During his earthly ministry, Jesus had a special relationship with the Holy Spirit. Indeed, the Spirit guided him in his ministry. Then the Spirit became Jesus's personal gift to the church, empowering believers to bear witness to him and give glory to the Father. A fundamental way we give glory to the Father is by becoming like the Son with the Spirit's aid. This episode engendered great dialogue afterwards.

Jesus and the Father have a special relationship. We see the dynamic play out during Jesus's earthly ministry. He is beloved of the Father. He obeys the Father. This blessed relationships opens the door for Jesus's followers to experience the Father's abiding love (John 17:24). 

This episode surveys Old and New Testament teaching on the Holy Spirit. Sadly, pneumatology (the study of the Holy Spirit) often gets caught up in debates about how spiritual gifts play out today (continuation vs. cessation). While that is mentioned in this lesson, more focus is given to the Holy Spirit's nature, intimacy, and role in our growth. 

Jesus, Son of God, is the second person of the Trinity. His Sonship speaks to his eternal, affectionate relationship to the Father. Jesus was the perfect image and human embodiment of the Father. His life modeled full submission to the Father and reliance on the Spirit. Not only did he atone for our sins but he currently intercedes and advocates for his people. We can be with him and become like him.

This talk explores several characteristics and actions of the Heavenly Father. The Father is eternal and immaterial; creative, loving, and generous; the source of all life. The Father is always the sender, never the one sent: he sent the Son and Spirit. The Father adopts us into his family. This episode cites many biblical texts, mostly from the New Testament.

In this episode, Pastor Tim explores the development of the doctrine of the Trinity by the early church. He considers five early controversies, two early creeds, and three heresies that continue today when our favorite analogies for describing the Trinity break down. For a humourous version of this, see St. Patrick's Bad Analogies. Other resources for this session, include Historical Theology (Chapter 1) by Alister McGrath and Three in One: Analogies for the Trinity by William David Spencer.

The Father, Son, and Spirit have enjoyed an eternal conversation. The Trinity experiences perfect communion. Those in the early centuries of the church put language to this, calling it the perichoresis. In this session, we describe this divine dance and dialogue between Father, Son, and Spirit using Scripture and insights from theologians. Pastor Tim also talks about the ramifications of this doctrine on our relationship with God and others. 

In our opening session, we discuss how the Trinity is a pardoxical and unique doctrine in the Christian faith. God is three-in-one: Father, Spirit, and Son. Although the term Trinity does not show up in Scripture, it is implicitly described and progressively revealed. This session explains tendencies in Trinity studies to focus on the economic Trinity and essential Trinity. Moreover, it stresses how Trinity is a safeguard against warring gods or a divine despot. God is love.

Author and professor Dr. Brent Sandy features key insights from his book Hear Ye the Word of the Lord before leading the class in an exercise on performing Scripture. This was a stand alone class for the Leesburg Grace Church Engaging Hour. You will hear people from class interacting with questions. 

Key insights:

• Engagment with Bible reading has decreased by 21% in the USA in recent years.
• God spoke his word before it was written. He never commands us to read Scripture. But we are to hear, meditate on, and apply it. (Literacy was low in the ancient world.)
• Dynamic reading of Scripture, using pauses and body language, may impact people more than silently reading it.
• Scripture reading teams may complement the preaching and worship singing. More thought should be given to their development and performance.

This material did not make it into the Healthy Emotions sermon, but provides interesting insights about emotions from science. From Darwin's study of faces to affective neurology, we have an increased understanding of how the body, brain, emotions, and relationships tie together. Emotions protect and connect us. They process and predict. You can find a video of this on YouTube. For the full sermon of Healthy Emotions, click the link.