Exodus 31:1-3 (CEB), Judges 6:34, 1 Samuel 16:13, Isaiah 61:1 || Today we begin a sermon series in which we will be learning about the ways God’s Holy Spirit moves in our hearts and our lives. Through the Spirit, God connects inside of us and out. God’s Spirit is always there, in front and behind, above and below, and to our left and to our right, surrounding us with God’s love and care and giving us the strength to live the kind of life that God’s love calls us to. The chorus from a song from Amy Grant’s 1992 Christmas Album, Home for Christmas* seems like a good prayer for this week (and any other). In the song, Jesus’ young mother Mary is praying as she moves towards Bethlehem, asking for God’s help. Join me in this prayer:

Prayer: Breath of heaven, hold me together, Be forever near me, breath of heaven, Breath of heaven, lighten my darkness, Pour over me your holiness for you are holy Breath of heaven, breath of heaven, Breath of heaven. Amen.

DID YOU KNOW? “The Old Testament uses the term ‘Holy Spirit’ (rûaḥ qādoš) only three times (Psalm 51:11; Isaiah 63:10–11; in contrast there are some 90 instances in the New Testament). The word rûaḥ itself perhaps originally denoted air in movement, but by the time of the earliest OT writings it carries a variety of senses. God’s rûaḥ is represented: 1] as God’s power in the creation of the cosmos (Genesis 1:2; Psalm 33:6, etc.); 2] as God’s sustaining power immanent in all life (Genesis 6:17; 7:15; Job 33:4; Psalm 104:29–30, etc.); 3) as the invisible activity of God in power through and amongst his covenant people, whether in dramatic irruptions or more sustained endowments; and 4) as his presence in many types of revelation, charismatic wisdom and invasive speech.”

Psalm 33:6-9, 18-19, Genesis 1:2, 26-27 || The psalmist of Psalm 33 likely knew the archetypal Hebrew creation story (probably put into its final written form later) of Genesis 1. As noted above, the Hebrew word rendered “breath” in Psalm 33:6 is the same as the one rendered “spirit” or “wind” in Genesis 1:2. Long before anyone imagined the word or concept of “Trinity,” the poetic creation liturgy used uncommon plural pronouns to show the one God speaking of creating humans in “our” image, made to resemble “us” in character. We live in a culture in which many believe our very existence, as individuals and as a world, is just a gigantic cosmic accident, free of any divine direction or purpose. The biblical assertions about the meaning of creation point us in a significantly different direction. How does it change your sense of why you exist to believe that the fulness of God (“us”) brought this world, and the scientifically observed life processes that led to you, into being? Some wrongly think the Holy Spirit didn’t appear (or even exist) until Pentecost after Jesus’ rose from the dead (cf. Acts 2:2-4). We’ll see this week that in the Hebrew Scriptures “the concept rûaḥ is an existential term. At its heart is the experience of a mysterious, awesome power—the mighty invisible force of the wind, the mystery of vitality, the otherly power that transforms—all rûaḥ, all manifestations of divine energy.” How did this suggest that the Holy Spirit is an aspect of the eternal God, not a divine afterthought?

Prayer: Holy Spirit, you are the spiritual air I breathe. During this series, help me to grow more aware of the spiritual strength and vitality you offer me as I make you the “oxygen” of my life with God. Amen.

Exodus 31:1-5, 35:30-35 Exodus 31 || The book of Exodus recorded God making a covenant with the Israelites at Mount Sinai. One pivotal point came in Exodus 25:8 as God said, “They should make me a sanctuary so I can be present among them.” From there, nearly all of Exodus 25-30 carried detailed instructions for what all the items in the sanctuary (a tent—and by extension, the Temple in Jerusalem) should be like. But who could possibly have the skills to make so many beautifully elaborate pieces? “Two construction supervisors are chosen. The chief supervisor, Bezalel, is filled with the divine spirit and is from the southern tribe of Judah. Oholiab is from the far northern tribe of Dan.” Of course, the Sinai Israelites did not yet live in Canaan, so tribal geography only interested the historians who wrote down the Exodus story. But it mattered that “the divine spirit” was the vital source of the supervisors’ skill. What light does that cast on the beautiful settings and music in our worship today? Of course, building the elaborate sanctuary was more than a two-person job. Exodus said Bezalel and Oholiab not only had wonderful God-given skills themselves but also had “the ability to teach others” (Exodus 35:34). In your work and other areas of service, what things are you best at doing? What ways have you found (or could you find) to share your ability with others who could benefit from learning from you?

Prayer: God, shape in me a heart willing to hear your call, willing to see all the skills you have given me, and willing to do wholeheartedly on my own or with others whatever you set before me. Amen.

1 Samuel 10:5-9, 16:13-14 || 1 (and 2) Samuel is a major history of Israel’s monarchy. As a united kingdom Israel had only three kings: Saul, David and Solomon. Today’s Scriptures show some distinctive ways Old Testament historians spoke about God’s spirit. The claim that “God gave [Saul] a different heart” doesn’t fit well with the sad history of his failure as king and God’s rejection. And after saying the Lord’s spirit came over David, “1 and 2 Samuel will never speak of the activity of God’s spirit on David. God will work much more through what he could ‘naturally’ do.” “We are told that Saul is given a different heart. The theme of the heart seems important to understanding God’s actions. The suggestion is that the heart of God and the heart of God’s king should be aligned.” The presence of God’s spirit did not relieve either Saul or David from personal responsibility for their own moral choices. How can you ask God to shape and guide you without wanting to blame God for any bad choices you make? “The biblical narrative views all events as originating from God, even the dangerous mental states of Saul. It wasn’t what God desired; indeed, God regrets it (cf. 1 Samuel 15:35).” We shouldn’t expect perfect alignment in the way Bible writers viewed God. Human understandings of God changed over time, and the Biblical writings reflected that. How does that fact make it important to study the Bible as a whole, not just bits and pieces here and there?

Prayer: Dear God, I choose to be open to your Spirit’s presence with me. Help me never to use that as an excuse for my unwise choices, but as a reason to keep listening for your guiding voice. Amen.

Ephesians 5:18-31 || We often read Psalm 51 through the lens of Jesus’ and the apostle Paul’s Holy Spirit teaching. But it was written centuries earlier. In its context, “God’s breath— spirit is the source of all human life and vitality. The phrase God’s holy Spirit does not carry the developed ideas it has in the New Testament and in Christian theology. Only here and in Isaiah 63:10, 11 is the phrase used in the Old Testament.” Psalm 139 also recognized God’s presence in all of life. “God has the ability to create and re-create, activities associated elsewhere with God’s spirit (see Genesis 1:2). The threefold repetition of ‘spirit’ suggests that new life is possible for the forgiven sinner. Holy spirit seems here to designate the living and life-giving presence of God.” Have you ever had the crushing sense that God couldn’t possibly forgive something you have done? How does this earnest poetic prayer of repentance tell you that is never the case? Psalm 139 said to God, “You surround me.” “Surround” has a double-edged quality. “It can be encouraging to know that we can never get beyond the realm of God’s care for us. Yet, Amos 9 uses the same language, in speaking of people going down to Sheol or going up to the heavens and of God’s hand being able to reach them there, but it does so to remind Israel that it cannot escape God’s judgment.” What helps you to trust more than fear the God who surrounds you?

Prayer: O God, when I need your forgiveness (as I too often do), give me a mind willing to face the truth, and a heart willing to humble myself before your holiness and trust fully in your goodness, not my own. Amen.

1 John 1:7 - 2:2 || Many prophets just said their message was “the word of the LORD.” But, especially after the Babylonian exile, they also spoke of God’s Spirit bringing them the message. “In the majority of Old Testament incidents involving the Spirit, the Spirit acts as the channel of communication between God and a human person. In this role, the Spirit was understood in Judaism to be the ‘Spirit of prophecy’. That is, the Spirit was considered to make God’s will and wisdom known to his people.” You may know Jesus read Isaiah 61:1-2 to define his mission (cf. Luke 4:14-20). But the prophet’s words first spoke to his times, some 500 years before Jesus. “The people to whom he ministers are lowly and broken in their inner being. They’re like people in prison (as if they’re still in exile). They’re mourning Zion—mourning its broken state. Their spirit is flickering. Their city lies in ruins, as it has done for years.” How did God’s spirit offer good news to those who came back to ruined Jerusalem after exile in Babylon? Zechariah pointed Israel’s leader to the power of God’s Spirit with the words, “Neither by power, nor by strength, but by my spirit, says the LORD of heavenly forces” (Zechariah 4:6). In today’s passage, he also noted his people’s sad (and ongoing) history of ignoring prophetic messages sent by the same spirit. Review what Zechariah 7:9-10 above said they should do. How can we today claim to be following God’s spirit if we are not living out those divine principles?

Prayer: Lord God, through your Spirit, give me the courage and responsiveness to make the world better in whatever ways, large or small, your spirit calls me to. Amen.

Scripture: 2 Peter 3:1-10 || Download