The Bible talks about different aspects of peace. It talks about having Peace with God, this is having a confidence in salvation that is only through faith in Jesus Christ, by God's grace. There is also the peace we feel in our hearts and minds as we learn to not be anxious, but seek first the kingdom of God. And there is the peace that grows in us as we grow in Christian community. This requires making peace, pursuing peace, and learning to truly love one another.

As we continue our journey through Galatians 5 and the Fruit of the Spirit, we are taking this week to look at Joy. What does it mean to have the Joy found in the Holy Spirit? Is it being happy all the time? Is it having no worries, no problems? Or is it more? Scripture tells us that it was Joy that was set before Jesus that gave him the strength and courage to endure suffering and brutal execution on the cross. Is that kind of joy available to us?

Paul tells us in Galatians 5 that there is meant to be an outcome in our lives of the Spirits work. Fruit. What is that? How does that happen? And how do we experience the fruit of God's Spirit growing in and out us?

Galatians 5:16-26 says that we are to walk by the Spirit. What does this mean? Are we changed first, experiencing the fruit of the Spirit so that we can adhere to the call that God has for us, or do we make choices before, which allow the Holy Spirit to produce in us the fruit He alone can produce? We follow by being close to the Holy Spirit, listening to his direction, and obeying.

What does it mean to be brought into the Kingdom of Heaven as a follower of Jesus, who modeled a perfectly Spirit baptized life? The promise of the Father (the Holy Spirit) was made by Jesus and fulfilled on Pentecost in Acts 2. What does that mean for us today, 2000 years later?

Some see the Holy Spirit only as power, some see Him only as the seal, the guarantee of our eternal inheritance, but the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, who wants to know you and be known by you. Does He have power? Of course. He is God. Is he the seal, guaranteeing our inheritance? Of course. Ephesians tells us so. But He is much more.

Peter, quoting the prophet Joel in Acts 2:17 tells us that when the Spirit of God came at Pentecost it was the fulfillment of a prophecy that God would pour out his Spirit on all flesh, that the sons and daughters would prophesy. There is not one Holy Spirit for men, and another for women. And the Gifts of the Spirit are exactly that, the gifts of the Spirit, not of our human flesh. In light of recent events, we take a look today at what the Bible says about men and women in relation to ministry and gifts within the church.

As we have gone through the book of Ephesians, it is apparent that Paul relies on the Holy Spirit for the formation of the church, both individually and corporately. He consistently points the believer to the work of the Spirit. What is the work of the Spirit? How do we engage with that work? And what does it look like to live a life filled and overflowing with the Spirit of God?