; but GOD!

Recently in our study on Ephesians we talked about how the CHURCH is a body made up of many different parts with EACH serving a purpose. 

(Ephesians 4:11-16,  Romans 12:4-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-31; 1 Peter 4:10-11)

What is a Spiritual Gift?  It helps me to think about being BORN.  All of us have been born PHYSICALLY, right?   As we grow PHYSICALLY we begin to discover our PHYSICAL GIFTS AND ABILITIES.   Well, when we become Born Again, SPIRITUALLY the same thing happens; only SPIRITUALLY.  As we grow spiritually in the Lord, we begin to discover our SPIRITUAL gifts and abilities. 

The beautiful thing is that when the Church’s Spiritual Gifts are pooled together you get a beautiful expression of the Body of Christ. 

For the next few Sundays we are going to HIGHLIGHT various ministry opportunities by having a Ministry Fair in the Foyer of the Church.   I encourage you to check it out every week to learn more about the ministry scope of the church and to prayerfully discern where you might fit into the body. 

This is the first time we’ve done this and it is a work in progress.  If you have any ideas or suggestions please feel free to contact anyone on the VISIONING COMMITTEE:  Janna Klein, Rick Turner, Inmann Dabney, Darlene Stevens or myself. 

The following is what is going to be happening for the next THREE SUNDAYS:

Sunday, February 2^nd              Missions
Sunday, February 9^th                 The Core House Ministries
Sunday, February 16^th            Agape Ministries

More to come, were still fine tuning the calendar. 
 Pastor Bill

It’s a new year with NEW opportunities.

As we come into a new year, I want to encourage us to GROW and not be content where we are as a church.  We are taking some incredible momentum into 2020! 

John Maxwell calls MOMENTUM a Leader’s Best Friend and points out that you can’t steer a ship that isn’t first moving forward.  So my challenge for the new year is for us to keep moving forward using the momentum for 2019 to take us NEW places in 2020.

Paul in Philippians 3:12-14 gives a wonderful way to approach a NEW YEAR. 

“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”    (Philippians 3:12–14, NKJV)

In Acts 2:17 it says, “I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND; AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY, AND YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS.”   Those days are here!  We live in exciting times in terms of church history.  There has never been so many opportunities to reach people with the Gospel as we have today.  The harvest is truly plentiful. 

I want to encourage you to prayerfully dare to dream big for 2020!  I am convinced of the truth of Ephesians 3:20 that God is “able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.”   I think a lot of times we sell God short.  He’s waiting for us to step out in faith so that He can show us how big he really is!  Let’s let 2020 be another great year in which we can say at the end, “Look at what the Lord has done!” 

One of my major goals for this next year is to treat every Sunday as if it’s my last Sunday.   I think a lot of pulpits in America have lost the URGENCY to win people to Jesus Christ.   Therefore, I’m going to be INTENTIONAL about inviting people into a relationship with Jesus Christ.  I invite you to be a part of this by PRAYING for the lost and bringing them to church.   Also, remember that you too preach a sermon.  I love what Augustine wrote, “Preach the Gospel always… if necessary, use words.”   I encourage you to be intentional on how you live out 2020.  People are watching you to see if what you claim you believe lines up with how you live.   YOU can be the most power sermon someone ever hears!

Finally, I want to remind us of our MISSION at Medina United Methodist Church is to “Know Christ and to Make Him Known.”

Let’s continue to let God show us how BIG He really is.

Bill