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April 09, 2008
In Pastor's Words
“A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.”
Proverbs 11:25
Did you know that each of you is special? You have been blessed with at least one spiritual gift that is especially yours, and it has been given to you so that you can use it to bring glory to God and also build-up and refresh others around you. If you are wondering what your gift(s) might be, you can read about some of them in 1 Corinthians chapters 12-14, Ephesians chapter 4, and Roman chapter 12. Also, you might ask me, Pastor Ralph, or someone else in the church what your gifts might be. I have seen many of you exercising your gifts over the past several months, and I have seen how God is using you to build and strengthen us as part of Christ’s Body here in Worland. Some of you are leaders, some are gifted to teach, some are evangelists, some are encouragers, and some are gifted in caring for those in need. Some of you have entirely different gifts from those I have listed. Whatever your gifts are, they are important! You are important, and I want you to know that as you exercise your gifts you are making a difference in God’s Kingdom!
I want to give special thanks to so many of you for generously using your spiritual gift of giving to meet the needs of others. Did you know that giving generously is a spiritual gift? In Romans chapter 12, Paul exhorts those who are gifted in contributing to the needs of others to do it generously. I have seen many of you giving your time, energy, and resources to contribute to the needs of others in the church and in the community. I can’t name all of you, because it would take much more space than I have to write this article. Instead, I’ll give two wonderful examples of generous giving from the past two weeks. First, many dozens of people showed their generosity in planning, cooking, and serving at the Chakulafest luncheon after Sunday worship on March 30th. I wonder how many hours of service were tallied during that weekend!! In addition to the many hours of service, $1,163 was donated to help support the Kenya mission trip in 2009. Second, adults and teens alike served generously during the Pancake Supper and Youth fund-raising auction this past Sunday. In addition to all of the cooking, cleaning, and serving, $2,803 was donated to meet the needs of our youth ministry and another $350 was donated toward the Kenya mission trip!! Through your generosity, the needs of these ministries are being met, many lives are being impacted with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and God is most definitely being glorified!
My prayer for each of you this week is that as you continue to generously use your special gifts to bless and refresh others, you will in turn receive blessing and refreshing in Christ. Thank you all for refreshing me in so many ways through your loving and generous service!
Pastor Steve
Posted by Jennifer Herrmann at April 9, 2008 03:33 PM