Pentecost Combined Worship Gathering (June 8, 2014)

Image used with permission Wells Cathedral, Somerset, UK

All three of our main campus morning worship gatherings plus our Blackburn's Chapel family, came together for one time of worship to celebrate Pentecost.  Two of our pastors, Jason Byassee and Vern Collins preached on the power and work of the Holy Spirit.  

From Ezekiel 37:1-14 and the story of the valley of dry bones, Jason preached on the life-giving power of the Spirit.  

• Can you think of times when God has called you from something old into something new?  What are some of those times in your life?

• Have you ever experienced an "awakening" when reading the Word or hearing the Word preached?  Have you ever felt like a passage or a message has been written or spoken as if you are the only person alive...like it is for you and no one else?  Name one instance when that may have taken place?

• Do you feel like there are "dead places" in your life?  What might some of those be?

• What would it look like to allow the Spirit to call you to life in some of those areas?

And from Acts 1 and 2 we see that perhaps like breathing, the Holy Spirit is constantly moving in this rhythm of drawing us in and sending us out.  

• When have you felt "drawn in" by the Spirit of God?  Have you ever felt "captivated" by God in such a way that you felt like you just wanted to sit at His feet?  On the flip-side of that, when have you felt furthest from God?  Even in those times, is there evidence of God "calling you back?"

• Is there an area in your life where God is trying to send you out?  

• What is your Jerusalem (the place where you are)?

• What is your Judea (the outlying areas God may be calling you to)?

• What is your Samaria (the last place you want to be-or people you want to be with) that God may be calling you to take His hope to?

• Are you and "ends of the earth" person?  If you could go and serve God anywhere, where would it be and why?

Blessings on your time praying through and discussing some of these things.

Jason Byassee ("Bones")

Vern Collins ("In & Out")