October
27 Sermon – “Are You Ready to Get Blisters for Jesus?”
I
Corinthians 12:12-20
The Apostle Paul informs the Christians at Corinth that spiritual
gifts come through the Holy Spirit and are given as he chooses for the benefit
of the entire church.
When
Paul uses the human body as an analogy, he is thinking in Jewish/Old Testament
terms of when God created human beings. Paul is saying that the church is the
new humanity that God through Christ is creating. It’s in the church where we
learn to be the human beings God intended us to be!
v. 13 –
Paul views baptism as the entry point into this new humanity, the church. When
Paul associates baptism with the Spirit, he is reminding us that God will strengthen
us as we use our gifts in ministry and service to others.
Spiritual
Gifts: We need each other in the church. Every function is important to the
whole. Everyone has at least one spiritual gift and these gifts are meant to be
a blessing to the whole church (see v. 7) Spiritual Gift inventories are
helpful in determining your spiritual gifts. There are approximately 20
spiritual gifts listed in the scriptures.
Mark
1:14-20
After being tempted to misuse his power by the Devil, Jesus has
returned to Galilee. He calls on some fishermen to follow him.
The fishermen gave up generations of family fishing to follow Jesus.
Jesus called James, John, Peter and Andrew to follow him and they did! This is
to remind us of the calling of Abram in the Old Testament when he was called to
leave his country and follow God into an unknown land.
What is the Kingdom of God? There are many misconceptions of the
meaning of this phrase. It does not refer to a new type of inner spirituality.
It refers to the news that God is at work in the world in a new way and is
establishing his kingdom on earth.
Over the course of approximately three years, Jesus was able to
disciple these fisherman, a tax collector, and several others and form them
into a new Israel who would continue to build God’s kingdom following the
resurrection. Jesus continues to call people to follow him today!
What does it mean to leave our nets and follow Jesus? In what ways are
we inviting people to follow Jesus?
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