“What is your spiritual gift?” That is a question that many of us have been asked. Do we know? Paul writes in our passages this week that we as a church are one body and each of us make up that body. And like our real bodies, all of our parts have different functions. When all the parts are working correctly, all the body itself works correctly. The Holy Spirit gives each of us gifts so that our collective body can operate in harmony. This week we will look at the unity that God demands and what comes when we are using the gifts from the Holy Spirit. If you feel like you’re alone and don’t know how you are part of the body of Christ, this sermon is for you.
Does God's church have a mission, or does God's mission have a church? This week we'll explore the mission we find in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. This God-centered mission comes to full speed as God pours his Holy Spirit into it and sends us out, filled with his Spirit.
Have you ever made plans to do something only to have them change due to circumstances beyond your control? Perhaps your carefully conceived idea you thought best wasn’t the best idea at all. The apostle James in chapter four of his letter wrote that our plans come down to if the Lord wills. Do we know what the Lord wills? This week, we’ll dig into this question and apply it to some very important issues that affect us all.
Firmness. Confidence. Fearlessness. Courage. The disciples in the book of Acts possessed these qualities after the Holy Spirit came and rested on them on the day of Pentecost. We read in Acts how Peter stood before the crowds and the Jewish leaders proclaiming Jesus, and how Paul proclaimed Jesus in the face of extreme opposition. That boldness allowed them and others to be used by the Lord no matter the cost. This week, we’ll look at what it means to have the Holy Spirit so we can speak, act and live boldly for the Lord.
In Romans 8 Paul says that the Holy Spirit brought about our adoption into God’s family. This week we’ll explore this unique gift of being daughters and sons of God. As God’s children we experience new freedom that we didn’t have before, and we have an inheritance waiting for us because “we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.” May the Holy Spirit grant us joy and power as true children of the living God.