Pentecost Alive – Grow!

June 4, 2020

DAILY READING

Isaiah 40:29-31- “He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. 30 Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; 31 but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”

FIELD NOTES

While God answers some prayers with “No!” and others with “Slow,” there are other prayers that God responds by saying, “Grow!”

While few of us enjoy adversity, tension, and conflict, a friend accepts such situations as a means of God’s grace. While he doesn’t believe God causes these adversarial situations, he believes God helps him grow through them.

He trusts that God helps him through many adversities to “walk and not faint.”

Without going into detail, he prays, “God, please send your Holy Spirit to guide me through these rapids of life.” He uses the fruit of the Holy Spirit as a checklist while seeking an answer to his prayers. He prays, 

“Lord, help me love these people and this situation the way you love. No matter what happens, may your joy be my strength, and may I be at peace, knowing that you will ultimately provide what is best for me. While I cannot see the answers you provide, so help me grow in your patience as your kindness and goodness flow in and through me. As you are generous with your grace to me, help me be your gracious presence, faithful to you, gentle in my words and speech, and entirely under your control.”

As a result of prayerfully seeking these fruit of the Holy Spirit through adversity, he grows!

QUESTIONS FOR THE FIELD

• Looking back on your life, when was God’s answer, “Hang in there! I will help you through this struggle?”
• How are you stronger for enduring the struggle?
• Are you going through a struggle right now? How are you trusting God to help you “walk and not faint.”

FAMILY FIELD TALK

• In what ways has your family and individuals of your family grown stronger because of some adversities?
• Answer the above Questions for the Field.

PRAYER GUIDE

Lord, Jesus Christ, we do not like struggles, especially when we experience pain and loss. Yet, we know you are with us. I pray that we trust your presence, guiding us through adversities, as we grow through them. In your gracious name, I pray.  Amen.

FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT AND PENTECOST CHALLENGE

For the duration of our sermon series, we are offering daily prompts for applying the wisdom from the scriptures to our everyday lives. Each week focuses on how we can encourage those around us, resulting in our bearing fruit! This week we are focusing on making Pentecost come alive through our prayer life and following the Holy Spirit.

This week’s scripture is Acts 2:1-21 and we will be practicing Lectio Divina with it.  Lectio Divina is an ancient prayer practice that means divine or sacred reading.  It is a way of meditating on the scripture and allowing God to speak anew through the words of scripture.  There are a number of ways to practice Lectio Divina; one method is listed below.

First pray: Loving God help me to hear your word for me today.  Amen.
Next, read the passage Acts 2:1-21 aloud slowly. Pause for a moment.
Read the passage aloud again slowly.  Listen for a word or a phrase that stands out to you.
Read the passage aloud again for a third time.  As you do, reflect on your word or phrase and think about why God might be revealing those words to you. 
Meditate on your word or phrase and listen for what God might be inviting you to do.
Who is the Spirit inviting you to pray for today?

To learn more about the Fruit of the Spirit challenge, click here.