·          TO USE YOUR SPIRITUAL GIFT verses 13-14 Spiritual gifts. 1 Corinthians 12:4-11. There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit gives them. 5 There are different ways of serving, but the same Lord is served. 6 There are different abilities to perform service, but the same God gives ability to all for their particular service. 7 The Spirit's presence is shown in some way in each person for the good of all. 8 The Spirit gives one person a message full of wisdom, while to another person the same Spirit gives a message full of knowledge. 9 One and the same Spirit gives faith to one person, while to another person he gives the power to heal. 10 The Spirit gives one person the power to work miracles; to another, the gift of speaking God's message; and to yet another, the ability to tell the difference between gifts that come from the Spirit and those that do not. To one person he gives the ability to speak in strange tongues, and to another he gives

Many preachers believe the purpose of preaching is to explain the Bible, or to interpret the text, or to help people understand God’s Word. But these all fall short of what it really is. Paul gives us God’s purpose of preaching in Ephesians 4:11-13 (NIV): “Christ gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists and some to be pastors and teachers to prepare God’s people for works of service so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” Jeremiah 6:16 The LORD said to his people, "Stand at the crossroads and look. Ask for the ancient paths and where the best road is. Walk in it, and you will live in peace." But they said, "No, we will not!" When the Lord has His day of vengeance, no sinners of any age or rank or of either sex will escape. Be careful not to set your mind (life) upon the wo

Have you heard “Do what I say, not do what I do?” But truthfully, what do most people do?  They follow the example of those around that they see, not so much what other say.  We follow what we see actioned, not so much what we’re told. How we live today matters.  How we choose to treat others matters.  When we choose life, it matters.  When we choose to edify, instead of pulling down someone,  this matters. Our children watch us. Our peers watch us.  Our work colleagues watch us.  We watch each other in doing life together as a family of God. Other Christians watch us.  Community watch us.  What we do, whether or not we believe we hold influence, matters.  We will influence others…maybe a few…maybe many.  But we will influence.  What we say, and what we do as actions in our lives influences others – for good or evil. We may think we don’t follow others examples.  I used to think this, but as I get older, I see more and more how much other people influence us. It may be our par

What do you believe?   What do you value? Recap:   Unity, liberty and charity (love) are important as we establish the essentials of what we believe. Unity – as a body of believers in Christ Jesus – Ephesians 4:4-6 tells us, “There is one body [of believers] and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when called [to salvation]— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all who is [sovereign] over all and [working] through all and [living] in all.” (AMP) Liberty -   Romans 14:1,12, 22 says “…As for the [a]one whose faith is weak, accept him [into your fellowship], but not for [the purpose of] quarreling over his opinions.” (v12) “…So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God…” (v22) “…The faith which you have [that gives you freedom of choice], have as your own conviction before God [just keep it between yourself and God, seeking His will]. Happy is he who has no reason to condemn himself for what he approves.” Charity (love) 1