In Paul's letter to the Ephesians, he envisions the work of the church as being a place where God connects the different pieces together (ministries, peoples gifts and talents) as a way to administer service to the world. It begs the question, what has God called me to be in the work of the church? The body will be encouraged to enter into prayerful dialogue with the Lord regarding this question.
By exploring the language employed in the biblical text, we will examine the biblical meaning of Spiritual Gifts. We will also explore and conclude that God is the origin of these gifts and it is his prerogative as to the distribution of these gifts.
We are all the same, yet we are all different. We all have a single purpose, yet we all have been blessed with various talents, gifts and skills. This is cause for celebration on being a part of the glorious body of Christ!
Bezalel and Oholiab are two obscure biblical characters that get little to no fanfare for their role in God's work in ancient Israel. But they are concrete examples of how God makes the most of his people by filling them with the Holy Spirit and using their skills to benefit the community of God and its witness in the world!
The great commission of Jesus Christ encourages the disciples to Go which requires proactively pursuing those who do not know Jesus or his gospel. How do we in the 21st century make a commitment to follow this commission?
This is a very relative question to ask in the realm of evangelism. Do we place too much focus on people finding our church rather than people finding Christ?
1 Peter 3:15 says we should always be ready to give an answer concerning the hope that is in us. How ready are we to share the story that God is writing in our lives?
Much has been made in recent years about the make up of churches. Serious dialogue has been made about the diversity of the church (gender, race, socio-economic). Can we say with a genuine heart that all are welcome here? Is the answer a reflection of who we target for evangelism?
Praise and Worship as imagined in scripture is not a matter of fulfilling a legalistic requirement but rather an activity of choice in recognition of one's relationship with the Father. Our collective praise and worship should be reflected in us as we emerge out of praise and worship as an energized people.
Someone has noted, "a church that prays together, stays together!" From time to time we need to be reminded that the church has been called to be active participants in prayer. In an aggressive attempt to challenge the church in prayer, I will offer some practical and timely ideas to engage the church in prayer.
The righteous live by faith. Today we will explore the outrageous claims about faith and explore why it's so hard to buy into these claims. But hopefully, we will emerge with an understanding that our faith in the impossible and the outrageous can fuel an energized life in the church!
Does everyone feel like they're a part of the body of Christ? Sadly the answer is no, but gladly, it doesn't have to remain that way. In preparation for a major push in 2009, we will have spiritual dialogue on how we can become energized through community!