Maineville Lighthouse Church

          “...to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,...”
                                            Ephesians 4: 12 (NRSV)

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          I was thinking about this Scripture and wondering, what do the people at Maineville UMC need to be fully equipped? It’s obvious that they are doing remarkable things in and for the people in Haiti.  They are a powerhouse when it comes to getting things done around the church (and I haven’t even seen the Turkey Dinner happen yet!). The younger couples are coming up with ways to interact with the community, like their Trunk or Treat later this month. So, what is it they lack or need more of?

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          One of the things that seemed unexplained to me when I was growing up in church was any solid teaching on the Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost back then. I knew a lot of the stories about the Bible characters – David and Goliath, Solomon, Moses, Elijah, the Gospel writers, and, of course, God and Jesus. But it seemed like the only time I heard much about the Holy Spirit was during the Doxology, where at the end we sing, “Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.” Now, I could have been daydreaming back then, so I won’t put it on the preacher, but I was thinking that I might need to speak to you about Him, the Holy Spirit.

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          Once I began to understand the person of the Holy Spirit and that He dwells in me, I began to feel better equipped in whatever I chose to do in the Kingdom. By releasing my hold on being self sufficient, there was an awareness of a power greater than what I expected. One of my favorite scriptures is, “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” (1 John 4: 4) Understanding that God dwells in us as Believers and Followers of Jesus also gives us the confidence to know that we are the indwelling of a Holy God, the Holy Spirit. Pretty humbling, huh?

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          Starting on October 7th at 6 pm, we will have an evening of Secret Church. This is led by the former pastor of the Church at Brook Hills, David Platt. Here is a quote from their website about Secret Church: “Secret Church is an intense night of prayer, worship, and teaching led by David Platt on the spread of the gospel and the persecuted church.” They have hosted this event at least once a year with a simulcast to other churches. Instead of a one night session, we will do this over four Sunday nights; the last one may be concluded the first Sunday in November because of the Trunk or Treat event.

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          David Platt received his Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Master of Theology (Th.M.), and Master of Divinity (M.Div.) from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Along with his wife and four children, he lives in Washington D.C. where he serves as pastor at McLean Bible Church. You may have read some of his books like Radical and Follow Me. He has also worked with Francis Chan on a
discipleship series called, Multiply. David has put together tons of information that he shares with us in a podcast that we have downloaded for this occasion. We are working on a study guide to go with these sessions.

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          One of the things David says in the first session is that he wants to equip us, those watching, with the ability to explain the Holy Spirit to anyone and everyone. Wouldn’t you like to do that? As I said, I had a very limited amount of information about the Holy Spirit, and, even now, I am looking forward to a fuller understanding of not only His person, but of His work within us and His Kingdom. So, join us
on Sunday evenings in October for a little over an hour, because we do like to talk! God bless.

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