Redeemer Church of Waterford

The Apostle Paul urges Timothy to continue in the things he has learned. We examine the content of what Timothy has learned, the character of those from whom he learned it (his mother, his grandmother, and Paul), and the objective of knowing the holy Scriptures.

In 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12, the Apostle Paul identifies 16 separate and distinct gifts which the Holy Spirit sovereignly distributes to members of the the church. In 1 Peter 4, the Apostle Peter divides these gifts into two groups: speaking gifts and serving gifts.

From Ephesians 2:22 we learn that the church is "an habitation of God through the Spirit." We turn now to consider the means by which the Spirit is building the Church: the gifts of the Spirit which have been sovereignly distributed to the particular members of the church.

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul emphasizes the role of the Holy Spirit in sealing the believer, enabling the believer's access to the Father, revealing the word of God, producing unity in the church, and gifting each believer to serve the church in order to build it.

What is involved in the sealing of the Holy Spirit? How do I know that I have been sealed by the Holy Spirit?

The idea of a secret rapture of believers prior to the Second Coming of Jesus does not come from the Bible, but rather from the vision of a young girl during an awakening that was sweeping Scotland in the 1820s. Our pastor carefully takes us through Matthew 24 and 1 Thessalonians 4 to show that these texts do not teach a secret rapture.