God the Holy Spirit, Mentor's Guide, MG14

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G O D T H E H O L Y S P I R I T

* How does a congregation show it is serious about issues of sin and holiness and yet avoid legalism and judgmentalism? * What questions would you ask of, and what Scriptures would you refer to in counseling a Christian who was afraid that God no longer loved them or was with them?

Got Gifts?

Randy has been a Christian for about a year. He has clearly grown in his in his love for God and others since he was converted. Randy does not read well but he has faithfully attended Bible studies and is eager to know the Scriptures. Although he has difficulty sharing the plan of salvation verbally, he has invited co-workers from the Wal-Mart he works at to attend church services with him and several of them have come. Last month the senior pastor preached a sermon series on spiritual gifts. Randy is eager to serve the church but feels like he just cannot figure out what his spiritual gifts are. He comes to you for advice and says “I’m not even sure that I have a spiritual gift. If I do, I definitely don’t know how to find out what it is.” What would you say to Randy? Anita has had a difficult life. Her father sexually molested her from the time she was eight until she ran away from home at age sixteen. Once she was on the streets she turned to prostitution to support herself and to drugs to ease her pain and shame. Ten years ago she gave her life to Christ and started attending your church. After a glorious nine months of joy and freedom, old patterns began to reassert themselves. Since joining the church, Anita has been in drug rehab three times, has been arrested for prostitution once, and has stolen a number of items from the church and from church members. She will always be sorry for these actions later on and will try again to follow Christ. This usually lasts from between six months to a year before she is overcome by old sins again. If you were asked to counsel Anita and help her grow as a disciple of Christ, what would you do? Set Apart for God’s Holy Use

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