Luke 1:30-32 (New International Version, ©2010)
30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,
Our Pastor spoke on these verses today. I don't want to take credit for all these comments because many are from him. We are very fortunate to have a great Senior Pastor. Stuart Kruse is a wonderful speaker and he has a wonderful heart for Jesus. His messages are always Biblically based and straight from his heart which is filled with the Holy Spirit.
Did you realized that there was really nothing special about Mary. She was not royalty, she was not from a wealthy family, and she could be considered just a "plain Jane". I really wonder how she was chosen by God. How is it that she became favored so much by God that he chose her to be the mother of the Son of God. The bible never really says anything about this. Yet, It is clear that Mary was an obscure young lady who was chosen by God for a very special task. In todays society we would probably only give this task to someone famous. God chose Mary on purpose. His choice makes a very important statement to all of us who live obscure lives. God has a very special plan for us just like he did Mary. Oh, we might not raise the Son of God, but he will use all of us to save the life of the people we meet. Jesus was born to save all of us. We can save others by bringing them to know Jesus. You know our biggest problem? We just aren't as open to Gods plan as Mary was.
God has blessed us all with gifts. Many of us don't believe it, but God has promised to fill us with the Gifts of the Spirit. Our only task is to find out what those gifts are. Pastor Stu gave us some great scriptural references that identify many of the gifts of the spirit. Here is a list of the gifts I could find:
Dear Lord, Thank you for treating all of us in a very special way. We love you and are blessed by your Holiness. Please help us to follow your plan for our lives. We have to find out what that plan is and we can't do that with out listening to your guidance. Help us to hear your voice and do your work! Amen!
Our Pastor spoke on these verses today. I don't want to take credit for all these comments because many are from him. We are very fortunate to have a great Senior Pastor. Stuart Kruse is a wonderful speaker and he has a wonderful heart for Jesus. His messages are always Biblically based and straight from his heart which is filled with the Holy Spirit.
Did you realized that there was really nothing special about Mary. She was not royalty, she was not from a wealthy family, and she could be considered just a "plain Jane". I really wonder how she was chosen by God. How is it that she became favored so much by God that he chose her to be the mother of the Son of God. The bible never really says anything about this. Yet, It is clear that Mary was an obscure young lady who was chosen by God for a very special task. In todays society we would probably only give this task to someone famous. God chose Mary on purpose. His choice makes a very important statement to all of us who live obscure lives. God has a very special plan for us just like he did Mary. Oh, we might not raise the Son of God, but he will use all of us to save the life of the people we meet. Jesus was born to save all of us. We can save others by bringing them to know Jesus. You know our biggest problem? We just aren't as open to Gods plan as Mary was.
God has blessed us all with gifts. Many of us don't believe it, but God has promised to fill us with the Gifts of the Spirit. Our only task is to find out what those gifts are. Pastor Stu gave us some great scriptural references that identify many of the gifts of the spirit. Here is a list of the gifts I could find:
List of Spiritual Gifts:
- Prophecy
- Leadership
- Healing
- Apostle
- Service
- Teaching
- Exhortation
- Giving
- Mercy
- Wisdom
- Knowledge
- Faith
- Helps
- Administration
- Evangelist
- Pastor
- Hospitality
- Intercession
- Healing
- Miracles
- Discerning of Spirits
- Tongue
- Interpretation of Tongues
- Voluntary poverty
- Martyrdom
- Exorcism
- Intercession
- Celibacy
As Christians we usually value some gifts more than others. Yet, nowhere are we told that these gifts are ranked in some type of order from the greatest to the least. We might Value Preaching or Leadership, but Voluntary Poverty or Celibacy may be just as valuable in the sight of God. He has designed you for a specific Gift. There are many places to search and find what your gift or gifts are. Find out what your gifts are and listen to the Spirit of God in using those gifts.
Dear Lord, Thank you for treating all of us in a very special way. We love you and are blessed by your Holiness. Please help us to follow your plan for our lives. We have to find out what that plan is and we can't do that with out listening to your guidance. Help us to hear your voice and do your work! Amen!
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