Where Did All the Prophets Go? 16 Second Message Recap

Pastor Stephen delivered part 4 of his 6-part series on Ephesians 4. This week, he talked with us about the Prophetic ministry gift.

The Big Idea: Prophets call Christians back to godliness and inspire them to live in the Holy Spirit's power.

Prophets receive messages from God relating to the future, to words needed for the encouragement or strengthening of a congregation, or to shaking up a body of believers--calling them on their sin or their neglect of the less-fortunate.

Prophets can be used powerfully by God to effect change (see 1 Corinthians 14:24-25).

Prophets have a way of ripping open our hearts, shattering our illusions, and bringing us face to face with our Maker. -- J.R. Woodward

Prophets are also important, because our acceptance of them and their message tends to open us up to the works of the Holy Spirit.

Here are 3 things you can do to help the prophetic gift work effectively in our church:

1) Test the prophets' message--does it line up with the Bible? How does the prophet's life display the fruit of the Spirit (see Galatians 5:22-23)? If the message was about future events, did they come true?

2) Be open to the prophets and their message

3) Seek the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit.

Here are 5 things that those with the prophetic gift should be doing:

1) Ensure your outward life and your spiritual life do not disqualify your message

2) Be bold in speaking what God has shown or told you--find the appropriate time to share, and then share it!

3) Stand up for the poor and the oppressed.

4) Test the words of other prophets

5) Encourage others to seek the gifts of the Holy Spirit!

Prophets call Christians back to godliness and inspire them to live in the Holy Spirit's power.

Be sure to listen to the full sermon online at abundantsprings.podbean.com or subscribe on iTunes.

Where Did All the Teachers Go? A 16-second Message Recap

This week Pastor Stephen delivered the 3rd message in our series "Where Did all the ______'s Go?". This week's message from Ephesians 4:10-16 was called "Where Did All the Teachers Go?".

The big thing: Teachers teach us to know and live God's Word.

Teachers are vital to the Church's health because they teach us to immerse ourselves in God's Word and to live what we have learned. This strengthen's the Church's faith, makes us less susceptible to believe strange teachings, and makes it more difficult to be deceived by things that are not of God. As well, it builds us up to do the best we can as we serve God.

How teachers can immerse themselves in God's Word:

Hear God's Word, Read God's Word, Study God's Word, Memorize God's Word, and Meditate on God's Word.

Then, teach others to do the same.

No teaching is complete if we don't offer those we teach a way to use their new knowledge for the benefit of the mission Jesus gave the Church.

A teacher must teach others how to live what they have learned.

Listen to the full message on our podcast here.

Where Did All the Pastors Go? 16 Second Message Recap

Pastor Stephen continued his series on the five-fold ministry gifts found in Ephesians 4:7-16 with this message about the pastoral gift. If you don't know your ministry gifts, head over to www.fivefoldministrytest.com!

The big idea: Pastors equip by caring!

To determine what pastors do in a church, Pastor Stephen related pastors to shepherds, as they are the same word in Greek.

Here's what pastors do:

• They guide their faith community closer to the spiritual life-giver: Jesus
• They guard the faith community from those that seek to destroy the congregation
• They seek to rescue the hurting however they can so that person can come to a place of wholeness
• They are aware of the needs of those in the church and bring words of counsel, comfort, encouragement and healing.
• They encourage people to make peace with each other and to gather regularly.

Here's how you can use this gift (even if it's not your main one):

• Look for hurting people...and don't walk away
• Challenge your Christian friends to build a closer relationship with Jesus--perhaps by joining a Life-Transformation Group.
• Stand against gossip, bitterness and dissension
• Encourage participation in Church life
• Encourage reconciliation
• Befriend those who are new

For those whose main gift is pastoring Pastor Stephen added:

• Instil a passion for pastoring in the congregation.

That's it in a nutshell! Be sure to listen to the full sermon online here.

Where Did All the _____'s Go? Your 16 Second Message Recap

This week Pastor Stephen delivered the first message in this latest six-part series about the five-fold ministry giftings, called "Where Did All the _______'s Go?". We are looking at Paul's letter to the church in the city of Ephesus; specifically, Ephesians 4:7-16.

Here's this week's big thing: Jesus has given you a gift for ministry: what is it and how will you use it?

Pastor Stephen pointed out that the ministry giftings are still around, but we have long suppressed the ones that make us uncomfortable. We have also told churchgoers that only those who are paid to do ministry have ministry gifts, but that needs to change because everyone has been gifted in a combination of these five gifts. Everyone is called to participate in ministry and sharing the Good News of Jesus!

Many will also find themselves in leadership positions where they can work to equip the church to do ministry more effectively.

Everyone is called to participate in ministry and sharing the Good News of Jesus!

Next we found that Jesus not only gives the church these five gifts, but actually used all five throughout his earthly ministry. Jesus is an example of what they are and how they can be used, and he has given them to the Church so we can carry on his ministry! Therefore, as we read the Bible we learn that Jesus was an Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor, and a Teacher.

Which of the Gifts have you been given?

Our ministries may look different from one another, but we are ALL called to reach the unchurched and disciple believers to be like Jesus.

One of the ways we can learn what our giftings are is to take a short test at www.fivefoldministrytest.com.

Our ministries may look different from one another, but we are ALL called to reach the unchurched and disciple believers to be like Jesus.

After you find out what this test says, send Pastor Stephen an email and include your name and your top two ministry giftings and if you agree with what the test said.

Then, read and pray over this passage in the Bible and ask God to show you how you can best use the gifts he has given you.

Each of the next five weeks we're going to look at one of these ministry gifts and learn what it is, what it's for, and how you can put it to use.

Be sure to catch the full sermon on our new podcast page!