EXTRA! Ideas for Adults – Never Alone – Session 4

Date: June 26, 2022

Filled with the Spirit

The Point: The Holy Spirit enables us to live as fully devoted disciples.

Get Into the Study

Use the following to introduce today’s session.

The original Gerber baby, Ann Cook, has died at the age of 95. A charcoal sketch of Ann at five-months-old became the face of Gerber Baby food after being submitted to a contest for a national marketing campaign. In a post on Instagram, Gerber Products Company said, “Many years before becoming an extraordinary mother, teacher and writer, her smile and expressive curiosity captured hearts everywhere and will continue to live on as a symbol for all babies.”

Ann’s face is still found in baby food aisles. Used for marketing, the smiling baby seems to suggest that Gerber baby food will help make your baby a smiling, expressive, beautiful baby, too. Advertisements often claim or imply that a product will help you become more like that product’s spokesperson.

A baby that has his fill of Gerber baby food will probably be happier than a hungry baby. However, no matter how full he is of Gerber food, he won’t really become more like Ann Cook. Gerber doesn’t actually claim their products will make your baby look like Ann Cook. However, filling up on somethings can change the way we look, feel, and act—for better or worse.

This session we will discuss how we really can become more like Christ. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we are enabled to live and love more like Christ.

Nikki Wilbanks grew up in Tennessee before heading to California to study literature at Pepperdine University. She enjoyed a decade-long career as a commercial real estate appraiser and investor in Southern California. Back in Tennessee now, she loves being a mom and writer.

Study the Bible (Option from Young Adult Leader Guide, p. 54)

Invite group members into a time of worship by playing a song about who God is. Here are three options.

Goodness of God
How Great Thou Art
How Great Is Our God

Live It Out

Use the following story as you wrap up this session.

Martin Luther King Jr. famously said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that.” The Apostle Paul says, similarly, in Ephesians 5, that in Christ we have become “children of light”—we expose the darkness of this world for what it is because we are filled with the light of the Holy Spirit.

The imagery of light and darkness for good and evil has been used throughout the ages—it’s powerful in its simplicity and in its truth. Darkness simply cannot remain where there is light. When you turn on the light switch to enter a room, the darkness disappears. When you shine a flashlight on a darkened walkway, your path is suddenly illuminated.

But in Christ, we don’t just have the light—we become the light. What a beautiful truth!

As you go throughout this week, take time to rest in the gift of being children of light, inviting the Holy Spirit to continue to illuminate your path through this dark world. In prayer, ask God to show you more clearly how He shines His through you, and ask Him if there are areas where He wants to shine more brightly.

Additional Questions

Icebreaker

What constitutes a good day for you?
When’s a time you had a chance for a “do-over”?
What are some things you look forward to refilling or replenishing?

Ephesians 5:8-14

How do darkness and light symbolize the difference between the world and Christ?
How has walking in the light opened your eyes to the darkness around you?
How can we test what is pleasing to the Lord?

Ephesians 5:15-18

How can we best understand the Lord’s will?
How would you compare or contrast being under the influence of alcohol with being under the influence of the Holy Spirit?
Who do you know that models Spirit-filled living?

Ephesians 5:19-21

How have other believers spoken words of encouragement and/or challenge to you?
How can our actions toward others be considered a song of worship to the Lord?
What are some things you are especially thankful for? Why?

For Those in Your Group

Send the following link to your group members as either a teaser before the group meets or as a follow-up thought: