{"id":4091,"date":"2023-04-06T08:06:59","date_gmt":"2023-04-06T14:06:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/?p=4091"},"modified":"2023-10-16T14:21:41","modified_gmt":"2023-10-16T20:21:41","slug":"the-power-of-the-holy-spirit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/the-power-of-the-holy-spirit\/","title":{"rendered":"The Power of the Holy Spirit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Any Sunday school volunteer who\u2019s male, 6\u20197\u201d, and weighs 250 pounds will always\u2014and I mean always<\/em>\u2014be paired with a rowdy group of fifth-grade boys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I speak from experience because I\u2019m that volunteer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve served in Sunday school for more than 40 years and the vast majority of those years I\u2019ve spent with fifth-grade boys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Boys who\u2019d rather entertain their friends than listen. Who prefer triumphant fart jokes to lessons about Triumphant Entries. Who bounce off walls in ways ping-pong balls can only envy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At first I longed for a helper, a teaching assistant who\u2019d pitch in with crowd control and untie me when the boys took me hostage. If only I could find someone who\u2019d show up each week to\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then I realized: I already had a helper. A great<\/em> helper. I had the Holy Spirit<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so do you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I already had a helper. A great<\/em> helper. I had the Holy Spirit.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Credit:Getty Images\/Moment\/Kentaroo Tryman<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Holy Spirit is with us<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Paul said as much when he reassured believers in Corinth the Holy Spirit was with them, bringing God\u2019s presence into their lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDo you not know that you are God\u2019s temple and that God\u2019s Spirit dwells in you?\u201d he wrote. (1 Corinthians 2:10-11<\/a>) It was less a question than a reminder: They weren\u2019t alone. God wasn\u2019t loving them from a distance; he\u2019d moved right into their daily lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was with them when they dealt with tough bosses or faced hard choices. When they were suffering or couldn\u2019t make their money stretch quite far enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019s with you in those situations, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And he\u2019s with you as you lead kids in Sunday school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Spirit leads you to truth<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re like me, you show up on Sunday ready to roll. You\u2019ve read the lesson, gathered your supplies, and all systems are go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Except, on any given Sunday, maybe what your kids need to hear isn\u2019t what you\u2019ve so carefully prepared. Your lesson about the Temple won\u2019t matter to a child whose parents just announced a divorce, or when a beloved pet has died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, the Holy Spirit guides you to the truth of Jesus\u2019 teachings and God\u2019s love\u2014both very good things. (John 16:13<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that same Spirit can also help you sense another kind of truth: when it\u2019s time to set your lesson aside and deal with an immediate need in the room. When it\u2019s appropriate to take a child aside for prayer or to dig deeper into why a child seems so desperate for attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Invite the Holy Spirit to give you wisdom when you\u2019re with children, to lead you to the truths in their lives, to be present for them the way the Spirit is present for you.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Holy Spirit keeps you learning and growing, too<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When you\u2019re ready to take a risk, invite the Holy Spirit to teach you the same lessons you want your kids to learn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because the Holy Spirit is never through teaching us teachers, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul told the church in Thessalonica the Spirit was working to separate them from the world so they could come closer to God. (2 Thessalonians 2:13<\/a>) He\u2019s still doing that in your kids\u2026and in you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So ask God to, through his Holy Spirit, grow you in the ways you want your kids to grow. But don\u2019t do that until you\u2019re ready; he often says \u201cyes\u201d and takes you places you might find uncomfortable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Holy Spirit is like that.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the Spirit fuels your patience, you can handle the rowdiest child. When the Spirit is loving kids through you, kids feel in their bones they\u2019re loved.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Credit:Getty Images\/DigitalVision\/MoMo Productions<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Spirit super-sizes your impact<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Signing in on Sunday without the fruit of the spirit ripening in your life is a recipe for disaster. I know. I\u2019ve done it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I recall a season when I was still leading a class, but I\u2019d all but walked away from my faith. I\u2019m not sure why I kept teaching\u2014maybe because even when we\u2019re disobedient, hope dies hard.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My lessons weren\u2019t connecting and I knew it. Kids don\u2019t spare your feelings when you miss the mark; their yawns and drifting eye contact tells the story. My lack of faithfulness was hurting not just me\u2014it was impacting children God loves deeply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the sharp slap of that realization led me to repentance\u2026and a fresh dependence on God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the Spirit fuels your patience, you can handle the rowdiest child<\/a>. When the Spirit is loving kids through you, kids feel in their bones they\u2019re loved<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Holy Spirit makes you a more impactful Sunday school leader because the Spirit is ever and always calling you to holiness, convicting you when you choose to put anything but Jesus first. (John 16:7-8<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And when you teach from a place of focused, surrendered Spirit-fueled strength, your impact is tremendous. Kids aren\u2019t just hearing from you; they\u2019re hearing from God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Spirit empowers you\u2014in Sunday school and beyond<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Jesus told his disciples they\u2019d receive power when the Holy Spirit came (Acts 1:8<\/a>), and that\u2019s still true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through the Spirit you have access to the same power that raised Jesus from the dead and brings new life to millions. It\u2019s power that\u2019s not out there somewhere waiting for you to find it; it\u2019s in<\/em> you, courtesy of a loving Father who gifts you with himself when you become his.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which means you never walk into your classroom or sit with your small group without the Spirit being with you, eager to empower you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Give the Holy Spirit full access to your heart, your mind, your soul. Ask for guidance and wisdom. Ask for the power to listen, to learn, to love.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Holy Spirit is your helper\u2014so ask for help<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you had a classroom assistant would you let that volunteer just stand in a corner week after week?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So don\u2019t relegate the Holy Spirit to that role, either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before the first child peeks into your classroom or races over to you for a hug this week, pause and give the Holy Spirit full access to your heart, your mind, your soul. Ask for guidance and wisdom. Ask for the power to listen, to learn, to love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then\u2014and only then\u2014are you ready for the next thing a fifth-grade boy tosses your direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTry for Free<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Wonder Ink\u2019s 3-year, 52-week children\u2019s ministry curriculum offers kids space to fully find their place in God\u2019s Big Story. Children discover they are Known by God, Loved by Jesus, and Led by the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Before the first child peeks into your classroom or races over to you for a hug this week, pause and give the Holy Spirit full access to your heart, your mind, your soul.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":4121,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"The Power of the Holy Spirit","_seopress_titles_desc":"Before the first child peeks into your classroom or races over to you for a hug this week, give the Holy Spirit full access to your heart, your mind, your soul.","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"blog_topic":[27,26,28],"blog_type":[13],"ppma_author":[41],"class_list":["post-4091","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","blog_topic-faith-formation","blog_topic-leadership","blog_topic-volunteers","blog_type-blog"],"authors":[{"term_id":41,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"mikal-keefer","display_name":"Mikal Keefer","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/mlzai04amy7e.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:80\/f:best\/https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Fixed-04889-Mikal-Keefer-vs-2-scaled.jpg","url2x":"https:\/\/mlzai04amy7e.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:80\/f:best\/https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Fixed-04889-Mikal-Keefer-vs-2-scaled.jpg"},"author_category":"","user_url":"","last_name":"","first_name":"","job_title":"","description":"Mikal Keefer is an over-sized volunteer at Good Shepherd Church in Loveland, Colorado, and the author of the best-selling Notes From Jesus. "}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4091","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4091"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4091\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4091"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"blog_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog_topic?post=4091"},{"taxonomy":"blog_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog_type?post=4091"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=4091"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}