Uniquely You In Christ
The Gift of Showing Mercy 11/09/2008
Rev. Jerry Lepasana
Categories: Spiritual Gifts
There are some people in the church who will be capable of demonstrating more love and mercy to others because that’s their spiritual gift. Our key text in Romans 12: 8 says, “If it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.†This gift is defined as the ability to practically and compassionately extend help to someone who is in misery. John MacArthur writes, "Mercy is not the silent, passive pity that never seems to help in a tangible way. It is genuine compassion with a pure, unselfish attitude that reaches out to help."
The Gift of Administering 10/26/2008
Rev. Jerry Lepasana
Categories: Spiritual Gifts
Throughout the Bible, God has demonstrated that He was able to accomplish great things even with the most ordinary instruments. Perhaps, you are one of those people who have the tendency to think that you need to be extraordinary in your abilities or super special in your intelligence before God can use you. You are seriously mistaken! His glory shines the greatest through the weakest of vessels. When it seems impossible that good can come from an ordinary or highly dysfunctional life, God shows up and accomplish the impossible.
The Gift of Teaching 10/12/2008
Rev. Jerry Lepasana
Categories: Spiritual Gifts
One of the significant contributions of Martin Luther during the reformation was when he rediscovered the doctrine of the Priesthood of Believers. In this doctrine, Luther has emphasized the privilege and the responsibility of all believers. The concept of privilege applies to the direct access which all believers enjoy through Jesus Christ. Back in the Old Testament, the common Israelite cannot approach the presence of God without the mediatoral access provided by priests. For responsibility, the doctrine teaches that believers must share the love of Jesus Christ to others. Clearly, if you are some who has been called out from darkness, or someone freed from sins by the blood of Jesus, you are a priest before God. This is indeed as awesome privilege!
The Gift of Serving 10/05/2008
Rev. Jerry Lepasana
Categories: Spiritual Gifts
When God in His goodness give blessings to His people, they are not just for personal consumption. He expects that we invest His gifts for the furtherance of His kingdom. I believe with all my heart that we never fall short of blessings. God has given us everything we need to be fruitful believers. In fact, in our series, we are primarily dealing with spiritual gifts. These are special abilities we have received through the Holy Spirit so we can serve each other and therefore build the body of Jesus Christ. Like the other blessings we have, we have received gifts so we can bless others. I hope we are doing our best to know our gift/s and use them to be a channel of God’s blessings to others before it’s too late.
Getting the Most Out of Your Life 09/14/2008
Rev. Jerry Lepasana
Categories: Spiritual Gifts
Each one of us has been uniquely created by God. Contrary to the theory of Darwin, we are not a product of a big accident. God has carefully designed and crafted all of us. The truth of the matter is: God has created us for service. He has created us to play a special role on earth. This goes with saying that if we fail to understand and accept this, we can miss out on getting the most out of our lives.