And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. - Ephesians 5:18-21 The filling of the Spirit is the most controversial, divisive, and misunderstood ministry of the Holy Spirit. Christians respond to the subject with ignorance, fear, speculation, fanaticism, or indifference. Why is there so...

  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. – Galatians 5:22-23 When you become a Christian, God the Holy Spirit takes us residence in your heart immediately, permanently, and completely. If you do not have the Spirit of Christ, you are not a Christian (Romans 8:9b). If you are a Christian, you do not need to receive the Spirit. He is already there! The indwelling Spirit gifts the believer for Christian service (1 Corinthians 12:4-7). These gifts, or gracious enablement for service to others,...

I want to learn photography. I also want to create and edit videos. So I started investigating cameras. I asked our church’s media director for advice, who recommended several camera options. I was grateful for his help. But I left his office thinking this was a major investment I should make carefully. About twenty minutes later, Marcellus walked into my study with his iPhone in hand, attached to a small tripod to show me how my iPhone could do what I wanted without me spending any money. I was prepared to spend hundreds of dollars for functionality I had in...

After teaching on this subject in Bible Study, a member asked me about the term “Bapticostal” – a Baptist and Pentecostal mixed. I acknowledged the term is often a tongue-in-cheek description of a doctrinal conservative who embraces a passionate worship style. But I added that any Christian with integrity might claim to be one or the other – Baptist or Pentecostal – but not both. Baptists and Pentecostals that have saving-faith are brothers and sisters in Christ. But we believe different things about the Person and Work of the Holy Spirit that are not compatible. Just ask a conscious Baptist...

As he passed through Ephesus, the Apostle Paul met several believers. He asked them if they had received the Holy Spirit since they believed. “No,” they replied, “we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit” (Acts 19:2). In a real sense, this was my testimony for many years. Sure, I had heard of the Holy Spirit. And I believed in the Holy Spirit. But I did not know who the Holy Spirit was. There was not much talk about the Holy Spirit in the church I grew up in. But there was a lot of talk after...

It was good to be back in my own pulpit this past Sunday. In my Sunday School class, I finished the opening lesson of my new series on the one another" commands of the New Testament. The lessons was on "Loving One Another." This coming Sunday, I intend to continue to the series with a lesson on "Forgiving One Another." In our worship service, I preached the ninth part of my series on the Ten Commandments: "Tell the Truth" (Exodus 20:16). I plan to preach the final message of this series on the fourth Sunday, after we get past Holy...