat them with dignity, respect and courtesy. These are brave young people who have already been through so much grief, stress, fear and sorrow. Each of these young people is someone’s son or daughter. They all have been injured by the trauma they went through on February 14 in their high school – some of them wounded physically and visibly, but all of them carrying internal scars that will likely remain with them through the rest of their lives, a reminder of the loss and trauma they experienced that day. We can do no less than to treat them with gentleness, love, peace and kindness – some of the fruits of the Spirit that we will be studying in the weeks ahead – and we must stand up for them when others seek to insult or mock them and gently rebuke those who would insult these young students, showing their critics the importance of showing respect and courtesy to each other.
Let us pray that they would consider the words of Paul to Timothy when he told him “Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe.” (1 Tim. 4:12 NASB)
Ask God to use them in a mighty and life-changing way for our world. Pray that they would respond to the hate and insults with love and grace. And please, let us pray for the healing for each of the children, all of the families affected by this tragedy and that God would comfort and be with each of them. These are brave young men and women and they are worthy of our respect and admiration and greatly in need of our prayers to God on behalf of them, their families and their community.
Later this week, we are going to talk about evil in the world and the challenges of living in a fallen world. That day’s study will take us to the second chapter of Genesis, where we will see a story about a serpent, a fruit and a decision that would change the course of events for eternity.
The second group of people I would like to invite you lift up in prayer are those who are ridiculing and insulting the students and families of Parkland. I know it is hard to pray for people who are not acting with love or grace. It is difficult to pray for people when they are hurting others.
But when we think about it, there are two simple reasons why we must pray for all people, including our enemies.
The most important reason is that Jesus told us to love and pray for our enemies. In the Beatitudes, Jesus said,
“But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Matt. 5:44-45 NASB)
Jesus wants us to love our enemies and pray for them. If we are to walk in obedience to God, we must obey Him. It will be hard, but we are called to obedience in all things – not just the comfortable and convenient things. If God told us to love and pray for our enemies, He must have a good reason. We may not understand Him, but we must choose to obey Him.
We should pray for these people for another reason. Prayer literally changes things. It can change people’s hearts, it can turn people around, it can bring hope and healing. And when we pray together, imagine the beautiful chorus of prayers rising up to God, asking for Him to come down and bring change in the hearts of those who are so desperately in need of Him. If ever there was a person who needed Christ, it is the person who is so filled with hate, venom and hurt that they spew it at the innocent and hurting.
Jesus said this in the Gospel of Matthew: “Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.”” (Matt. 18:19 NASB)
God calls us to lift our voices in prayer together, as followers of Christ seeking God together, as one Body of believers. Jesus promises that His Father – our Heavenly Father – hears our prayers and that when we pray for His will, that He listens to us and He hears our prayers – the ones we speak and the ones that we aren’t even able to utter, but are deep within our heart, soul and mind. He may not answer them exactly as we envision or would like Him to, but God does answer our prayers.
Can God change a man’s heart? The answer, as we’ll find out through the weeks ahead, is not that easy. God can change a man’s heart – but He wants a man to want his heart changed, which is why He gave us free will. Our enemies may never change. But, if we are praying for them and seeking healing and recovery, we will be guarding our own hearts from becoming bitter, angry and ugly.
These people, as angry and cruel as they may be, desperately need our prayers as much as anyone. As the expression goes, hurting people hurt people.
So, as difficult as it may be, I hope you will join me in praying for these people – that their hearts would be changed, that the scales would fall off their eyes and they could see the hurt they are causing to the victims as well as to so many other people, and that ultimately, they would seek God and ask Him to take their stone heart and replace it with a beating heart of love and mercy, as the prophet Ezekiel shared what God revealed to him when he wrote, “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” (Ezek. 36:26)
In the days ahead, let’s continue to lift our voices in prayer for the students of Parkland, Florida and across our nation and around the world and let’s also commit to pray even for those who have chosen to ridicule and mock the students. We can pray that God would use each of us as His instruments of peace and love in a world desperate for more of both.
And if you find that you don’t know what to pray for or can’t find the words to talk with God about the grief and sadness in your heart as a result of the tragedy in Florida, we can take comfort that one of the reasons God gave us the Holy Spirit is so that He can help us pray – and at times, even pray for us when we can’t find the words or will to pray about the pain or sorrow in our hearts.
In Romans, Paul teaches us that the Holy Spirit is with us to help us pray and that He helps us in our human frailty and weakness to call out to God. Even when we can’t form the words or make the sounds to cry out to our God, the Holy Spirit is with us, interceding for us as a lifeline to God, praying for us and advocating for us in our moments of sorrow and despair.
“In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” (Rom. 8:26-27 NASB)
In this two day lesson, we will look closer at the Holy Spirit to help us better understand who the Holy Spirit is, what the Holy Spirit does, where the Holy Spirit lives, how we can be filled with the Spirit – and why the Holy Spirit works in us to cultivate fruits that are then used to nourish and bless us, our loved ones, and people all over the world!
Below is a brief summary about the Holy Spirit. There are many reference verses that you can use to learn more about the Holy Spirit. You may find these helpful if you are learning more about the Holy Spirit as you ask God to grow the fruits of the Holy Spirit in you so that He can use you in a unique and important way in His world today.
If you are already familiar with the Spirit, perhaps there is an area or specific verse you can select that may be useful in studying a certain function or characteristic about the Holy Spirit in greater detail. Perhaps there is an area of your life in which God is leading you to walk closer with the Spirit or maybe you intellectually and theologically understand who the Holy Spirit is, but you don’t know the Holy Spirit as personally as you would like or there are details of your life that you want to entrust to the Holy Spirit.
Maybe you wonder if God is really with you or if He cares about you. The Holy Spirit answers that question for us. He reminds us that God loves us so much that He sent Jesus so we could be forgiven, and we could be reconciled to God. And Jesus loves us so much that He knew we would need a Helper to walk with us through this world as His followers. So Jesus asked God to send the Holy Spirit to live inside of us as we walk with Christ – to help us, convict us, encourage us and even pray for us. The Holy Spirit is the evidence that God is with us always and that He goes with us everywhere we go. We are never alone, because God is always with us. Perhaps God is calling you to walk closer with His Holy Spirit – to be still and know that He is God, to listen for the leading and teaching of the Spirit and to simply trust and obey and follow as the Holy Spirit teaches, convicts and guides you in the big and little details of life.
I find that God shows me new things each time I study His Word. It may be that I notice a detail I hadn’t seen before, or I gain a new perspective that God uses to give me greater insight to apply His Word in my life or even just that God is doing a new thing in my life and He is using a verse I have read many times before but allowing me to see it and understand it through His wisdom in a greater and new way.
The Bible teaches us that God’s Word is alive and that through careful study of His Scriptures, we can gain discernment, wisdom and understanding so that we can live our lives in a way that pleases and honors God – and which will bless us and those around us! The Bible really is our Instruction Manual for Life, praise God!
“ For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Heb. 4:12)
THE HOLY SPIRIT: HELPER AND GUIDE, GIVEN BY GOD
TO FOLLOWERS OF JESUS CHRIST
WHO
The Holy Spirit is part of the Trinity, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. (2 Cor. 13:14, Matt. 28:19)
The Holy Spirit is a person, not an inanimate object. We have fellowship with the Holy Spirit. (2 Cor. 13:14)
The Holy Spirit was with Jesus when He came to earth. (Matt. 12:18, Mark 1:19)
God’s Holy Spirit is at work all around us, and He works through us and in us. (Jn. 15:25-26; Jn. 16:13)
Jesus asked God to send the Holy Spirit after His death and resurrection when Jesus returned to the Father in heaven. (Jn. 14:16-17; Jn. 14:25-27; Jn. 15:26-27; Jn. 16:7)
God pours out His Holy Spirit on all mankind – though we only receive and are filled with the Holy Spirit as our Helper and Teacher when we accept Christ as our Savior. (Joel 2:28-29; Jn. 14-16; Acts 2:17)
WHAT
The Holy Spirit is our Helper and Friend. (Jn. 14 – 16)
The Holy Spirit intercedes for us. (Rom. 8:26-27)
He teaches and guides us. (Jn. 14:26)
The Holy Spirit leads us. (Ezek. 3:14)
He testifies to us about who Jesus is. (Jn. 15:26 – 27)
He acts as a conscience to convict us and show us God’s truth. (Jn. 14:16-17; Jn. 15:26-27; Jn. 16:8-11; Jn. 16:12-13)
He prays for us when we aren’t able to pray. (Rom. 8:26-27)
We have fellowship with the Holy Spirit. (2 Cor. 13:14)
We are to walk by the Spirit to help us make good choices in our lives. (Gal. 5:16)
We are to be filled with the Holy Spirit. (Eph. 5:18)
As the Body of Christ, we are united in the Holy Spirit. (Eph. 4:4)
The Holy Spirit testifies to us; He is the truth and His is the way in which we should walk. (1 Jn. 5:6)
We are not to quench the Holy Spirit (1 Thess. 5:19)
WHERE
Like all parts of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit is everywhere at all times and He is with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ (Jn. 16:13-15)
He lives in each follower of Christ. (Jn. 14:16-17)
He talks with both the followers of Christ and those who haven’t yet followed Christ – but He lives eternally in the followers of Christ. (Jn. 14:16; Jn. 16:8-11)
WHEN
The Holy Spirit has always been and always will be. The Holy Spirit was with God the Father and God the Son when the world was created. The Holy Spirit has been present throughout all time. (Gen. 1:2)
God made man in the image of the Trinity — God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (Gen. 1:26)
When we accept Christ, we are filled with the Holy Spirit and born again. (Jn. 3:5-6)
Jesus asked God to send His followers the Holy Spirit to be our Helper after His death and resurrection, when Jesus returned to heaven. (Jn. 14:16-17; Jn. 14:25-26; Jn. 16:7-13)
God will pour forth His Holy Spirit in the last days. (Joel 2:28; Acts 2:17)
WHY
The Holy Spirit was sent by God when Jesus asked Him to send us a Helper to walk with us through this life. (Jn. 14:16-17; Jn. 14:25-26; Jn. 16:13)
The Holy Spirit is able to convict, encourage, guide, teach, train, correct and help us through all the trials and challenges we will face each day. (Jn. 14:25-27; Jn. 16:8-12)
To serve as an intermediary between God and man. He intercedes for us to God when we cannot find the words to pray. He is able to search and know our hearts and pray on our behalf to God, our Heavenly Father. (Rom. 8:26-27)
HOW
He helps us walk so that we do not sin. The Holy Spirit helps us to make good choices that honor God and which reflect how Christ lived when He was on earth. The Holy Spirit helps us as we are sanctified through our lives, becoming each day more like Christ. (Gal. 5:16)
We are to be baptized in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit – and then we are to go and make disciples of all nations and baptize others in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (Matt. 28:19)
God uses the Holy Spirit to give us spiritual gifts that we can use to serve Him and others. (1 Cor. 12:4-13; Rom. 12:6-8)
Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we are able to teach, preach, share the Gospel and make good choices in our lives. (Rom. 15:9)
Study Questions – Day 3 and 4
- Jesus said in John 14:16 that He would ask His Father to send the Holy Spirit to the disciples (and to all followers of Jesus) and that the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus called a “Helper,” would abide with His followers and would live inside them.
When we accept Christ, we are filled with the Holy Spirit and He is given to us as our Helper to walk with us throughout our lives. The Holy Spirit continues to walk with us and speaks to us and for us to God all of our days.
Read John 14:16 and consider your relationship with the Holy Spirit. Have you been filled with the Holy Spirit?
Can you think of an instance when the Holy Spirit has convicted you about something and about how God is calling you to live? Perhaps it was a decision you were making in which you were seeking God’s will – or an attitude or behavior that you realized was not in line with God’s will.
Briefly describe how the Holy Spirit convicted, taught, encouraged or guided you through that time or experience.
Has there been a time when you felt a nudge of the Holy Spirit about serving God – maybe about sharing your faith or serving in your church or spending more time with God in prayer or studying His Word? What was your response?
Are there any times you can recall where the Holy Spirit has spoken to you but you haven’t responded in the way God was leading you? If so, you can use this space to confess to God that you, like all of us, have fallen short of His glory and holiness. Ask Him to help you learn from this time so that you can make better choices in the situations that present themselves in days ahead. Ask God to guide you and ask Him to help you hear and listen to His Holy Spirit. You might want to use this time to write a prayer to God, thanking Him for His Holy Spirit and asking Him to help you continue to obey His Spirit – or, perhaps even to begin to listen and obey His Holy Spirit today.
Satan may use your confession to shame you – even in your own mind. Just thinking about where we have fallen short can make us feel weak or unqualified to serve God. If you feel discouraged by areas in your life where God is still working on you as He works through you, answer Satan with God’s Word and speak aloud the truth of God’s love for you.
Here are some verses that you might want to reflect on to help you respond to Satan’s lies:
“As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:12
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Rom. 3:23
“Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” 2 Cor. 7:1
“The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,
To all who call upon Him in truth.” Ps. 145:18
“ I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” (Gal. 2:20 NASB)
Nothing you wrote surprises God. And here’s the most amazing part. Nothing you wrote changes God’s love for you. He loves you with an everlasting, unchanging love. You are His son or daughter. He doesn’t see your failures. He sees His Son, who gave His life for you, and He sees your worth, beauty and value. Today, rest in the assurance of His love for you and your forgiveness and reconciliation to God through the atoning blood of Christ. Ask God to help you walk and talk with Him, trusting and obeying Him and listening to His Holy Spirit.
How do you think you can respond to the Holy Spirit’s leading the next time He speaks to you? Could you spend time in prayer and ask God to confirm what you believe the Holy Spirit is telling you? Perhaps time in the Bible or seeking wise counsel from a Christian friend?
How do you think that you can be more open to listening and obeying the Holy Spirit the next time God uses the Spirit to convict or teach you?
- “I CAN’T EVEN.”
You’ve probably said or heard those words more times than you can (even) count in the last few years. It’s something about those three little words – they just capture our speechlessness, our shock, our inability to know what to say or do.
But don’t worry. Because when you don’t know what to say or do, there is Someone who does.
God sent Him to you, because He knew we’d have moments of despair, confusion and just not even having the words.
How can we know that?
Because it’s in the Bible, in Romans 8:26-27.
Paul teaches us in Romans that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us when we “can’t even” – when we don’t even have the words to speak our prayers and we’re just thinking and wondering and overwhelmed.
It says in Romans that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us (that means the Holy Spirit speaks on our behalf with God) with groanings too deep for words.
It also says that the Holy Spirit intercedes for the saints “according to the will of God.” (Rom. 8:27 NASB)
Take a moment to read Romans 8:26-27 or look it up here.
Can you think of a time recently when you “couldn’t even” – when you didn’t have the words to pray – or perhaps when you were facing a seemingly impossible situation and didn’t know what to do or where to turn? Briefly write about the situation and what you did in response. What happened in the days that followed?
Have you ever been so overwhelmed with your situation – either positively or negatively – that your initial response wasn’t praise or prayer? While God wants us to always go to Him in prayer for the blessings and challenges in our lives, we can take comfort that even in those times when we can’t find the words to pray or we are overwhelmed, fatigued or confused by our situations, that the Holy Spirit is ever-present with us and that He knows the thoughts and questions of our hearts and is interceding with God our Father for you, and for all of us!
- How does it make you feel to know that the Holy Spirit can live within you, helping you, convicting you about sin, guiding you to make good choices, encouraging you – and even praying for you and your needs to God the Father?
Do you believe the Holy Spirit is with you today as a follower of Christ? Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior?
If you have, thank God even right now for the gift His Son gave to us on the cross. If you would like, you can read along through this question and reflect on when you accepted Christ as your Savior. Would you please pray for those who don’t yet know Christ as their Savior – perhaps a person who may be reading this study or maybe a loved one, friend, coworker, neighbor, a person in the news or someone in your community?
If you don’t know Jesus as your Savior yet, do you want to know how you can be saved by Christ and filled with the Holy Spirit?
If you haven’t asked Christ to be your Savior and you want to trust Him and have the assurance of salvation and be filled with His Holy Spirit, here is a link to the Billy Graham Ministries page that will help you learn more about salvation and why we need Jesus.
Also, below is the ABC’s of Salvation which helps to explain who we are, who Jesus is, why we need Jesus, what Jesus did for us on the cross, and how we can be saved.
A – Admit you are a sinner and in need of a Savior
B – Believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He came to earth, died for your sins on the cross, rose again after three days, ascended into heaven where He sits at the right hand of God – and believe that His death paid the price for your sins when you admit you are a sinner, that you need Him, that He is the only way for you to be forgiven and reconciled to God.
C – Confess Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Pray to God and tell Him that you are a sinner and you need a Savior. Tell God that you believe Jesus died for your sins and that you want to be forgiven and that you want Jesus to be Lord of your life. Ask God to fill you with His Holy Spirit and ask Him to be with you and forgive you and help you.
When you pray that prayer, God will answer you and accept you into His family. You can have the assurance that you are forgiven, that Christ is your Savior and that you will spend eternity with God in heaven.
And you can know that God will fill you with His Holy Spirit to help you each and every day. And that the Holy Spirit will help to grow spiritual fruits in you so that you can become mature and strong in your faith, and then be able to bless others with those fruits!
- Take a moment to look at Galatians 5:22-23 again. When you look at the verses, take a few moments to pray and ask God to show you at least one fruit that is growing in you – and another fruit that perhaps is still just a small blossom and not yet a strong fruit in you.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” (Gal. 5:22-23 NASB)
What fruit has God been growing and strengthening in you which you feel is mature and able to be shared with others? Pray that God would continue to grow this fruit in you and thank Him for all that He has given you with this spiritual fruit.
How are you sharing or “living out“ this fruit at this time in your life?
What fruit might God be calling you to seek Him and His will and to seek the Holy Spirit to continue cultivating and growing in you?
Is there an area in your life that you would like to see God mature and strengthen you through His Holy Spirit? Ask God to show you where He wants to grow stronger, more mature spiritual fruit in your life.
In prayer over the next week, ask Him if there are areas where He is seeking to prune or trim so that you can grow and become stronger in Him. Perhaps there are nutrients you need – just as plants need good soil, the right amount of water and plenty of sunshine, we need time in God’s Word, regular time talking with God in prayer, fellowship, time for praise and worship and time to rest in His goodness and grace through Sabbath times of rest and recharging. How might God be pruning or strengthening you today so that this fruit might be able to grow strong in your life in the days ahead?
How might your life and the lives of others be changed if this fruit were to become more mature and could be shared as a ripe and abundant fruit?
I am praying that God would reveal to you a specific area where He is calling you to growth and greater obedience and understanding. I am joining with you in asking and seeking God to show us where He wants to mature and strengthen us so that we can be more useful and greater blessings to Him and those He places in our paths each day!
- When you have a few moments today or tomorrow, I hope you will listen to this song, “Holy Spirit,” by Francesca Battistelli. Take a few moments to close your eyes and make this the prayer of your heart today. Just listen to the words, or read the words if you find that helpful. Think about how the Holy Spirit is with followers of Christ – literally dwelling and abiding in us. Think about the power of the Holy Spirit – and what power He offers to you as you follow Christ.
In the song, she sings “Holy Spirit, You are welcome here…” As you listen to the song and reflect on the words, perhaps you can invite God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit to be welcome in your life and offer gratitude for God’s constant presence in your life through the Holy Spirit.
Take a few minutes out of your busy day just to worship God and declare that His Holy Spirit is welcome in your life and that you want Him to be with you, to guide you – and to know the peace that the Holy Spirit gives us as He intervenes, intercedes and advocates for us, even (especially) on the days when we “can’t even.”
May God bless and keep you and may He bring us together to study and worship Him again!
Additional Resources:
Flying Closer to the Flame, Charles Swindoll
Holy Spirit, Billy Graham
The Helper, Catherine Marshall
The Spirit-Filled Life, Charles Stanley
This Week’s Prayer Focus:
Please pray for the Parkland community and all those who have been affected by gun violence.
Bible Memory Verse: Galatians 5:22-23
Fruit of the Week:
Oranges, a fruit grown in Florida, to remind us to pray for all those affected by the school shooting in Florida, including the families, the students, first responders and all of the community.
Discipline:
Sacrifice during Lent – Why do we sacrifice to God during Lent and at other times in the year?
Action Items:
Visit the produce section of your market and purchase some oranges to remind you to pray for the people of Parkland and all victims of gun violence.
Be in prayer for our Prayer Focus, the people of Parkland and all victims of fun violence.
“Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.”
In The Narthex 