No part is worth “less” than another, and each has a place in God’s plan for the community of faith. Have such persons forgotten that we do not ever need to grasp after power? In Luke 3:22, we see Jesus baptized in water and filled with the Holy Spirit at the same time. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. There is a compelling but often-overlooked example of servant leadership in Romans 16:1-2. Yet today the conventional wisdom among even good “Bible-believing” Christians is that we should fit Jesus’ call into our usual routine because, after all, we don’t want to be labeled fanatics, do we? We can profit from taking a fresh look both at the overall concept of being empowered to serve and at how it affects Christians who stand for biblical equality. As subordinationists ponder who sits where in the human family circle, have they forgotten that, for much of so-called “civilized” history, the approved packaging for persons allowed to sit around society’s decision-making table meant being packaged not only as a male, but in an approved skin color — white? 1 Corinthians 12:18 states: “God arranged every part of the body, each one of them, just as God chose and planned them to be.”. Worship Service Playlist. 1 Cor 12:7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: The preaching of the gospel will also have signs that follow. Have a wonderful spiritual retreat, and if it lasts a couple of years — so what?” Hardly. Unlike those earliest followers of Jesus, we seem reticent to let the Gospel upset our carefully-planned lives or, even more radical, abandon our comfortable way of life altogether. A casual reading of the book of Acts reveals this. We Are Empowered By The Holy Spirit To Serve. THE PERSON AND WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT by Francis Dixon (Scripture Portion: 1 Corinthians 12:4-21) In this study we shall see that the Holy Spirit is not only the author of life within the believer, but He is also the accomplisher of service through the believer. In the Old Testament the Spirit of God came UPON certain individuals and gave needed power and ability to … Regular Planned Giving; Donations; Secure Online Payments; Empowered by the spirit to serve. How much more controversial can you get? Jesus was a leader empowered by the Spirit, and he exemplifies servant leadership. The Holy Spirit empowered the disciples to spread the gospel even through persecution. We can desire the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Because even when they felt inadequate, the Holy Spirit made the disciples not just adequate—but empowered way beyond their abilities to fulfill the mission Jesus gave them. Power to obey God regardless of consequences (Acts 5:20-21,29) Power to do first things first (Acts 6:4). Power to give needed help (Acts 5:16). Moriah is a dynamic spiritual organism, empowered by the Holy Spirit; to share Christ with as many people as possible in our church, community, and throughout the world. When I am free enough to let them use their gifts to lead me into greater knowledge and awareness of the breadth of discipleship, I am indeed submitting to them and they are indeed both leading and serving me. #TreatYoSelf @raiderchurch. If you don’t take anything else from this, note this part…the Holy Spirit is empowering people to build the church, to serve in the ministry, to help others. As Peter later wrote, “(We) are being protected by the power of God through faith ... God’s divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness” (1 Pet 1:5; 2 Pet 1:3). Allow the Holy Spirit to work in your life, allow him to govern your life, and allow him to empower you. Hence the real value of this gift of the Spirit and its power! Watch Queue Queue Jesus was a leader empowered by the Spirit, and he exemplifies servant leadership. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. Here Paul commends “our sister, Phoebe, a deacon (minister) of the church at Cenchrea” and Paul asks the Romans to welcome her, and help her in whatever she requires. Paul clearly and inclusively states: “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors” (2 Cor 5:20). And Ephesians 2 teaches that Christ has made us into one new humanity, no longer separated by fleshly distinctives or even placed into some artificial “separate but equal” grouping, but Christ has made us into one new humanity, so that we are being built together into the one household of God. The power of God was in evidence at all times but in a different way during the Old Testament times. As I sit down this morning to share with you, my thoughts on the baptism of the Holy Spirit also known as the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Persons Who Serve on Campus A. First | Prev | Next | Last. At first glance, being empowered to serve appears to be an obvious and familiar concept to many people. Consider: Jesus did not restrain the Samaritan woman in John 4 from running to evangelize her village; Jesus did commission Mary Magdalene to be the first to tell the male disciples about the resurrection. Jesus “did not come to be served, but to serve” (Matthew 20:28). Thoughtful persons are not fooled. We need never apologize for being “only” women, or “only” a minority person, or “only” a low-income person. The Baptized B. 5. Welcome to Our Savior's Lutheran Church. But as a human, like you and me, he fully submitted to and was guided by the Spirit. Spirit-empowered leadership is servant leadership. Of course I had grown to love the members of that class, but if I had continued on merely as their loving leader, they never would have grown up. Empowered in Diversity. Because the servant leader is not someone whose title denotes “I’m in charge and you are under me.” Gifted people are not empowered to be over others, but empowered to serve others by offering up their gifts for the good of the entire faith community. The sort of servant leadership in which serving and leading merge not only exemplifies the mutual submission Scripture commands us to practice, but — very practically — servant leadership is the most efficient use of the various members of the Body of Christ. And God has placed each individual woman, as well as each individual man, exactly where God wants that person to be in the Body of Christ. GROUPS & ACTIVITIES. These biblical truths have very practical applications on a day-to-day basis, because all the individual members of God’s family are equally important for the effective functioning of the whole. This is why the notion of males only as leaders is so unbiblical. 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