Discover and Serve pt 21 – Spiritual Gifts 10. Prophecy, Serving, Teaching

Discover and Serve, Equipping, Spiritual Gifts
As we continue to look at the various components that contribute to a person's 'serving profile' in the church we come to the penultimate part in this section on Spiritual Gifts. Prophecy Spirit-inspired speaking out of God's immediate mind and counsel for the strengthening, exhortation and comfort of His people, and also, on occasion, to an unbeliever e.g. to warn or convict him of sin. Paul's letters to the Romans and the Corinthians give us insight to this gift as used in New Testament times (Rom 12:6; 1 Cor 12:10; 13:2). It is one of the gifts most commonly referred to in scripture, one not to be despised, but weighed and tested in the light of Scripture (1 Thess 5:20-21), and by those able to discern (1 Cor 14:29). It…
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Appeal for the Philippines

News, Philippines, Poor, Relief and Development
I have had a number of enquiries, due to my contacts over the years, asking for advice concerning giving to the situation in the Philippines at this time of rebuilding following the typhoon. Crisis response My opinion from previous disasters is that the crisis response, e.g. food, water and shelter is best handled by the big NGOs who specialise in emergency relief. In UK there is a Disasters Emergency Committee comprising 14 large NGOs which includes Tearfund and World Vision. An appeal has been launched and I recommend that any who wish to give for immediate relief should donate to that appeal. Is there a place for the church? I believe that the church has a major part to play when disaster happens. In the early days that is probably…
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Discover and Serve pt 20 – Spiritual Gifts 9. Martyrdom, Mercy, Miracles

Discover and Serve, Equipping, Spiritual Gifts
As we continue to consider spiritual gifts and their place in our serving profile we come to three ‘Ms'. Martyrdom Ability to suffer voluntarily/willingly and joyfully for the Lord - even to death. When Paul urged us to ‘earnestly desire' spiritual gifts this would probably not be the top of many people's lists! And yet in 1 Cor 13:3 we read ‘If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing'. I think we would all be aware of people down the ages who have laid down their lives for the gospel and great blessing has resulted. I think of men such as Jim Elliott and Nate Saint whose deaths, along with two others, significantly contributed…
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