It was great to kick off our “More Than Conquerors” series with you last Sunday. I hope you have spent the week walking in the new freedom that Jesus Christ has purchased for you. As we learned last weekend, we have been freed from our condemnation, but we were also freed for a specific purpose. God wants you to experience new life. The Spirit of God now lives in you, and this week we will see that the Spirit of God has given us new power. I hope and pray that we will begin to walk in that power, because the church always comes alive when the people of God begin to walk according to the Spirit of God.
What is your ministry right now? I would encourage you to pause and reflect on that question. How is the Spirit of God using you to help build up the people of God in this season? 1 Peter 4:10 reminds us, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” The church has been given a mission to lead people into a life changing relationship with Jesus Christ. However, that mission will never be fulfilled through us until we first yield to the Spirit’s calling in us. The Spirit of God equips and empowers the people of God to do the work of God. So I ask you to consider once again, what ministry has the Spirit given you in this season?
Our church has growing needs inside our church walls. I could go down the list of opportunities to serve in the ABC Kids and Student ministries, the music ministry, our BFG’s, the media ministry, our greeters and ushers, and even our social media and communications ministries. We need more people to help with inreach and outreach. We need more prayer warriors, more encouragers, and more mentors. We need more who will step up to care for those who are sick and hurting. The needs are innumerable, and the same could be said outside our church walls.
God has strategically placed each of us into a community to shine our light. The reality is the vast majority of our neighbors and colleagues are not in church regularly on Sunday mornings. Who could you begin ministering to on your own block? Who is in your own sphere of influence that needs to experience a life changing relationship with Jesus? One small invitation into your home and into your church home could change everything. As we look forward to this weekend, I encourage you to consider how you can allow God to work through you this year. If you have breath in your lungs, God has purpose for your life. He has given each of us the Spirit to equip us with the power we need to accomplish His purposes in our lives.
Lastly, I want to remind you that I’m offering two informational meetings for ABC’s Israel trip in November. I hope you plan to join me in person on Wednesday night or online on Thursday evening. Additionally, we have a Discover ABC Dinner coming up on January 29th. This will be a great opportunity for us to get to know those who are new to our church, both recent new members and recent visitors. Registration is open and childcare is available (click HERE). Thank you for all you do and may we all shine our light this week as we walk in freedom. I look forward to worshipping with you this Sunday.
Onward and upward,
Jonathan Spencer
www.jonathanspencer.org 