Had a great weekend. The radio show was awesome (thanks to those that tuned in), youth bible study was great, Good sermon, did community ministry Saturday, attended a birthday dinner (happy birthday Glen), played Golf and attended the Andrew Memorial Nursery graduation.
Please keep Tina in prayer as she battles cancer. Keep Jackie in prayer as hers has now almost disappeared, pray that at the next check it will be all gone hallelujah! Congrats to Theo and Kareen on the birth of their baby. Keep them in you prayers. http://rayofhope4u.blogspot.com. Enjoy Pastor P

What Is Your Gift? Pt1
We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his[a]faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully. Rom 12:6-8

Spiritual gifts are meant to be graces from God for the edification of the church. Even today, as in the early church, the misuse and misunderstanding of spiritual gifts brings division--splitting up, rather than building up--in the church. This resource seeks to avoid the controversies and simply explore what the Bible says about spiritual gifts.

What are Spiritual Gifts?
In 1 Corinthians 12, we learn that spiritual gifts are given to God's people by the Holy Spirit for "the common good." Verse 11 says the gifts are given according to God's sovereign will ("as he determines"). Ephesians 4:12 tells us these gifts are given to prepare God's people for service and for building up the body of Christ.

The term "spiritual gifts" comes from the Greek words charismata (gifts) and pneumatika (spirits). They are the plural forms of charisma, meaning "expression of grace," and pneumatikon meaning "expression of Spirit." While there are different kinds of gifts (1 Corinthians 12:4), generally speaking, spiritual gifts are God-given graces (special abilities, offices, or manifestations) meant for works of service, to benefit and build up the body of Christ as a whole.

Biblical References
The spiritual gifts can be found in the following passages of Scripture:

* Romans 12:6-8
* 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, 28-31
* Ephesians 4:7-13
* 1 Peter 4:10

Identifying your Spiritual Gifts
Although there is a great deal of disagreement over spiritual gifts among different denominations, most Bible scholars classify these gifts into three categories:
1. ministry gifts
2. manifestation gifts,
3. motivational gifts.

Part 2 Tomorrow…

What are your gifts? When do you get them? Why did God choose me? How can you use them?

Begin to pray today for the Spirit to reveal the answers to the above Questions

Father, thanks for trusting me with gifts. Send your Spirit to Reveal that which I need to know about my gifts. I ask you to keep me faithful as I use them for you today. Amen