Paul likened God’s Spirit to an ember in a dying fire. He encouraged Timothy to stir up the live coal, to fan it into flames. He knew we must guard against neglecting the gift of God’s Spirit, of letting the fire grow cold. How can we maintain the courage, strength and love God gives us through His Spirit? How can we insure that we don’t “grieve” or “quench” the Holy Spirit? How can we maintain the spiritual high we received from the Spiritual Refresher we just received at the Feast? We do this by stirring up “the gift of God” – His Holy Spirit! But how? We find the answers in scripture.

Randy D'Alessandro

(1952-2021)

Randy D’Alessandro served as pastor for the United Church of God congregations in Chicago, Illinois, and Beloit, Wisconsin, from 2016-2021. Randy previously served in Raleigh, North Carolina (1984-1989); Cookeville, Tennessee (1989-1993); Parkersburg, West Virginia (1993-1997); Ann Arbor and Detroit, Michigan (1997-2016).