Faithful Under Pressure

In one paragraph

Easter Sunday had just passed, and Brian opened Acts 1:1-11 for the second week running, not to cover new ground but to look at the same passage from a different angle. The focus landed on verse 8, and the question driving the whole conversation was what it really means to be a witness, and what the Holy Spirit's power actually does to make that possible. Brian started by letting the congregation...

Read together

1. John 20:1-16 Mary Magdalene at the empty tomb, finding the stone rolled away and encountering the risen Jesus
2. Acts 1:1-11 the full passage read aloud as the sermon text, covering Jesus appearing after the resurrection and ascending into heaven
3. Acts 1:8 the focal verse, Jesus promising the Holy Spirit and commanding the disciples to be his witnesses to the ends of the earth
4. James (unspecified verse) cited as the source of the promise that if we draw close to God he will draw close to us
5. 1 Corinthians 2:10-14 the Holy Spirit searches out and reveals God's deep secrets and gives spiritual words to explain spiritual truths
6. John 14:26 Jesus promises the Holy Spirit will teach everything and remind believers of all he said
7. Ephesians 1:17-18 Paul's prayer that God give spiritual wisdom and flood hearts with light to know him

What was said

• When you open your Bible this week, stop and ask the Holy Spirit to help you understand what you are reading before you start.
• Pick one thing in your life where you feel internal pressure to quietly walk back your faith, and bring it to the Holy Spirit in prayer this week.
• If you want to know Jesus better, spend some time in prayer specifically inviting the Holy Spirit into that pursuit, the way Brian described cultivating a relationship with the Holy Spirit as the path to knowing Jesus.
• Fill out a connect card and write down something you are going through so the Tribe staff can pray over it with you on Monday.
• If you want prayer in person, take Brian and Corey up on their offer to pray with you in the smaller room after the service.

Talk about it

1. Lissa brought up Mary Magdalene being the first to see the risen Jesus because she was there at the tomb. Where in your own life have you found that showing up, even without certainty, led to an unexpected encounter with God?
2. Brian asked what the disciples might have understood when Jesus said 'you will receive the Holy Spirit', given that they did not yet know what was coming in Acts chapter two. How does your own background or church upbringing shape the way you hear or picture the Holy Spirit, and how has that picture changed over time?
3. Brian said the Holy Spirit's role, drawing from 1 Corinthians 2 and John 14, is to reveal Jesus and flood our hearts with light, and that cultivating a relationship with the Holy Spirit is the 'secret sauce' to understanding Scripture and knowing Jesus. What has your own experience been of reading the Bible with or without that kind of dependence on the Holy Spirit?
4. The Greek word for witness is where we get the English word martyr. Brian described people like Polycarp and John Huss who could not deny Jesus not because they were trying to be bold, but simply because their encounter with him was too real. What would it look like in your own daily life, not necessarily facing death, for Jesus to be that undeniable?
5. Brian closed by saying the Spirit does not make you bold, he just makes Jesus undeniable in your life. He also asked whether anyone in the room is facing a quieter kind of pressure in their heart to recant or compromise some area of faith. What is one area where you are feeling that kind of internal pressure right now, and what would it look like to invite the Holy Spirit into that specific place?