Article Three

The Big Idea:
 The Holy Spirit nurtures us and advocates for us.

Biblical
Jesus promised the Holy Spirit as his continuing presence with believers. Jesus gave the Holy Spirit in a resurrection appearance to the disciples in an upper room and to lots of people on the day of Pentecost.
According to Acts 2, believers like us receive the Holy Spirit in our baptism. The Spirit makes us into a church and makes us alive with the good news of the gospel. The Spirit teaches believers: reminding them of what Jesus said and continues to speak on Jesus' behalf, and creates believers by guiding them in the truth, which is Jesus.
This is the same Spirit who fathered Jesus, that Jesus received in his baptism, and by whose power Jesus acts. Jesus understood his life as an outflow of the Spirit in fulfillment of the words of Isaiah.
The Bible refers to God's Spirit using words like breath and wind: in Hebrew rûah, in Greek pneuma, and in Latin spiritus. In creation, "a wind from God swept over the face of the waters" and by the breath of God's speaking, he created all that is. God's breath enlivens human beings, and his Spirit empowers prophets. Prophets anticipated the outpouring of God's Spirit to transform creation, including all people.

Theological
The Creed presents the persons of the Trinity separately.
The three persons are distinguishable but inseparable.
The Spirit is always the Spirit of Christ. The Holy Spirit:
 * is both identified with Jesus and distinct from Jesus.
  * is present with Jesus, comes before Jesus, and comes after Jesus.
  * both reminds believers of Jesus' teaching and extends Jesus' teaching.
  * is both revealed by Jesus and reveals Jesus.
  * is both in the church and beyond the church in all creation.
 
While the Spirit makes the church, feeds the church, and lives in the church, the Spirit is not limited to just the church but is present and at work in all that God has made. The church is both a part of creation and a witness to God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—working in all creation.
The Holy Spirit is called paraclete, [pair-a-cleat] Greek for helper, comforter, or advocate. The term is court language and refers to the defense lawyer as opposed to the prosecutor.

Historical
In the Large Catechism, Luther wrote more on the third article than on either of the others—twice as much as on the first article, and almost three times as much as on the second. It's strange that Lutherans have sometimes been criticized for not saying much about the Holy Spirit.

Teen Connection
Article Three: "I believe in the Holy Spirit..." When you are troubled, you need to be reassured that God is with you. Reassurance and comfort is the work of the Holy Spirit. While not as easy to understand as Jesus, the gift of the Spirit can be helpful to us. The Holy Spirit is as close as your breath. Paraclete (in Greek word meaning "to come alongside") describes the work of the Spirit. The Spirit is the supporter and comforter that Jesus has promised will be with us forever.
Opening Prayer
L: Lord, at Pentecost,
C: You poured the Holy Spirit onto the church.
L: Lord, at our baptism,
C: You poured the Holy Spirit onto us.
L: Holy Spirit,
C: Guide us.
L: Holy Spirit,
C: Comfort us.
L: Holy Spirit,
C: Renew, refresh, and revitalize us to do the will of God.
ALL: Amen
 
Skit: The Advocate
CHARACTERS:
 * DEBORAH, a high school-aged girl;
 * ADVOCATE, who works for Deborah;
 * JUDGE, the man behind the table who listens to the Advocate;
 * JACKIE, a friend of Deborah's;
 * READER, someone to read the verse at the end of the scene.
 
PROPS: Two tables, three chairs, some paper, pens, and a Bible.
The JUDGE is sitting behind a table stage left. The ADVOCATE enters stage right and sits down behind the other desk. DEBORAH enters from between the two tables. She is looking straight ahead.
DEBORAH: This is so frustrating. I can't believe Heather and Aimee are fighting again. This is like the fifth time this week.
(DEBORAH stops talking and puts her head down.)
ADVOCATE: Sir.
JUDGE: Yes?
ADVOCATE: I would like to present a case to you. It's Deborah—
JUDGE: Deborah Lansing.
ADVOCATE: Correct. She's been trying to work out an argument between two of her closest friends. She's asking for help.
JUDGE: Give her what she needs.
ADVOCATE: Yes, sir. I will.
DEBORAH: (Lifting her head up) Amen.
(JACKIE enters from the same place DEBORAH did.)
JACKIE: Hey Deb, what's up?
DEBORAH: Hey Jackie, uh...not much.
JACKIE: Something wrong?
DEBORAH: Well...yeah... Heather and Aimee are totally at each other again. It just makes me sad...and frustrated. They're like my best friends. I wish I could do something.
JACKIE: (Nods her head) Yeah. Well, I think you are, Deb.
DEBORAH: What do you mean?
JACKIE: I just talked to Heather. She said that after she talked to you about Aimee she went and talked to her and worked things out.
DEBORAH: Really?
JACKIE: Yeah.
DEBORAH: (Smiling) Oh, wow. I really needed to hear that. Thank you so much.
(DEBORAH runs off stage the way she came. JACKIE walks out the front. The ADVOCATE and the JUDGE both stand up and face the audience. The READER comes out on stage.)
READER: Romans 8:26. The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what to pray for, but the Spirit intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.
(The ADVOCATE, JUDGE, and READER all exit.)
My Faith Story
 * Tell a story about a time in your life when prayer helped guide you through a difficult decision?\
 
When we are open to the power of the Holy Spirit in prayer, God can guide us in marvelous and unexpected ways.
 
  
Cartoon Connection: Wholly Spirit
 
 
 * What is the young girl's image of the Holy Spirit?
 * Is it similar to the image you have or is it different?
 * How do you think of God in your life?
 * What are some of the images of God in the Bible?
 * Which ones do you find troubling? Why?
 * How can the many different images of God in the Bible be the same God?
 * The Holy Spirit feeds our faith and stands up for us. Who are those those in your life who love and care for you no matter what?
 * Lets offer a prayer of thanks for the caring work of the Holy Spirit in our everyday lives!
 
 
 
Open the Catechism
Open to the Third Article of the Creed and read it and its meaning.
 * Why are these five other things mentioned along with the third member of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit?
 * How do they all relate, or come together in the lives of believers?
 * Are some, such as forgiveness and resurrection of the dead, more important to believers at particular times in life?
 * Why is the Holy Spirit more difficult to pin down and figure out?
 
Although Jesus speaks of bringing the Holy Spirit to his disciples in John 20:19-23, the Pentecost story in Acts 2 describes the most dramatic appearance of the Spirit. The church celebrates that event every year on the Day of Pentecost.
 * What do you know about Pentecost?
 * How do we celebrate it in our church?
 
 
Bible Connection:
Jesus Is Lord
 * Read John 14:15-17. Jesus is speaking before his death and resurrection. As a group, come up with a definition for the word counselor.
 
 * Read Genesis 1:1-2. In Hebrew the word that is translated as "Spirit of God" comes from a word meaning breath or wind. So it could be translated, "a wind from God swept over the face of the waters." According to Genesis, it was the breath from God speaking that brought about creation.
 
 * Read Acts 2:1-13 The Holy Spirit is pictured in these verses both as a mighty wind from heaven and as tongues of fire. There were people in Jerusalem from all over the world, and all could hear the disciples speaking in their own native language. Some people, however, thought when they first heard the disciples that the disciples were drunk. Even today the words of the Holy Spirit can seem like utter nonsense to some.
 
 * In Acts 2, Pentecost is celebrated as the birthday of the church. In the words of Martin Luther, the Holy Spirit "calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies" the church. In the same way, our baptism is celebrated as our spiritual birthday, because that is the day the Holy Spirit was poured out on us and came to dwell in us.
 
Light for the World
The many candles we light in church represent many things: the light of Christ shining in a dark world, our faith and prayers rising to God, the faith of the church burning for Christ, and so forth.
Think of a clear jar with a candle in the bottom of it. If we put a lid on the jar, the flame in the jar burns out.
It is the presence of the Holy Spirit that gives the light of Christ the power to shine in darkness, that gives our faith and prayers the wings to rise to God, and that gives the faith of the church the power to burn for Christ.
Without the presence of the Holy Spirit, our faith, our prayers, and the church would quickly lose fuel and finally burn out just like a candle. Just as there is no flame nor any life itself without air, there is no prayer, no faith, and no life in the church without the breath of the Spirit.
Closing Questions
 * If the Holy Spirit created and nurtures the church, does that mean the Holy Spirit can only work through the church? Why or why not?
 
 * If the three persons of the Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—are all equal, why does it seem like we hear less about the Holy Spirit on Sundays?
 
 * How can I explain the idea of the Trinity to someone who is not a Christian?
 
 
Closing Ritual
L: The Lord be with you,
C: And also with you.
L: Let us pray. As promised, Lord, you sent the Holy Spirit to guide and sustain us. Open our hearts and minds to the things the Spirit is asking us to do. We ask all of this in Jesus' name.
C: Amen
Closing Blessing
L: May the Spirit of God guide your way in the week ahead. May your heart and mind be open to sharing the peace of the Lord with others. In the name of the Father +, and of the Son +, and of the Holy Spirit +. Amen