— Edited

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.