A Second Blessing? (Sealed With the Holy Spirit part 8)

There have been various movements throughout history seeking to enable Christians to discover a higher life or greater experience of the Holy Spirit. These include: 1. The Holiness movement including aspects of Methodism and the early history of the Keswick Convention 2. The beginning of Pentecostalism at the turn of the 20th Century 3. The… Continue reading A Second Blessing? (Sealed With the Holy Spirit part 8)

Leaky – can we lose the Holy Spirit? (Sealed with Spirit 6)

Photo by Julia Sakelli on Pexels.com

Some illustrations of being filled with the Spirit liken the experience to a bottle full of water or a tyre full of air. In this video we look at the problems with these analogies and consider a better way of thinking about what it means to be filled with the Spirit.

Being filled with the Spirit and not drunk on wine (Sealed with the Spirit 5)

Photo by Sebastian Coman Photography on Pexels.com

What does it mean to be filled with the Spirit.  I have often heard two illustrations for this. That we are like jugs and the Holy Spirit like water. Just as the jug may lose water as it is drunk or spilt, so we can lose some of the fullness of the Spirit and need… Continue reading Being filled with the Spirit and not drunk on wine (Sealed with the Spirit 5)

Do we have grace?

I first heard of Vernon Higham when Wesley Aiken, pastor at Rochester Baptist Church came back from a holiday. Higham had been the visiting speaker at the church where Wesley’s family went on their holidays. Wesley described this frail elderly man taking to the pulpit and preaching a gospel sermon about the grace of God… Continue reading Do we have grace?

Victory and the Church on Display (Sealed with the Spirit Part 4)

In the fourth part of our look at the work of the Holy Spirit, how we know him and experience his work in our lives, we complete the background look at the context of Ephesians 1:13 which talks about being sealed with the Spirit. The goal of the Holy Spirit is to enjoy God (himself)… Continue reading Victory and the Church on Display (Sealed with the Spirit Part 4)

The Holy Spirit and two gods to worship

There is a brilliant little booklet called “Two Ways to live” that helpfully presents the Gospel in picture form. But there are not only two ways to live but also two gods to worship. There is the true and living God who made us, loves us and in Christ has redeemed us. Then there is… Continue reading The Holy Spirit and two gods to worship

The Holy Spirit guarantees the promises of God

Photo by Megapixelstock on Pexels.com

In our second look at what it means to be “sealed with the Holy Spirit” we look at the wider context. To understand what a phrase means we need to see how it fits within a passage and a book. So have a read of Ephesians 1:1-14. God the Father is worthy of praise and… Continue reading The Holy Spirit guarantees the promises of God

Sealed with the Holy Spirit

Photo by John-Mark Smith on Pexels.com

Sealed with the Spirit A few articles back I began an in depth look at the work of the Holy Spirit. This was prompted by a provocative article by Matthew Mason where he argued that Conservative Evangelicals suffer because they lack a functional doctrine of the Holy Spirt and a meaningful experience of him. I’ve… Continue reading Sealed with the Holy Spirit

Have we lost the Holy Spirit?

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Matthew Mason has set out the provocative suggestion that conservative evangelicals in the Church of England have neither a functional doctrine of the Holy Spirit nor a meaningful experience of the Holy Spirit and that has led to a number of deficiencies in their churches. I intend to interact with his proposition over a number… Continue reading Have we lost the Holy Spirit?