Newness of Life!

Hook

Question: “What gives your life meaning?” Dont answer that question right now, but if someone walked up to you on the street with a video camera and asked you that question, how would you respond? Lets take a look at some of the responses for some people who had that happen to them.

Play video.....

That was interesting, wasnt it? Did you happen to pay attention to the man that said, “alot of people just give up.... They feel like thye have no meaning in life.” Do you think that is a true statement?

Think about this for a minute… What would you say are some things that people rely on to give them meaning in life, other than the Bible, God or Jesus?

“Meaning of life” - significance of living or existance.

Is it entirely wrong that the things that you mentioned give some significance to life or existance? Is it okay to find some meaning in these things? Of course it is. Listen, it’s okay to find some meaning for existance in these things, but it’s dangerous to rely on these things to give you complete meaning to your life. There is a big difference!

Everything that you mentioned that gives a person some meaning to life is temporary.

Eample: Family - All of you have been raised in different families. Your upbringing has taught you the meaning of life whether you realize it or not. As you grow older, you just pick up on what’s important to your parents. You find meaning in your life from your relationship with your parents.

Relying on your family to provide you complete meaning to your life is unwise.

Back to my orginal question - reality is nothing in this world can give you true meaning to life!

Answer = simple. Everything in this world is broken! We live in broken and sin-cursed world. How can something that is broken give you meaning? It can’t. So what should you rely on to give you meaning?

Try something that isn’t broken, something that can fix your brokeness.

Truth: God is the only one who is not broken and God is the only one who can fix your brokeness. Through his son, Jesus Christ, who dies on the cross to pay for your brokeness and sin, God can restore you and give your life meaning.

when you begin a relayioship with God through belief in Jesus Christ, He sends the Holy Spirit to live in you. The Holy Spirit brings you into union with Christ, so that you van have a relationship with God. As you grow in your relationship with God, you will discover the great truth that your union with Christ give greater meaning in life.

Lesson Content

Introduce the series. Never Alone: Walking in Step with the Spirit!

Holy Spirit - too churchy or strange ? Wonder how the Holy Spirit has anything to do with the feeling of meaningless - stay with me. I want to make this lesson as practical and beneficial for you as possible.

To start off as practical as possible, let’s begin with 2 definitions:

The Holy Spirit: “ third person of the Godhead; third person of the Trinity”. So first of all, the Holy Spirit is a person.

The Bible tells us that there is one God, but that he reveals himself in three persons: God the father, God the son and God the Spirit. We call that the Godhead or the Trinity. So, the Holy Spirit is God!

Jesus came to earth; He is God in the flesh. He is Emmanuel, God with us. But when Jesus went back to heaven, he sent the Holy Spirit to live inside those who believe in Him. Since the Holy Spirit lives inside believers, it means that you are Never Alone.

The Biblical truth that we will be learning about this evening is the baptism of the Holy Spirit. It is this baptism that gives you new life and meaning in life by uniting you with Christ.

Again, you might be thinking , baptism of the Holy Spirit? That sounds like another churchy thing. What is that?

For starters, the baptism of the Spirit has nothing to do with water. That’s a believer’s baptism and a topic for another day.

Baptism of the Spirit: “ that act at salvation by which the Holy Spirit places a believer into union with Christ and with other believers in the body of Christ.”

“The act” - It is an event

“At Salvation” - It happens when you trust Jesus as Saviour

“By which the Holy Spirit” - It is an action of the Holy Spirit of God

“Places the believer into union with Christ” - He connects you with Christ

“And with other believers in the body of Christ” - He connects you to other believers.

To be clear as possible: The Holy Spirit places you into union with Christ at the moment of your salvation, and your union with Christ gives greater meaning in life.

Ready to discover what gives your life true meaning and how the Holy Spirit plays a part in that meaning ? Then lets jump into the Word of God.

Romans 6: 1-4 - Get student to read.

In verse 3 of Romans 6, we are told that those who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death. Well, what does that mean?

“Baptize” - Immerse or place into something. When someone trusts Jesus as Saviour, The Holy Spirit unites him/her with Christ. So, at salvation, you are placed “in Christ”, and it is the Holy Spirit that does that for you.

Ephesians 2:8 says that we are saved by grace through faith. If by faith you have placed your trust in Jesus Christ , you have been placed in Christ, united with Christ by the grace of God.

Ephesians 1:7 says that in him we have the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace.

When we are baptized by the Holy Spirit. He places us in Christ. When we are in Christ, we have forgiveness of our sins as big as the grace of God. This means that your union with Christ gives greater meaning in life. Now thats alot to swallow.

Thats alot of theology and deep truth. What does it mean for you right now?

Students to say out loud - “What does that have to do with me right now?

Two Promises:

Get a student to read Ephesians 1:13-14 ( Promise of Eternal Life)

Those verses say that “in Christ” we are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. Once we are “in him”, we cant ever be out. We have eternal life in him!

Here’s whats awesome about knowing you have the promise of Eternal life. You can now life your life with meaning because this broken world is not your final destination. You are headed to a perfect world: theres a home in Heaven waiting for you. You can live for something bigger than what you see.

Simply put: You no longer live for this world; you live for the next.

The Bible tells us to set our mind on God and his word ( things above) and not on the things of this world. When you desire and pursue God , you will expereince true meaning in life.

Romans 6:1-4 ( Promise of New Life)

At the end of this verse it says “we too may have a new life”. This new life is referring to the spiritual life you have in Christ. The bible tells us that we were born spritually dead in sin, but at salvation the Holy Spirit gives us spiritual life.

In fact, Jesus once said that unless a person is “born again” ( has new life), they wont be able to see the kingdom of God.

Being born again means to have a second birth - a spiritual birth. When you are baptized by the Spirit, you receive a new spiritual life. Through this spiritual birth, you are placed into union with Christ - and it is this union that gives greater meaning to life.

Not only do we have these 2 promises - there are also several benefits.

Three Benefits:

Baptism of the Holy Spirit places you into a new family.

Get a student to read Romans 12:5

What encouragement. Through the baptism of the Holy Spirit, you have been placed into the Body of Christ ( all who follow Christ). You are Never Alone. You are part of an eternal family that is walking this Christian journey with you!

2. Baptism of the Holy Spirit provides you with a new identity.

What is your last name? Where did you get your last name ? At birth from your parents.

When might your last name change ? Adopted or married. Either way, this person has taken on a new identity.

This identity is not just the last name; its the beginning of a different life.

Think about it. When you become a part of God’s family - you receive a brad new identity. This identity comes from Jesus Christ, your saviour. You are loved and accepted by him.

3. Baptism of the Holy Spirit protects you with a new security.

Why is it important to feel secure? We are all made to want security in life. We want to feel secure in our relationships, finances, and our future. We desire to feel secure in our homes, our jobs and our careers. Thats normal. The problem is that theres no guarantee of security regarding any of those things . I could lose any of them at any time.

While all thise things might change or be lost. You can be sure that you are secure in your relationship with Christ. Your eternal life is protected. You are secure and the Holy Spirit protects you with a new security as a guarantee. A security that can never fail, ever!

Connection

If any of you feel like you have no meaning to life… I have a something to say to you. Please dont feel like your’e weird or that something is wrong with you because you feel this way or because your’e struggling. Life is hard, complicated and confusing at times. You dont have to have it all figured out. But what you need to know is that you are never alone.

As you live as a follower of Christ, you must begin to truly believe that you are in Christ and your union with Christ gives greater meaning in life. Your desire to be loved, to be accepted, to feel secure and to have meaning can all be satisfied by your relationship with Jesus Christ.

The Holy Spirit baptizes you into Christ, makes you a part of God’s family, and gives you a new life - a new life worth living, one with meaning!

Remember - as part of the body of Christ - you are united with others who are living for Christ in this life. There are others who are experiencing the same difficulties and struggles as you. You are never alone

Remember- this world is broken. It’s not worth living for, and it’s certainly not going to give you meaning in life. True meaning in life only comes through a relationship with Jesus Christ. When you believe this, you can really start living with your new identity as a child of God.

Choice

So, are you just going to try and just cope with this life? Are you going to get caught up in all of it’s brokeness, or are you going to live with meaning because of your union with Christ?

If you are follower of Christ, you have been baptized by the Holy Spirit and placed into Christ. Will you start living your life with meaning, pursuing your relationship with Christ as a child of God? If so, pray and thank God for giving you meaning in life because of your union with Christ.

If you are not a follower of Christ , a life of meaning is waiting for you right here, right now. Now is the time to believe in Him for salvation. When you head off to small groups, ask your leaders how you can begin a relationship with Jesus Christ tonight!

Next Steps

After your small group session, if any of you have made the decision to start living your life with meaning, before you leave this evening, i encourage you to go to 3 different people and verbally say, “ I am a child of God, and my life has meaning”!

Lets pray !