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Spiritual Gifts (1 Cor. & Acts)

Intro:

• Acknowledging the departure of four long-serving staff members, highlighting the "changing of the guard."
• Addressing the emotional response to change: excitement vs. fear, influenced by nurture and nature.
• Personal testimony: a prophetic word received in 2022, providing comfort and guidance during a time of transition.
• Story of a childhood memory and its connection to trusting God with the unknown.

The Prophetic Word and Its Impact:

• Sharing the details of the prophetic word: a vision of letting go and embracing childlike dependency.
• The message: God's plan for accelerated wisdom through surrender.
• Personal application: understanding God's perspective during staff transitions.
• Emphasizing the power of prophetic words for upbuilding, encouragement, and consolation (1 Corinthians 14).
• Defining prophecy: a human report of a divine revelation, to be tested against Scripture.

Spiritual Gifts and the Church at Antioch:

• Highlighting the importance of spiritual gifts in building up the church.
• The Trinity's role in gift distribution (Romans 12, Ephesians 4, 1 Corinthians 12).
• Emphasizing the sovereign distribution of gifts and the need for earnest desire and use.
• Reframing gifts: not merit badges, but tools for serving the church and others.
• The church at Antioch as a model: evangelistic, diverse, generous, disciplined, and operating in spiritual gifts.
• Observations from Acts 11 and 13: 
  • Gifts building up others.
  • Serving the church, not personal egos.
  • Gifts operating in team (prophets and teachers).
  • Recognizing the "dark side" of gifts: potential pitfalls and blind spots.
  • Gifts are for mission, beyond meetings.

Application and Call to Action:

• Encouraging the congregation to recognize and use their spiritual gifts in daily life (Monday-Friday, not just Sunday).
• Announcing a future teaching series on spiritual gifts, seeking input via a survey.
• Addressing different views on spiritual gifts: cessationism vs. charismatism.
• Affirming the church's charismatic stance: belief in the ongoing operation of spiritual gifts.
• Call to prayer for a miracle: the healing of one-year-old Slater Brazil.
• Invitation to gather in small groups for prayer.
• Invitation to participate in communion, remembering Christ's sacrifice.
• Closing with worship and continued prayer.

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