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The adventure of changing the world!

29 May 2020 • From Bishop Richard Jackson

As we approach Pentecost on Sunday 31 May, Bishop Richard reflects on the transformation of the Apostles filled with the Holy Spirit at the first Pentecost.  He quotes the theologian Jim Packer who said:

Understanding the work of the Holy Spirit is a crucial task for Christian theology at all times.  For where the Spirit's ministry is studied, it will also be sought after.  And where it's sought after, spiritual vitality will result. Conversely, where the Spirit's ministry arouses no interest and other preoccupations rule our minds, the quest for life in the Spirit is likely to be neglected too.  Then the Church will lapse, as in many quarters it has lapsed already, into either the formal routines of Christian Pharisaism, or the spiritual counter-part of sleeping-sickness, or maybe a blend of both."

The Apostle Paul urges the Ephesian church to be filled with the Holy Spirit.  And the Lord longs to pour out His Spirit on a people ready to receive Him now too.