Romans 12:7: The Gift of Serving: Part One
OUTLINE: The paradigm of servanthood The responsibility of servanthood Introduction We are all servants. This is an insulting statement to our generation that treasures freedom and self-definition above all other things. But this statement is true in two ways. Firstly, we are all creatures made by God to serve His will. He did not make us as equals, but to know the joy and wonder of His goodness in the ways of His commandments. We are only truly free when we are doing what we are made for. In this sense every person is a servant, they are servants...
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Romans 12:6: Spiritual Gifts
Outline Having gifts Differing gifts Gracious gifts Employing gifts Introduction What am I good at? Where will I be useful? How can I make a difference? These are questions every person asks themselves and ones that the bible has been answering for years. We all have spiritual gifts to serve with. I am not good at anything! I am a good for nothing! No one will miss me when I am gone! These are self-esteem issues that the Bible likewise has been addressing for years when it talks about spiritual gifts. We turn now in our study of Romans...
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Ephesians 6:15: The Shoes of Gospel Peace-readiness
Outline Ready to stand Ready to run Introduction It was Napoleon who said, ‘An army marches on its stomach,’ as true as that is, it is also true that an army marches on its feet. This truth was especially felt during WWI. There was a condition called trench foot, due to the cold, wet and insanitary conditions the feet would go numb swell and begin to blister. Gangrene could set in and amputation would have to happen. The soldiers were ordered to change their socks several times a day to prevent this condition. In one war in Alaska it...
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Matthew 6:19-24: Stewardship: Possessions and Money
Matthew 6:19-24 19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If...
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The Spirit Filled Marriage 6: Headship
Outline What it isn’t What it is Introduction ‘I hate him. I hate him because he made me feel worthless, inadequate—like a nonperson, a slave. I could never do anything that made him happy. I always came short of the mark. I was always desperately working to win his approval. I hate him for the crummy way he made me feel about myself. I don’t know whether I will ever get over the hurt he caused in my life.’ These are the words of a wife whose husband has failed to be the loving head of the home. Today...
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Church Membership 5: Responsibilities of membership: One Anothering
Introduction: One of the big questions that divide people on their view of the church is this one: is the church an organisation or an organism? Those who answer organisation point to its defined leadership structure, its rules for worship and discipline and it doctrinal statements. Those who answer organism point to the church as a network of relationships and a community, a family driven by love not law. Spontaneity versus programs and relationships versus rules, these divisions spring from this dichotomy. The trouble is that this is a false dichotomy, the church is both organisation and organism. Today...
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