• Think back to yesterday, (or look back at John chapter 15).  What did Jesus just finish saying to his disciples?  According to 16:1, why did he say all his?  When the persecution happens, what does he want us to remember?
• How did Jesus say his disciples would respond to his departure in verse 6?  What does he say his departure means for them (and us)?  What will be possible because of that?
• What will the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus calls the Paraclete in this passage (or Counselor, or Comforter depending on your translation) do when He comes?
• In verse 12, what does Jesus say the Holy Spirit will do when he comes?  How will he speak?  What will he tell the disciples?
• What will the Spirit do according to verse 15?

Daily Challenge:

• Look back at all the things Jesus has said the Paraclete would do in this week’s studies.  What do you most need the Holy Spirit to do in your life this week?

Prayer Focus:

• Spend some time praying for tomorrow’s worship services.  Pray for the Worship Team, that God would help them to lead us into the presence of God.  Pray for Pastor Phil, that God would speak through him to you.  Most of all, pray for yourself, that God would help you to hear what He wants to say to you.

• What does Jesus say we should remember when the world hates us?  How could we avoid being hated by the world?  Why is that not an option for us?
• In verse 21, why does Jesus say the world will treat us in this way?
• In verses 22 and 24, how did Jesus convict the world of guilt?
• In verse 26, Jesus again promises the Paraclete.  What does he say the Paraclete (or Counselor, or Comforter depending on your translation) will do?
• What does the Paraclete’s action then obligate Jesus’ disciples to do?

Daily Challenge:

• Jesus tells his disciples they must tell others about Jesus because they have been with Jesus from the beginning.  How does that command apply to us?   What qualifies you to tell others about Jesus?

Prayer Focus:

• In this passage, Jesus tells his disciples to expect persecution.  Christians around the world are being persecuted still today for their beliefs.  Pray for our fellow Christians whose lives are at risk because of their faith around the world today.

• How does Jesus say our relationship with him will effect our actions in verse 15?
• What does Jesus promise to do for those who obey him in verse 16?
• How does Jesus describe this helper he will ask God to send in verse 17?
• Why doesn’t the world recognize this Spirit?  Why does the believer recognize Him?
• What promise does Jesus say his life means for the disciples?
• In verse 23, what does Jesus promise to those who obey him?
• What does Jesus say the Counselor (or Paraclete, Comforter, or Helper depending on your translation) will do in verse 26?
• What other gift does Jesus offer his disciples in verse 27?
• In verse 29, why does Jesus say he is telling his disciples all this?

Daily Challenge:

• In this passage Jesus keeps coming back to the issue of obedience.  Why do you think obedience is so important, especially if God promises to forgive us if we confess our disobedience?

Prayer Focus:

• One of the translations for “paraclete” in this passage is “Comforter.”  It affirms the fact that God desires to come alongside those who suffer to give them strength.  Pray for those in our church and community who are in need of God’s comfort today.

Text: John 14:1-14

• What does Jesus tell his disciples not to be in verse 1?  Look back at chapter 13.  Why would this be a potential problem for them?
• Instead of being troubled, what does Jesus tell his disciples to do?  How can that help prevent worry?
• What does Jesus say about his Father’s house?  Why does he say he is about to go there? What promise does he make?
• When Thomas pointed out that they don’t know the way to the place that Jesus is going, how did Jesus respond?  What does Jesus say we would know if we really knew him?
• How does Jesus describe the relationship he has with his Father?  How does this relationship with the Father affect what Jesus does?
• What does Jesus say should be the relationship his disciples have with him?  How does this relationship affect what they do?
• How do the last two verses of this passage help you to understand how you could do “even greater things” than Jesus did?

Daily Challenge:

• Why does Jesus say he will do whatever we ask in his name in verse 13?  How should that affect what we ask God to do?  Are we asking him to bring glory to himself or to bring comfort and satisfaction to ourselves?

Prayer Focus:

• Pray that God would be at work in your life, working through you to bring glory to Himself.

Text: John 20:1-23

• What did Mary Magdalene discover when she went to tomb where Jesus had been buried early Sunday morning?  What did she do?
• What did Peter and the beloved disciple do when they heard Mary’s report?  What did they find there?  Why did it take them so long to believe?
• What did Mary do when the two disciples left the tomb?  What did she see?  Who did she think it was?
• What did Jesus tell Mary when she realized who he was?  What did Mary do?
• Where were the disciples that evening?  Why?
• What did Jesus tell his disciples in verse 21?
• What did Jesus do to his disciples in verse 22?

Daily Challenge:

• Immediately after telling his disciples that their mission was to be be sent out into the world to announce the arrival of God’s kingdom in the same way that he himself had been sent, Jesus breathes on them and tells them they need to receive the Holy Spirit.  Why do you think it is so important that we open ourselves to God’s presence and power in our lives before we can do Christ’s work in the world?

Prayer Focus:

• Pray that God would help you to be aware of and open to the way he is working in your life this week.

• Why were the religious authorities in Jerusalem upset with Peter and John?  What did they do?  What happened among the people in their absence?
• What did they ask Peter and John when they finally put them on trial?  What were they talking about? (Hint, look back at chapter 3.)
• What fueled Peter’s response to the religious authorities according to verse 8?  How did he answer them?
• What did the religious authorities notice about Peter and John?  Why couldn’t they condemn Peter and John?  What did they do instead?
• How did Peter and John respond to this command?
• What did Peter and John do when they were released?  What did Peter, John and the other Christians ask God to do for them?
• What happened when they prayed?

Daily Challenge:

• The Christians in this story reacted to being persecuted for preaching about Jesus by praying that God would help them to preach all the more boldly.  Rarely do we face the kind of persecution that Peter and John faced in this story.  So why are we sharing the truth about Jesus more boldly?  How do we change that?

Prayer Focus:

• Read through the Christian’s prayer again, and work through how to pray this prayer for your own life.

• Why did most Christians scatter from Jerusalem?  What happened as they scattered?
• Where did Philip go?  What did he do there?
• How do verses 9-11 describe Simon the Sorcerer?  What changed when Philip came to town?
• What did the apostles in Jerusalem do when they heard about what was happening in Samaria?
• What did Peter and John do when they arrived in Samaria?  Why?
• What did Simon ask for when he saw what Peter and John did?  How did Peter respond?

Daily Challenge:

• During our Mythbusters series earlier this year we talked about Simon, a man so evil they named a sin after him.  And it’s easy for us to villianize him.  But think about what Simon did.  The authority Peter and John had came from their relationship with Jesus and their obedience in Acts 2, to wait patiently in Jerusalem, praying for the gift God had promised.  Simon, on the other hand, wanted to skip the relationship and take a shortcut to the power and authority.  In what ways are we like Simon?  Are we tempted to skip the waiting and praying and find a shortcut to Spiritual power?  How do we counteract that tendency?

Prayer Focus:

• Pray that God would teach you to wait on Him.  But remember, waiting is not just sitting back and doing nothing.  It’s actively and wholeheartedly seeking God in prayer.  Ask God to show you how you are looking for shortcuts and rushing on ahead of him rather than patiently obeying.

TEXT: Acts 19:1-10

• Where was Apollos when this took place?  Where did Paul go?  What did he find when he arrived?
• What did Paul ask them?  What was their answer?
• What baptism did they claim to have recieved?  What did Paul say that baptism represented?
• How did the people respond?  What happened next?
• What did Paul do next?  How did the people there respond?
• When the people in the synagogue rejected Paul’s preaching what did he do?  What was the ultimate result?

Every day we’ll not only ask factual questions about the Scripture you read, but we’ll also ask questions that ask you to reflect more deeply and learn something that applies to your life right now.  We call these questions the “Daily Challenge.”

Daily Challenge:

• It would have been easy for Paul to get discouraged and give up when the people in the synagogue rejected his message.  But he didn’t.  He just began to share his message in a different place.  And in the end, everyone got the chance to hear the message.  What things discourage you when you try to share your faith?  What can you learn from this story about perserverance when sharing your faith?

Prayer Focus:

• Last night one of the songs we sang talked about God’s presence in our lives being the air that we breathe.  Ask God to help you recognize his presence in your life and to help you see how he is at work helping you to grow.

The Descent of the Holy Spirit by Anthony van Dyck

On the day of Pentecost, all the believers were meeting together in one place.  Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting.  Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them.  And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. (Acts 2:1-4, NLT)

Every year the Christian Church remembers and celebrates the event described in the passage above at Pentecost – a feast fifty days after Passover.  This celebration reminds us that in the same way, God desires to fill us with His Spirit, equipping us for service in our world.

This year, Water’s Edge will be learning more about God’s Holy Spirit in the season between Easter and Pentecost.  On Tuesday nights between April 14 and May 26, we will be learning more about the Holy Spirit – who He is, how He works, and how we are called to respond.

I invite you to watch the introduction to this series in the video player to the right.  And then stop back by this site daily as we will be posting daily devotions and prayer guides to help you dig deeper into this subject.  Then, if you are a student in grades 6-12, join us each Tuesday night at The Shore and Water’s Edge for teaching on the subject.