EQUIP WEEK
EQUIPPING STUDENTS WITH THE GOSPEL TOOL
WELCOME
Foundation Scripture
“And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. You know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.” ~John 14:16-17
SAY: “Welcome to First Priority! We are so glad you are here. This is the beginning of a new month where we will focus on the Holy Spirit. We know that their are a lot of opinions about the Holy Spirit and some confusion, too. We want to make sure we see what the Bible has to say about all it.
Let’s open in prayer…”
OPENING PRAYER
DIG IN
SAY: “Many of us have heard the word “Trinity” before. It basically means 3 aspects of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Over the past few months, we’ve learned about God the Father and Jesus, the Son of God. This month, we will focus on the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is God. We know that the idea of the Trinity and the Holy Spirit seem confusing and weird, but it is actually so cool and powerful once we understand this part of God.
To help us understand, we are going to look at this video on the Holy Spirit from The Bible Project.”
Have the video ready to play. You may want to check audio and visuals before club starts. Have someone ready to share if the video doesn’t work. (approx. 4 minutes)
SAY: “Great! Now that we’ve seen some images and have some language to help us understand the Holy Spirit a little better, let’s talk about two attributes or characteristics of the Holy Spirit: intellect and volition.
Intellect: According to Romans 8:27, “And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.”….. and 1 Corinthians 2:10, “these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.”….. the Holy Spirit has the ability to know and understand reality.
Volition: (a fancy word for the ability to act): We see the Holy Spirit take action in Acts 13:2 to set apart Barnabas and Saul. It says “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”.
So, that sounds good and easy enough to understand but…what is the work of the Holy Spirit?
The Holy Spirit works in three areas:
- Creation
- Inspiration of the Scriptures & prophecy
- To bear witness that Jesus is the Christ”
The Holy Spirit can be a confusing topic. It also can sometimes vary between denominations and different pastors. Be prepared to have some questions or differing opinions during this topic and always stay focused on the importance of building a relationship with God.
TOOL TIME
SAY: “Let’s talk through these 3 areas by looking at some verses and discussing what they mean.
- Creation (Psalm 104:30)
- “When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground.”
Are we all created by God and through the Holy Spirit? What does it mean to be renewed by the Holy Spirit?
- Inspiration of the Scriptures & Prophecy (2 Peter 1:20- 21)
- “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”
Can the Holy Spirit speak through us?
Have you ever felt the Holy Spirit speak through you?
- To bear witness that Jesus is the Christ (Acts 5:32).
- “And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.”
What does it mean to be a witness that Jesus is the Christ and he died for our salvation?
Does the Holy Spirit work through us to be a witness too?”
There are a lot of questions on this page. Be sure to watch the time and maybe limit to one answer per question.
(Close out discussion time)
SAY: “This helps us separate the attributes and work of the Holy Spirit from that of God the Father and Jesus the Son. But, sometimes it can be hard to read about other people encountering the Holy Spirit and then understanding how we can experience him today. So…what is the Holy Spirit’s work in the life of a believer today?
According to Romans 8:9, the Holy Spirit dwells in us once we experience salvation. Once we receive Jesus as our Savior, the Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit dwells or lives in us. This is AMAZING! Jesus knew that His time on this earth would not last forever and when He went back to Heaven, He didn’t leave us alone. He left a “helper” for us in the form of the Holy Spirit as our Foundation verse tells us. We are not alone!”
SAY: “When we try to understand difficult topics like this one, it makes us even more thankful for the truth of Scripture. We can turn to the Bible and to prayer when we are faced with things we don’t quite understand.
A leader is going to be passing out prayer cards, we encourage you to write down the name(s) of those you are going to be praying for this week. And as we pray this week, let’s be praying for the Holy Spirit to guide our friends and family to know that Jesus is Christ and the Son of God!
If you have any questions about today’s discussion, feel free to talk to a Student Leader or our Club Coach! We will be talking about the Holy Spirit all month. Let’s close our club in prayer.”
CLOSING PRAYER
Have a student leader ready to pass out prayer cards.
As you are coming up on the Holidays, there will be shifts in schedules, homework, tests, etc. Remember to continue to connect and follow up with students. Remind students that you are there for them and that they are welcome at First Priority! You may also want to pull together a list of Holiday events at local churches for students to be invited to. Churches are always putting on events, parties, and services which is a great time for a new student to get involved!
If you are planning a Club Christmas Party in December, be sure to start announcing and talking with your club leadership to make it happen!
