The Gift of Children
Gifts of the Holy Spirit • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 4 viewsIn today’s message, we will look at the first places the Holy Spirit showed up in the New Testament.
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Febuary 1st 2026
Series: Gifts of the Holy Spirit
Sermon Title: The Gift of Children
Topic: What are the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and in this part, specifically APEST gifts.
Key Passages: Luke 1: 1-17 & 26-45
Topic: Holy Spirit, Gifts
Sermon Blurb: In today’s message, we will look at the first places the Holy Spirit showed up in the New Testament.
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Sermon:
Hello, Family Church!
Welcome, whether you are here in person or online.
Family Moment –
Start with something personal from your family life recently to help people get to know you.
Celebrate salvation/rededications/baptisms last week.
Celebrate new disciples and disciple-makers.
PAUSE
If you are new to Family Church, we are SO happy you are here today!
Today, we launch into a whole new sermon series…
Last month, we spent looking at the 8 Habits, we hope you all lean into and live out in the coming year…
If you missed those sermons, I encourage you to listen to them online.
Or grab the 8 Habits book at the welcome center and read that.
PAUSE
Today, we revisit something we spent most of last year examining, but from a new perspective.
Last year, we spent most of the year looking at how the Holy Spirit showed up in the Old Testament or the first ¾ of your Bibles.
Starting this week, we will examine the Holy Spirit in the New Testament, also known as the second quarter of your Bible.
And the pastoral team and I had been praying about…
Where do you start with the Holy Spirit in the New Testament…
Because the Holy Spirit is all over the New Testament.
So where to start….
LONG PAUSE
Well…Let’s start with some background that might be helpful
The Old Testament was completed around 430 BC.
Or the last author in the Old Testament, Malachi, wrote his book around 430 years before Jesus was born.
Then there were 430 years of silence, really…
Interesting right?
400+ years where God seemed to be inactive.
No books of the Bible were being written.
No epic Biblical stories..
No incredible men or women of God we needed to know about.
Really…interesting if you think about that.
PAUSE
Now…
Just because things of Biblical proportion were not happening does not mean important things were not happening.
I mean, if you LOVE history…
In that time between, the Persian Empire controlled modern-day Israel.
Alexander the Great took over much of the known world…
The rise of the Greek Empire led to the translation of the Old Testament from Hebrew into Greek.
Then the rise of the Roman Empire…
In 63 BC, Rome conquered Jerusalem, and the Holy Land became a subject of Rome.
In 37 BC, King Herod the Great began his rule in Israel under Rome...
King Herod, who ruled when Jesus was born.
PAUSE
And here are some other nuggets for you that I would be willing to bet VERY FEW people here have ever thought about…
Did you know the Old Testament NEVER mentioned a bunch of really prominent religious groups that are mentioned ALL OVER the New Testament….
The Sadducees…
The Pharisees…
All the prominent religious leadership groups during Jesus' life were all born during this 400-year waiting…
PAUSE
Now let me say one more thing, and then we will jump into the Bible and the Holy Spirit…
Let me throw something out there to keep you thinking…
Does anyone know when almost all the Apocryphal books were written?
That’s right!
Almost ALL the Apocryphal books were written during the 400-year gap.
That is why there is so much debate around them—whether they should be included in the Bible!
Now, for those of you who are newer to church and have NO IDEA what I am talking about…
There is a group of 14 books written during this time period.
And they are included in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, which include them in their Bibles.
Most early Christians read the Bible in the Greek version, which also included those 14 books.
And those 14 books were not included as the New Testament was written and canonized by the later church.
Now all that being said…
Here is what almost all major Christian traditions will say about the Apocrypha…
They are books that are good to read.
Good to learn from.
Good to shed light on the years between the Old Testament and New Testament…
And they also shed light on some things at the start and fall of our world…
BUT…
It is not equal to the Bible.
It is a great commentary…but not equal to the Bible.
But go read it and well…I am sure if you do… we will have some interesting conversations!
PAUSE
So, there is your history and background…
I hope that helps you all fill in some gaps.
And perhaps that will encourage you to explore further the aspects that you found interesting.
PAUSE
Let’s jump into the Bible!
If you have your Bible with you —and I hope you do —open it to
Luke 1
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In Luke 1, if we look at the Bible Chronologically, it would be the first place the Holy Spirit was mentioned in the New Testament.
Let’s see what we can learn.
And let me say this as well…
I know some of you deep Bible thinkers are going to think the FIRST mention of the Holy Spirit must be from the Book of Matthew…
Because Matthew is the first book in the New Testament.
And Matthew DOES mention the Holy Spirit in chapter 1.
BUT…
Let me ask you all a question…
Who came first, John the Baptist or Jesus?
Yes, Jesus!
And in Matthew 1, it talks about the Holy Spirit and Jesus, NOT John.
So, chronologically looking at things, we need to start with Luke, not Matthew…
PAUSE
Luke starts with this…
Luke 1: 1-17 1 Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us,
2 just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word.
3 With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning,
I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus,
4 so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.
Stop there…
If you are new to church, you might not know Luke.
Luke was a doctor.
He was a VERY educated person.
He was a VERY connected person.
And Luke was paid by a wealthy Roman benefactor, Theophilus, to go learn about this Jewish guy named Jesus that people had been hearing about.
So, Luke set out to be an investigative journalist.
He went and interviewed the EYEWITNESSES who saw and were PHYSICALLY present during the amazing events of Jesus' life.
He interviewed those people.
Documented their stories.
Compiled them into a chronological order in the book of Luke.
And he goes on to say…
5 In the time of Herod king of Judea
Stop there…
Remember King Herod I talked about earlier?
The Roman King for this area…
That is who they are talking about here in the Bible.
Which again…if you are new to church…can be confirmed OUTSIDE the Bible as well!
there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron.
6 Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly.
7 But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.
8 Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God,
9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
10 And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.
11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.
12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear.
Just like we would all be.
If an angel appeared to any of us, we would be nervous!
13 But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John.
14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth,
15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born.
Who church?
the Holy Spirit even before he is born.
16 He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.
17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah,
to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
Stop right there…
The first mention of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament, interestingly, has nothing to do with Jesus.
This child, who was to be born named John, would be Jesus's cousin.
But here is a VERY important note…
Especially in our modern culture.
We are created in the womb by God with a divine purpose before birth!
(Repeat)
I know we live in a culture that says we are a clump of cells.
We live in a culture that says we are NOT a person until birth.
That we have no rights or purpose until birth.
Well…
Clearly, here you can see that it is NOT God’s view!
John was created MALE in the womb…
Again, another cultural issue…
John was created with a purpose.
John was created to do and NOT do certain things BEFORE birth.
DO you see it church????
PAUSE
And this angel tells us that John will be FILLED with the Holy Spirit BEFORE he is born.
Now, when before he was born…
We have no idea…
We just know before…
Now…
Anyone want to go on an interesting rabbit trail…
Here is something interesting to ponder that I am not kidding…
I had NEVER pondered before preparing for this message.
When was John filled with the Holy Spirit?
When was John filled with God’s Spirit?
When was John filled by Jesus Spirit?
Because see God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit are all the same…
Yet all distinct…
Ya confusing…
And a whole different sermon that we do not have time for today…
But when did John get filled?
And I think…
And this is just a guess…
But I think it happened when he met Jesus!
Let me show you…
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee,
27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.
30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.
31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,
33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
And again, this ties to exactly what we just learned.
Do you see it?
Jesus…
Before he was born…
Had a God assigned gender.
A God assigned name.
A God assigned purpose.
Just like John did.
Just like you and I do.
PAUSE
And here is the SECOND mention of the Holy Spirit…
And again it is NOT about Jesus…
It is about Mary…
35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month.
37 For no word from God will ever fail.”
38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
And here is where it gets interesting…
Check out this…
39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea,
40 where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth.
41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
Stop there…
Jesus in the womb of Mary enters the house…
And John, when in the proximity of Jesus, LEAPS in the womb.
AND John’s Mom is FILLED with the Holy Spirit!
And I would venture the guess…
This is when John was as well!
And look at what the Holy Spirit does next…
He speaks through John’s mother.
42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!
43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.
45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”
Here is the point I want you all to see today…
Write this down…
The Holy Spirit is a gift-giver.
(Repeat)
The Holy Spirit gave the gift of John to his parents.
The Holy Spirit gave the gift of Jesus to Mary.
The Holy Spirit gifted John in his life.
The Holy Spirit gifted Jesus in his life.
AND the Holy Spirit wants to gift you in your life as well!
The Holy Spirit was a gift to ALL the followers of Jesus as well!
And here is the good news for all of you.
When you come back next week…
We are going to begin a journey through the New Testament learning about the gifts that the Holy Spirit gives us today!
I am REALLY excited about where we head next week.
We are going to begin talking about some of the major ways God gifts people…
Next week you are all going to get a short test to take to help you understand the way God wired you.
AND NO…you do NOT have to share anything with anyone about it!
AND NO…it is not some hard test.
It is questions on what you prefer in life to help you understand how God wired you and then what gifts that means God gave you.
And the part I am excited about is then each week as we journey forward you will be able to hear sermons on those gifts…
And if you are gifted by God that way how those gifts can be used in school, the business world, or in the church.
It is going to be fun and eye opening I think for a lot of you!
So make sure you are here every week!
PAUSE
But before we pray, let me give you a life application today.
If you are new or newer to Family Church, we LOVE to end our messages with something for you to talk about with someone else.
Something to help you apply the message to your life.
So here is this week’s Life Application…
Life Application: Ask someone else how they think God has gifted you, and compare that to what you would say. As a result of today’s message, I will….
Prayer:
Make sure to do a salvation call!
Offering:
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