Vineyard Church of Knox County
God’s Empowering Spirit
Sermon Audio from Sunday, October 2, 2005 — I don't know what your background is but I want to tell you a bit about mine. I grew up in a conservative Evangelical church, by that I mean that the church was thoroughly biblical and focused on Jesus Christ and taught that every person is invited to have a personal, trusting relationship with Jesus Christ. Many of you, I'm sure, have similar backgrounds, especially if you grew up in Knox County. Most of the churches in Knox County, Ohio, are conservative Evangelical. If your church was solid, then you received some solid biblical teaching and were involved in service to the community and support groups in the church. I was grounded in the truth that God is my Heavenly Father, Jesus is His one and only Son, and the Spirit was some mysterious, unmentionable person of the Trinity that didn't really get much air time.
So, my Christian experience was devoid of any in depth teaching about the Holy Spirit, and it certainly was devoid of any real, tangible, experience of the power of the Holy Spirit. My Christianity was very solid, biblical, and boring. I didn't realize this last part - boring - until I got to college and met other people who actually experienced the felt presence of God in their lives on a regular basis. I wanted more. Suddenly my Evangelical Christianity seemed impotent, even unbiblical with regard to the Holy Spirit's activity in my life ...
