When Jesus says they will do even greater things once He has left, how is that possible when all we have is the promise of the Holy Spirit. Do we underestimate the person, presence and power of the Holy Spirit in our lives? The Spirit has transforming power in the lives of believers, producing holiness and likeness to Jesus (Sanctification). It is the Holy Spirit who can pray and intercede for us (Intercession). The Holy Spirit is our teacher and guide who is sent by the Father (Teacher & Guide). 

The Holy Spirit is the active expression of God on Earth. We are missing deep connection with God if we are not interacting with the Holy Spirit, forming a relationship with the Holy Spirit. He is the upgrade that we are offered, He is the one that is with us, guiding us, available to us now

We are desperate to try to figure how to live this life with God at the center and not me.  Its our lifelong journey as Christians.  Do we realize that the Holy Spirit is at work, that without it we can do nothing of significance.  In our first Sunday in the series, I want to introduce the idea of the Holy Spirit as Jesus did in John 14.  I want to reassure folks that its ok that they dont understand, but its not ok to fully set aside the Holy Spirit as unneeded or wanted in their lives.  I want to help folks realize its not as far away as they feel, the Holy Spirit is not as complicated as we make it.  And at the same time, its filled with wonder and mystery and unexplainable.

Paul has learned the secret of taking all of life in stride.  The secret is the focal point of his life, the center around which his life is integrated.  As he focuses his vision on God and his love as seen in Jesus Christ, all other things are relegated to the realm of peripheral vision. 

Most of us never learn how to navigate conflict. We’ll be walking through a method for resolving disagreements, so that we can have grace for ourselves and others. We’ll spend time in Philippians 4:8 to fix our minds on what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and worthy of praise, so that we can find peace.

Paul's point is that God did something very concrete and real in our lives when we believed in him. God's good work is not something hidden, something that we will see only in the distant future - it is real and concrete here and now.  But it's ongoing work. Our faith journey is a dynamic journey, not a static experience. 

As we continue our start of the new year we are continuing in our look at the Book of Philippians. Bill shares the price and sacrifice it is to live a life of integrity