If we want to discover the spirit of a country, then we need simply explore how it reacts to a major event, such as a natural disaster, a financial crisis, or a painful war.

Likewise, we can uncover the spirit of a person by seeing how they endure a crisis, watching how they display their true colours as they instinctively react to difficult and painful events.

For this reason, the night before Jesus’ death gives us a remarkable and candid insight into the spirit of Christ, as we see what was at his heart as he approached his crucifixion.

What he said and did on his final night was a powerful and intimate display of his spirit.

We saw this in how he acted to humbly serve his disciples, and how he then dedicated himself to caring for them and their grief, even as he approached unimaginable suffering of his own.

Yet, the most significant event of that darkest night was when Jesus spoke of how the Father would send the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit, upon his disciples:

“I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth.” (John 14:16-17)

Jesus revealed his spirit in more ways than one: he showed what was at his heart, but more than that, he revealed what life would be like when his Holy Spirit was poured out on them bringing comfort, assurance, and an empowerment to boldly proclaim the gospel.

Over the next two months we’re looking at John chapters 13 to 16, and as we witness Jesus’ reaction to his coming death, we’ll also see the blessing of receiving his promised Holy Spirit.

JODIE McNEILL

When you ask someone to share a coffee or a meal, then the next question is often, “which cafe should we go to?”

These days we tend to ‘eat out’ much more than we invite people to our homes, which is a sign of our increased wealth and our changing lifestyle.

Yet, there is something very special about enjoying food and fellowship with someone in your home, as you get to share an intimacy and vulnerability that comes from letting others see what your life is really like, and vice versa.

The Old Testament people of God knew about the intensity of the fellowship of a meal, and that’s why they were forbidden from sharing a meal with a non-Jew; it was such a powerful moment of fellowship that dining with an unclean person could make someone unholy.

This is what made Jesus’ behaviour so controversial, for he invited, “disreputable sinners,” to eat with him in homes, which lead the teachers of religious law to ask his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with such scum?” (Matthew 9:11) 

This is why that contemporary experts in evangelism encourage Christians to use meals as a platform to help people know how good it is to follow Jesus, especially now that we live in such a ‘post Christian’ world.

That’s why our small group leaders are now discussing whether it’s possible to turn our ‘growth groups’ into ‘home groups,’ so that we might start our times of Bible study and prayer with a meal around someone’s dining table each time.

What better way to help people in our village, valley, and region to know how to follow Jesus and why it matters, than to use our home groups as a hub for relational evangelism?

What do you think: could your growth group work better with a meal in a home?

JODIE McNEILL