Tomorrow is May 1st. The Book of John series should end May 31st (unless we do a "welcome back" from the pandemic sermon. The next series "EmPOWERed" will begin in June. Here's what I have:
Empowered by God (How God empowers us)
* Text: John 14:15-17;25-27;15:26-27;16:7-15; (When the spirit comes....)
* Topic: General Intro to the Role of the Holy Spirit
Empowered Results (disciples before and after the Holy Spirit)
* Text: Acts 2. Comparing Acts with the Gospels
* Topic: Transformational examples using the Disciples.
Empowered Life (look at the phrase "life in His Name")
* Text: John 10:10, Ephesians 1:1-23 (chapter 2 as well), plus others.
* Topic: Transformational Example...of us. What does it mean to be transformed by the Holy Spirit?
Empowered Growth (How the Spirit empowers our disciplines)
*Text: Galatians 5:16-23 (Fruit of the Spirit). Point: Fruit are produced not manufactured. We don't have to "work ourselves" up to love...etc....it flows naturally...
* Topic: Growth means change.
Empowered Mission (Incarnational Missional Service)
* Text: 1 Cor 12-14 (others) Gifts of the Spirit. Body of Chris as incarnational mission.
* Topic: Rescued to mission, taking God's love into the world, taking God's presence into the world
Empowered Service
* Text:Perhaps continuation of Gifts of the Spirit sermon(s).
* Topic: How we are gifted to serve. Perhaps focus on how God's love is shared through service...service in the neighborhood? to others?
Empowered Love
* Text: 1 Cor 13: Looking at Love as one of the gifts...even though the passage is used at weddings, this is a passage with teeth describing a kind of love that is hard, actually impossible, on our own without God empowering us. Love is the result of the Spirit's influence. Wesley's Christian Perfection - perfected in Love. Loving others as Jesus has loved us.
* Topic: Difference between God-sourced love and manufactured (by us) love.
Flow of sermons within the series: How we are empowered ⇒ Transformed by God's Spirit ⇒ Transformed to Grow in the Fruit of God's Spirit ⇒ The Fruit of the Spirit shown through Gifts of the Spirit in Mission and Service ⇒ Resulting in a Godly, Holy, Agape Love.
Anyone who is interested in diving down and helping develop the sermons, let me know. I have a Notion Page that I can invite everyone too.
Feel free to make comments, thoughts, suggestions here though.