Catch The Fire Church Raleigh Catch The Fire Church - Raleigh

We had a powerful Pentecost Sunday with a wonderful message from Senior Leader, Duncan Smith, on “The Empowerment of the Holy Spirit.” While religion often focuses on what we can do for God, Christianity is about what God has done for us, particularly through Jesus’s sacrifice and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit. Drawing on John 7:37-39, Smith highlights Jesus’ promise that believers would be filled with "rivers of living water," symbolizing the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ death and resurrection provides believers with the Holy Spirit, enabling us to live in union with Christ and perform acts empowered by the same Spirit. We need to be filled with the Holy Spirit, which can be likened to new wine that requires new wineskins. This emphasizes transformation and renewal. Embrace this empowerment and allow it to visibly change your lives and witness.

Check out this week’s message from our Lead Pastor, Aaron Ninaber: "The Gift of Holy Spirit.” The ministry of the Holy Spirit moving through our lives is to glorify Jesus, who died on the cross for our sins! Through repentance and walking in the Spirit, we recognize that the nine gifts laid out in 1 Corinthians 12 are not distant goals but integral to our identity in Christ (Romans 8:14). Joel 2 says these gifts are for all believers, each playing a unique role in the body of Christ. It is time to embrace our spiritual gifts and grow together in unity and love, as we carry the nature and heart of Christ.

Check out this week’s message from our Lead Pastor, Jess Ninaber: "Who Is The Holy Spirit?". As believers, it is so important to understand the multifaceted nature and character of the Holy Spirit, desiring the fullness of His presence. In John 14:12-18;26 Jesus reveals to the disciples how the Spirit empowers, comforts, and guides believers. The Holy Spirit is necessary to our Christian walk and it is only by His power and wisdom and revelation that we experience transformation in our lives.

This week Pastor Aaron kicked off our new sermon series, Pneuma. His sermon, “The Necessity of the Holy Spirit” highlights the indispensable role of the Holy Spirit in every believer. In John 16, we see the kindness of Jesus to reassure His disciples that though he had to leave this earth, it was necessary so that the Helper could come. For the Spirit to descend, the Son must ascend. Holy Spirit is not merely a presence, but a person, a close friend who understands us deeply. He was sent for you and I as the body of Christ, but also for us as individuals to guide us, empower us, and reveal truth. The friendship of the Holy Spirit is necessary to our faith, and we have an open invitation to encounter Him throughout our every day lives.

This week, Jess concluded the last moments of Jesus’ time on earth before his ascension to heaven. Reading from John 21, we see Jesus standing on the shore, calling out to Peter and the six other disciples to come and have breakfast with Him. It’s a powerful story of Jesus seeking out Peter who has returned to what he’s always known and restoring him back into fellowship, forgiving him, and calling out purpose and destiny in Peter. God uses the lowest moments of our lives to reveal His greatest love for us. Despite the letdowns and shame that we carry, God wants to call us back into fellowship with Him and remind us that there is destiny after the disappointment.

This week, Aaron Ninaber, our Lead Pastor, delivered a powerful sermon journeying through the post-resurrection encounters of Jesus found in John 20. Jesus meets us in our moments of weakness, doubt, and disillusionment, breaking through our self-imposed barriers with a message of peace and assurance. Our struggles and questions don’t disqualify us from being used by God, but instead, Jesus has a way of turning our weakest moments into moments of commissioning. Be encouraged to invite Jesus into your locked rooms and watch Him bring you a message of Peace and lift up your head to the world around you.