Advent: Receiving the Gift of the Spirit of God
Date: 12/11/22
Preacher: Trent Chambers
Scripture: 1 John 4:12-15
Main Sermon Points
1. Definition: JOY is the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying.
2. JESUS SAVES (v.14)
○ Good news is meant to be shared and received.
3. GOD IS HERE (v.13)
○ The Spirit is meant to be experienced.
4. We know we have the Spirit from 2 results:
○ We LOVE JESUS (v.15)
○ We CARE FOR EACH OTHER (v.12)
Psalm
Psalm 145 (When singing or praying this Psalm, move through praising God for who he is and what he’s done (v.1-7), thanking him for his forgiveness and salvation (v.8-13), and petitioning him to be good and gracious to us in our needs (v.14-21).)
Set the Stage
John Piper writes in God Is the Gospel, “God’s highest act of love is giving us himself to love. … the Christian gospel is not merely that Jesus died and rose again; and not merely that these events appease God’s wrath, forgive sin, and justify sinners; and not merely that this redemption gets us out of hell and into heaven; but that they bring us to the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ as our supreme, all-satisfying, and everlasting treasure.” Have you considered that God gave us himself at the first Advent? This is exactly what John is saying in 1 John 4. Because there’s nothing better than God, he gives us himself.
Read the Passage
Read the Scripture passage aloud as a group. When you’re done reading, take some time to share observations about the passage. Try not to move into interpretation or application yet. Just spend some time observing what the text says.
Discuss and Apply
Read Luke 2:8-12. Consider, if you were in the shepherds’ dirty shoes, what might you have been expecting when you started your late night shift? (This is the opening question from this week’s discussion in the 2022 Sojourn Advent Devotional.)
1. When was the last time you received a gift that was truly unexpected? What was it like when you received it?
Years after the angels’ joyful announcement to the shepherds, Jesus actually did accomplish the redemption he was sent to accomplish. He wasn’t just “sent to be the Savior,” he IS the Savior! He succeeded! 1 Peter 3:18 proclaims, “Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.” Like the shepherds perhaps not expecting Messiah that night, we tend to forget to anticipate Jesus.
2. Does the promise of your salvation, your resurrection to eternal life, and Jesus’s return to usher in the new creation, give you joy on a daily basis? What helps you remember this joy and what tends to make you forget?
On Sunday, Trent showed us that John isn’t giving us step-by-step instructions on how to experience the Holy Spirit: he’s teaching us that God sends his Spirit to dwell in every believer, and there are two results of that which we can see as evidence of faith: we LOVE JESUS, and we CARE FOR EACH OTHER.
3. What does it mean to love Jesus? Why do you think John calls it “confessing that Jesus is the Son of God” (v.15)?
Leader’s notes: In order to love the real Jesus, we have to acknowledge, see, and relate to him as he really is: he’s Jesus the Savior, and also the Son of God. Think of the loving meaning packed into that: for our sake he humbled himself, served us and suffered for us, gave up his life for us, and even now continually advocates for us. Is your response to love him in return?
The second result of God’s Spirit in us is that we CARE FOR EACH OTHER.
4. Share the ways in which God has worked in your heart and life to increase your care for others.
Close
Let’s not let this week of joy, or this season, slip by without pausing and intentionally learning what God has for us.
1. How will you capture this Christmas season as a catalyst to inspire and increase joy in your life?