Sunday, July 24th, 2005

I knew that today would be a lower attendance day because of the amount of people we had gone, but I was determined to not let that stand in the way of having good services. Overall, I felt the services were good and that the response of the crowds was good. We had 73, our lowest attendance since March, but the low number didn't prevent us from worshipping and receiving the Word, and I felt that both were fresh today.

I did the 2nd sermon in our 3 week miniseries God in the Movies. Today, I spoke on The Fantastic Four: the Value of Teamwork, and I was overall pleased with how the message came out (a few rough spots). It wasn't a complicated message, but I believe that it brought some of our people into a decision of searching for their spiritual gifts. If you would like to know more about what your spiritual gift might be, you can click here to take an online gifts test. This test is only a guide, and I would recommend that you sit down with myself or Pastor Rod and discuss the results.

Before the message, I handed out a chart with the spiritual gifts listed and the Bible passages that they are from. If you do not have a copy of this and you want to use it as a guide, email me at willis4nh@metrocast.net, and I will send it to you. Below are some of the other questions from the message that you can use to guide you in the process of discovering your gifts, and they reference the chart I handed out yesterday:

• Look at the lists in your chart – do you do any of these well?
• Of all the gifts listed, are there any that you receive great satisfaction from doing?
• Of all the gifts listed, are there any that you do in which people respond well to you?
• Is there a need in the church that you desire to fill? Your spiritual gift often coincides with your desired ministry.
• Do you do something well now that you did not do before you became a Christian?
• Have you ever talked to a minister or leader about what your gift might be?

I look forward to this body discovering the diverse and wonderful gifts God has given to it, and then watching as each member of The Journey discovers their place at The Journey. May God bless you and draw you closer to Him as you pursue Him this week.