The Holy Spirit Series

INTRODUCTION

• SLIDE #1

• What are you hoping to receive for Christmas? The time is almost at hand.

• Remember the movie, “A Christmas Story”? Ralphie always wanted his Red Ryder BB gun.

• SLIDE #2

• Ralphie got what he had always wanted.

• There are so many neat THINGS we can ask for and receive for Christmas.

• When we open our gifts, we are thankful for receiving our gifts.

• Have you ever opened a gift and did not know what it was, what it was for, or how to use it?

• When you opened the gift you were maybe more perplexed than thankful at the moment. You are trying to figure out the gift.

• Then as you started to understand what the gift could do, you became enamored with it and each time you used the gift you were very thankful to have it.

• The thankful blessing we are going to explore together today may be a bit like that gift that we received that we did not understand.

• We have heard of the Holy Spirit, we hear people in church talk about the Holy Spirit, we read about some things the Holy Spirit has done in the Bible, but do we have a real grasp on why we ought to be thankful for the Holy Spirit?

• We are going to look at three reasons we can thank God for the Holy Spirit’s presence in our life.

• We will not do a comprehensive study on the Holy Spirit, but my prayer is that our initial exploration into the blessing of the Holy Spirit will lead us to want to know more about this thankful blessing we possess in Christ!

• Let begin examining the first reason we can be thankful for the Holy Spirit.

• SLIDE#3

SERMON

We can be thankful for the Holy Spirit because…

I. The Holy Spirit is a gift from God.

• I do not if you are like me, but I am so thankful for any gifts I receive from people. To receive a gift is an honor because when someone gives you a gift, they do so because they care for you.

• The one who gives you a gift has taken the time, effort and have spent their hard earned money on you.

• If you remember from the Christmas Story movie how excited Ralphie was getting Red Ryder AR-15. 

• We usually give gifts to those we love and care about; we usually try to give gifts that the one receiving them both wants and needs.

• Hey, you need those socks someone gave you.

• God has given us a gift, I mean is it not enough He gave us His Son, is it not enough that He gave us eternal life if we will accept the gift of His Son? God gave us more!

• SLIDE #4

• Acts 2:38 (ESV) And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

• When the people asked Peter about what they needed to be saved, he told them to repent and be baptized, then Peter tells them the extra benefits of doing so; they would receive salvation, forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit!

• What Peter is speaking of here is the gift of the Spirit Himself, not A gift from the Holy Spirit.

• We receive this gift, the indwelling of the Spirit when we are immersed into Christ according to this passage. The GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT was usually given by the laying on of hands by the apostles.

• Galatians 3:2 reminds us as to how we received the gift of the Holy Spirit!

• SLIDE #5

• Galatians 3:2 (ESV) Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?

• Paul reminds the Galatian church that they received the gift of the Holy Spirit by doing what God told them to do as far as what to do to be saved is concerned.

• Ephesians 1:13 says close to the same thing.

• The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is a gift that God gives us on top of all the other blessing we receive from Him!

• Paul reminds the Corinthian church of this fact.

• SLIDE #6

• 1 Corinthians 6:19 (ESV) Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,

• WE have this great gift from God. Gifts are a blessing because we do not have to purchase them, the ones who care for us pay the price for the gifts we receive from them.