Inside Voice - Week One Discussion Guide

Welcome to CoreGroups!

Ice Breaker: Share a brief introduction (if there are new people in your group) OR share a highlight from your summer (if an existing group) and one or two words that come up for you when you hear Holy Spirit.

Opening Prayer: Holy Spirit, we are so grateful to be together today. We thank you for you presence with us among us. May you illuminate what we most need to hear as we discuss scripture and life. And may you empower us to live out whatever new action, thoughts you desire in us. Amen.

The Head:
Invite 3 people to each one of the headings and scriptures below.  Then discuss the questions.

The Holy Spirit as Refining Fire
He is like the refiner’s fire or the cleaner’s soap.
 3 He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver.
         He will purify the Levites
             and refine them like gold and silver.
              (Malachi. 3.2b-3a)

The Holy Spirit as Illuminator
21 The Lord went in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day, to lead them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light, so that they might travel by day and by night. (Exodus 13.21 NRSVUE)

The Holy Spirit as Empower (Energizer)
When Pentecost Day arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound from heaven like the howling of a fierce wind filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be individual flames of fire alighting on each one of them. 4 They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them to speak. (Acts. 2.1-4)

• Compare/Contrast the words you shared about the Holy Spirit from the Icebreaker and these scriptures.
• Now compare and contrast the three scriptures’ view of the Holy Spirit.

The Heart: 

• If you have experienced the Holy Spirit as refining fire, illuminator or empowerer, please share that experience with the group. (It’s okay if you’re just now making a connection that the Holy Spirit has been active in your life OR if you’re unsure who or what the Spirit is or has done). 
• If you were to pray for the Holy Spirit to act in your life … which would you ask for and why refining, illumination and/or empowering?

The Hands:

The Holy Spirit as Fire: A Communion Meditation

The Holy Spirit is at work everywhere. Take a moment to listen to or view (on one screen, if possible) this meditation on The Holy Spirit’s presence at Communion by Pastor Adam Baker

• What surprised you about this connection of communion and the Holy Spirit?
• How might this meditation change how you approach communion? 
• How might this meditation change how you approach the Holy Spirit?

Next week: Discuss how and if communion was different in light of today’s discussion.

Taking it Further:

• Consider reading Acts: The Gospel of the Spirit by Justo Gonzalez as a group or for your own spiritual growth.
• This week listen to songs that speak to or about the Holy Spirit. Email/text the songs to your CoreGroup.