Letter from Jon, May 2023 

 ‘he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit”’
John 20:22
 
Dear Friends
 
If you have joined with us these past couple of Sundays you will know that through this term the focus of our Sunday preaching is on the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives and through our lives, as we explore together what it means to be a Spirit-filled community.  I have to say that I am pretty excited at the prospect of discovering and rediscovering the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  We have entitled the series ‘Breathe’, partly because the word for the Spirit we see most often in the New Testament is ‘breath’; the breath of God, and partly because when God breathes on us he brings life and purpose. 
 
As I quoted last Sunday from Wayne Grudem, ‘From the very beginning of creation we have an indication that the Holy Spirit’s work is to complete and sustain what God the Father has planned and what God the Son has begun’.  God, the Father, has a plan to rescue us from the death and decay brought about by sin and to establish his kingdom over all creation, a kingdom set in place though his Son, Jesus Christ.  It is the Holy Spirit that right now is the presence and power of God at work in this world completing the work of establishing God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.  In terms of our lives in Christ, God’s Spirit is literally the air that we breathe.
 
I realise that we all have different understandings and experiences of the Holy Spirit.  There are some who long for more of the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives, and others who, for various reasons, are wary of Holy Spirit experiences.  I realise that I, myself, have so much to learn and experience and my hope, through this season, is that together we can grow.
 
Over these next weeks we will be looking specifically at the power of the Spirit coming on us and the gifts available to us; gifts to build the church and to impact our world. This is not just about listening to a Sunday sermon, though, but about stepping out in faith believing together that God has so much more for us, and wants to do so much more in our world through us. My encouragement to us all is to approach this season with expectancy and openness, both to learn about and to experience the breath of God.  What will God do in us and through if we do that?  The answer is ‘I don’t know!’, but we can be sure that it will be good.  May his kingdom come and his will be done amongst us in the days ahead
 
Much love and expectancy
 
Jon