Life in the Spirit

By Pastor Tom Anderson

It’s invisible. Airplanes ride on it. All animals live on it. It generates electricity. Birds soar on it. What is it? Air.

What if I told you of an invisible force empowering the Christian life? This force can change your very nature, fill you with divine love, enable you to overcome temptations, addictions and deep resentments. What is it? Who is it? He is the Holy Spirit.

Are you tired of trying and failing to discipline yourself? Are you skeptical about the sustainability of self-help efforts in your life? Are you frustrated with the inability to rise above the desires of your flesh and the darker angels of your nature? Are you your own worst enemy?

The crowning glory of Christian salvation is life in the Holy Spirit. For seven chapters in his letter to the Romans, Paul details the problems of sin in human nature. He proclaims the remedy is in the death of Jesus Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit to believers. This great salvation comes to a crescendo in Romans 8. Through the ages this single chapter has deeply inspired Christian thought and life. J. S. Bach wrote an entire cantata based on Romans 8 Jesu, meine Freude.

Beginning in June 5 an new series will walk us through the power and person of the Holy Spirit in Romans 8. Are you looking for some power in your life? Do you know who the Holy Spirit is? Do you know what he does? Have you entered into living in the Spirit? Invite your friends and neighbors to discover life in the Spirit with us each Sunday!

June 5, “Walking in the Spirit” (Romans 8:1-11) What would happen in your life if you took your mind off the flesh and set it on the Spirit?

June 12 “Witness of the Spirit” (Romans 8:12-17) How you can move from just thinking or trying to be a Christian to knowing with assurance that you really are.

June 19 “Waiting in the Spirit” (Romans 8:18-30) Help for our weakness! Do you know the difference between feeling “stuck” in a futile world and waiting with a certain hope?

June 26 “Security in the Spirit” (Romans 8:31-39) Lots of things can be taken away from us in life: our health, our finances, our friends and family but here’s the thing we can never be separated from. It’s a game changer!

I'm looking forward to experiencing the transforming power of the Holy Spirit in worship with you this June!