Leader Guide week of Sept. 30

Small Group Leaders Guide
September 30, 2007

Small Group Announcements (please announce these to your group).



Small Group Study Questions:

September 30, 2007
The TRANSFORMER
Getting Started:

1. Complete the sentence: I remember a time when the Spirit prompted me to _________.


Going Deeper:

2. Can a person be filled with the Spirit more than once?


3. Read Ephesians 4:30. What practical advice would you give someone who was concerned about whether or not he/she was grieving the Holy Spirit? Can you find some advice if you continued reading from verse 30 through chapter 5, verse 4? How about if you read the rest of chapter 5?


4. Read Acts 13:52 and Luke 10:21. What is in the surrounding verses that may supply context for the experience of being filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit in these passages?

• Seeing God at work.
• Experiencing the fulfillment of promises made by Jesus. (even promises like “if they hate you, remember they hated me first”)
• Participation with God in His work.

5. Read Matthew 3:11, Acts 1:5 and Acts 9:17. What is the difference between being baptized by the Holy Spirit and filled with the Holy Spirit?

• Ephesians 5:18
• 1Corinthians 12:13
• Baptism by the Holy Spirit is a one-time occurrence that happens at the time of salvation when God sends the Holy Spirit into a new believers life. Being filled with the Spirit is a state of being and can happen over and over and to greater or lesser degrees and for different purposes.

6. Read Acts 2:4, 10:46, and 19:6. When a person receives the Holy Spirit, should he/she expect to speak in tongues? To prophecy? What other passages may help answer this question? What could a person expect?

• Read 1Corinthians 12:28-30. What is the implied answer to each of Paul’s questions in that passage?
• A person could expect a life increasingly free from the control of sin.
• A person could expect fruits such as those listed in Galatians 5:22.
• A person could expect to be transformed by the renewing of his/her mind.

7. The Bible talks about a person being “full” of the Holy Spirit, (a quality to look for) and being “filled” with the Holy Spirit (a verb) What is the difference and/or relationship between the two. (see the online question at www.newlifecommunitychurchblog.blogspot.com)

8. Read Acts 6:3. Who do you know that you would describe as being “full of the Spirit and wisdom”? What, specifically, makes you think of that person?


9. How can you tell if something you did, said, felt, etc. was the result of the Spirit? What questions might you ask to try to determine the answer?

• Did I behave in a manner consistent with Scripture’s description of Christian behavior?
• Could what I did be recognized as sinful in some way?
• Is this thing the Spirit prompted within me consistent with the Galatians 5:22-23 description of the fruits of the Spirit?
• Would I have done that anyway or was it out of character?
• Did I act more like Christ or less like Christ?
• The Holy Spirit will never prompt someone to commit sin.
• Obviously these questions could never give “proof positive” about whether the Holy Spirit was acting in a person. However, some people are very willing to attribute their acts, behaviors, thoughts, etc. to the Holy Spirit when, with just a little careful, Biblical, thought and analysis, it could be plainly seen that the Holy Spirit would not prompt such an action.

10. Describe a time or situation when you felt like you were filled with the Spirit. What about that time causes you to give credit to the Holy Spirit for your feeling, action or behavior?


11. If you had a Spirit gauge (like a gas gauge in a car) where would you say the needle is pointing right now?


Putting it into practice:

1) If you would like to experience a fresh filling of the Spirit, pray about that in your groups. Consider laying on hands during your prayer time.




Quote Of The Day
The filling of the Holy Spirit is not our having more of the Holy Spirit, but the Holy Spirit having more of us!







My Comments (for small group leaders and co-leaders)

Don’t forget to check out the small group leader blog at newlifegroups.blogspot.com
Feel free to offer comments and suggestions by clicking the comments on the blog post.
I look forward to hearing from you!




Small Group Leaders,

I’ve posted an online small group question. My question is about the relationship between the term “full of the Spirit” and “filled with the Spirit” One seems to be an adjective to describe someone, the other is a verb. Check out the video to hear my question. Below are a couple quick thoughts and verses.





I think we can talk of being filled with the Spirit in two ways:

1. A life that is increasingly characterized by the presence and fruits of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 6:3 Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them

Acts 6:5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism.

Acts 11:24 He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.


2. A specific experience where we receive an empowering, infilling from the Spirit of God.

Acts 4:8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: "Rulers and elders of the people!

Acts 4:31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

Acts 13:9 Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said,

Acts 13:52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.