Thank you for taking the time to read the Weekend Sermon. I am always thankful to the Lord for the opportunity that He has given to me to post these sermons each week. I hope and pray that everyone is having a good week.
As you may know, I am going to be starting a new job on Monday. This will mean that a few things will be changing here on the blog at least for a few weeks. I will still be posting the verses and the reviews, but they will be posted late in the day. Starting next week, the Weekend Sermon will be posted on Saturday instead of Friday. Please pray that all will go well with the new job.
This has been a very difficult week. I had an incident where someone tried to damage my house. Please pray that all will be safe.
Please continue to pray for those on the east coast of the United States who have suffered as a result of the hurricane. Pray that people will get the aid that they need.
There was a bad storm in the Philippines and in China as well. Please pray that people will receive the aid that they need in these nations as well.
Continue to pray for peace in the troubled and war ravaged nations of the world. Please pray for peace in Syria and Yemen in particular.
For our prayer focus countries this week, let us all pray for those in Afghanistan and Gambia. Pray that many will hear of the love of Jesus in these two countries.
For the past few weeks now, we have been in a series of messages on the last few chapters of the book of Romans. Today, I want to focus on Romans 12:4-8.
We saw last week that no one Christian is sufficient to him or herself. We are not to think of ourselves in such a way that we believe that we are the only ones that can get the job done for the Lord. We all need each other in the body of Christ.
This is the same theme that the Apostle Paul is writing about in Romans 12:4-8. As Paul explains, the body of Christ is similar to the human body. Each human body has many different parts that make up the whole. In order to function properly, the human body needs all of its members. This is true for the body of Christ, which is the church, as well. The church will not be able to function properly and achieve its mission for the Lord in this world unless all of the members of the body of Christ are doing what they are supposed to be doing.
Each one of us who is a member of the body of Christ has been given a gift by the Holy Spirit. We are to use the gift or gifts given to us to help others and to advance the mission of the Lord's church in the world.
Paul goes on to list several of the gifts that can be given by the grace of the Lord. Paul also gives another list of gifts in I Corinthians. Some have been given the gift of serving. Some have been given the gift of teaching or encouraging or giving. Whatever gift the Holy Spirit has given to us, we are responsible for using that gift to help others and advance the Kingdom of God.
If we fail to use the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the church will not be able to function in the way that God has intended. It is up to each one of us to do our part to serve the Lord.
Not every person has the same gift. No person can do it all. We need each other. We need to help each other.
Whatever gift that the Lord has given, we are to use that gift cheerfully. We are to give all that we have to help others. We are to use our gifts to spread the message of the love of Jesus to a world that needs to know of His love and forgiveness.
Next week, we will continue with our series in the book of Romans. As I already mentioned, the Monday and Wednesday posts will be later in the day, and the Weekend Sermon will be posted on Saturday. May God bless you all. Amen.
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