Sermons

FILTER BY:

← back to list

    May 17, 2020

    Gifts of the Holy Spirit

    Gifts of the Holy Spirit

    Passage: Galatians 5:22-23

    Speaker: Rev. Vivian McCarthy, Pastor

    Series: Spirit Work

    Category: The Church and the Holy Spirit

    God didn’t give us a spirit that is timid but one that is powerful, loving, and self-controlled. 2 Timothy 1:7

    Sixth  Sunday of Easter - May 17, 2020 10 am

    Prelude  More Like a Whisper        
    Listen

    Call to Worship

    In order for the assembly (ekklesia) to be built up, every believer needs to rise up and be actively seeking the Lord and functioning according to the gifts that the Spirit has given each one.   ~Henry Hon
     
    God has given a spiritual gift to the church in you, and you dare not keep it to yourself.”   ~ Aaron Niequist [1] 
     
    A spiritual gift is usually just a special empowerment – an unusual effectiveness – in an assignment given to all believers. ~J.D. Greear[2]
     
    Persons searching for their gifts think that they can “find” their gifts in isolation from the body. They have forgotten that the orientation of God’s people is outward rather than inward. The question should be this: How can I grow in love for and service to the body of Christ? Gifts are the way we naturally love and serve. To paraphrase Augustine, if you want to know your God-given gifts, first know that the purpose of spiritual gifts is to bring unity to the church. Then “love God and do what you feel like doing.” ~Edward Welch[3]

     Praise Song   Lord, I Give You My Heart

    Sing along 

     
    Unison Prayer 
        
    We give you all praise, O God of our salvation.  We come with devotion to you, O Christ our redeemer.  We honor you, O Holy Spirit, our source of encouragement.  You are One God who sustains us with your love and your presence.  Empower us, Lord, to worship you in spirit and in truth.  Teach us to use our gifts for your purposes.  Give us the grace to rely on you to  breathe life into our meager offerings and for an outcome that is of your Spirit.   Amen.
     

    Scriptures & Meditation    Gifts of the Holy Spirit 

    Listen

     2 Timothy 1:5-7                                                               

    5 I’m reminded of your authentic faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice. I’m sure that this faith is also inside you.  6 Because of this, I’m reminding you to revive God’s gift that is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 God didn’t give us a spirit that is timid but one that is powerful, loving, and self-controlled.

    Galatians 5:22-23

    22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control.

    Joys and Concerns

    • Mary Lewis – praise for Ed’s recovery and prayer for nephew Cody who is moving to North Dakota
    • Sherri Vance
    • Prayers for Pat Botelle's cousin, Jayne, who is having surgery tomorrow, May 18.

    Song   Lord, You Give the Great Commission 

     Sing along

     
    Lord, you give the great commission:
    "Heal the sick and preach the word."
    Lest the Church neglect its mission,
    And the gospel go unheard,
    Help us witness to your purpose
    With renewed integrity;
    With the Spirit's gifts empow'r us
    For the work of ministry.
     
    Lord, you call us to your service:
    "In my name baptize and teach."
    That the world may trust your promise,
    Life abundant meant for each,
    Give us all new fervor, draw us
    Closer in community;
    With the Spirit's gifts empow'r us
    For the work of ministry.
     
    Announcements
    •  We are changing our devotion time to once a week, on Wednesday evenings at 6:30 pm. This will allow our committees to start meeting again on Tuesdays and Thursday.
    • Next Sunday, May 24, we will celebrate our graduates virtually in an online slide show during worship. If you have a grad in your family, please let Robine know by Tuesday so they can be included.
    • If you can help with sewing masks, donating supplies or donations, please contact Susan Harry (  ) or Karen Green (  ).
    • We are planning to offer a drive-in style worship service/Pentecost celebration on May 31, Pentecost Sunday. We will be sending more details out later this week (probably Saturday).  We will also offer an online and call-in service of some kind that day and any other time we are able to meet “in person.”  Please remember that we will not be able to open the building, so there will be no bathrooms available, and we need everyone to observe social distancing.  In other words, participants will need to stay in their cars. 
    [1] Aaron Niequist, The Eternal Current: How a Practice-Based Faith Can Save Us from Drowning
    [2] J. D. Greear, Gaining by Losing, Zondervan, 2015, p. 144.
    [3] Edward Welch, When People are Big and God is Small, P&R Publishing, 1997, p. 204.