Have you ever read the New Testament and thought that Jesus was a bit like a Super Hero? He could walk on the water. He could feed 5000 with a few loaves and fish. He could heal the sick. He could cast out demons. We know he's God the Son. And all those amazing things clearly illustrate that. Was Jesus really a human? Or did he just look like one? A key to understanding this is understanding the relationship between Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Part of our focus will be the scene in which Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. During his earthly ministry Jesus lived as a man lead and empowered by the Spirit. This truth will transform how we view him and how we view our relationship with the Spirit. We will also be baptizing three young people this Sunday. Looking forward to worshiping with you.

This week we will consider The Holy Spirit And...the Old Testament. Have you ever heard anyone say that they like the God of the New Testament better than the God of the Old Testament? Sometimes He seems so different. Did the Holy Spirit just kind of pop up as someone new in the New Testament. When we take a closer look, however, we see the Holy Spirit very much at work in Israel in ways that are similar to and anticipate the way the New Testament says that he works today. One thing is certain through the sweep of both the Old and New Testaments, we need the Holy Spirit to work in us more and more. Please pray that the Spirit would move among us Sunday and that each of us would experience his presence.

This Sunday we begin an all-new series that will take us up to Advent and even into next year: "The Holy Spirit And..." This will be a deep dive into the person, the work and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes the Spirit seems a bit more mysterious and more in the background. Yet as God continues to reveal himself to us in the history of redemption, his ministry to us comes more and more into focus. We will consider his person and the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. We will consider how the Spirit was revealed in the Old Testament. We will think about Jesus and the Holy Spirit, the Spirit and the Bible, the Spirit and our worship. Then when Advent arrives, we'll focus on the Holy Spirit and the coming of Jesus. As 2027 begins, we'll move more into how the Holy Spirit works in our personal lives: faith, transformation, ministry, witness and dealing with sin. As you prepare for Sunday, I encourage you to pray with special focus, that the Holy Spirit would be at work in a noticeable and very special way during this series.