I’m not sure how many of you read this post. As with anything, I’m sure there’s a certain redundancy that occurs in life. Day becomes another day, weeks drag on and months pass by with a certain consistency. In the hum of life, we can allow ourselves to be mesmerized by the mundane. The moors of mediocrity can lull us into a certain state of un-awareness. I pray that never happens with your relationship with Jesus. Yes, life can be trying. It can be difficult. It can even be downright boring! I try to keep everyone aware of what’s happening in our ministry, and so if you peruse this insert from time to time, you’ll be apt to discover some of the means to my madness!   We’ve embarked upon a new journey of exploring our God-given spiritual gifts. I know that I can be guilty of being excited about things others might seem skeptical of. You might be thinking: “Great, another thing the preacher thinks we need to be doing.” Allow me to ease your mind. This has nothing to do with me. This is God’s recipe for the growth and maintenance of HIS church.  It has everything to do with him and nothing to do with me, which is as it should be. You and I have volunteered to serve in the greatest army known to man. The Lord’s army is supplied, strengthened and sustained by power from above. It’s still up to us to engage in the reasonable service of sacrificial living. (Romans 12: 1). We’ve also started a brand new study on Wednesday evenings. One of the greatest books of all New Testament literature is the letter Paul sent to Rome. This promises to be a study which challenges us to recognize the incredible free gift of salvation through Christ. It also enhances the respect each of us need to have one for another. I pray you’ll be able to clear your schedule on Wednesdays at either 11:30 AM or 7 PM to join us. As always, I pray that each of you spend time with the Lord daily. He longs to hear from you…not because he needs it, but because he loves you and you’re his child.
 
Have a blessed day and remember the One who gave it to you!                                                 Kevin
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Last Sunday evening, we talked about spiritual gifts and the truth that each and every one of us possess at least one, if not more spiritual gifts. It’s not about our talent, our ability or even our ‘giftedness’. It’s about our willingness to be used by God to bring Him glory and serve each other. When we spend more time focusing on our ability than we do the capacity we possess to serve God, we miss the concept entirely. The capacity we have is God-given. We sometimes (mistakenly) think: “I have been a Christian for years and yet, I don’t have any special ‘ability’ to do anything in the church, therefore, God must have not given me a gift.” In reality, God has given every born-again believer at least one spiritual gift! Ability is a state of being, something that exists at the present. A capacity enables for the future. We sometimes think: now that I’m a Christian, I should have all these spiritual abilities to do this or that. That’s not how it works. It involves time, effort, study, prayer and dedication to God. I don’t give my life to Jesus in baptism on Monday and wake up Tuesday with supernatural gifts. And, yet, I wake up on Tuesday with the supernatural capacity to develop the supernatural ability to do this or that. 1 Cor. 12: 4-6 “Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And, there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which works all in all.” Paul isn’t classifying the gifts into three categories, he’s showing us their relationship to the Spirit, the Lord and our God. Although we think of spiritual gifts as coming only from the Holy Spirit, these verses show us that the function of spiritual gifts involves all three persons of the Trinity. God the Holy Spirit gives the gifts, God the Son places you in the ministry and God the Father gives the results. It’s about Him, not us. God gives us the capacity to serve and by us making it about Him, we’re able to be involved in the process.
 
Have a blessed day and remember the One who gave it to you!                                                                 Kevin

I thought I’d share some answers given by elementary school age children to the following questions:   WHY DID GOD MAKE MOMS?

1. She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.
2. Mostly to clean the house.
3. To help us out of there when we were getting born.

How did God make mothers?

1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.
2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring.
3. God made my Mom just the same like he made me. He just used bigger parts.

What ingredients are mothers made of?

1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.
2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.

Why did God give you your mother and not some other Mom?

1. We're related.
2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's moms like me.

What kind of little girl was your Mom?

1. My Mom has always been my Mom and none of that other stuff.
2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.
3. They say she used to be nice.

What did Mom need to know about dad before she married him?

1. His last name.
2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer?
3. Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?

Why did your Mom marry your dad?

1. My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my Mom eats a lot.
2. She got too old to do anything else with him.
3. My grandma says that Mom didn't have her thinking cap on.

Who's the boss at your house?

1. Mom doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because dad's such a goofball.
2. Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.
3. I guess Mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad.

What's the difference between moms and dads?

1. Moms work at work & work at home, & dads just go to work at work.
2. Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.
3. Dads are taller and stronger, but moms have all the real power 'cause that's who you ask if you want to sleep over at your friend's.
4. Moms have magic, they make you feel better without medicine.

What does your Mom do in her spare time?

1. Mothers don't do spare time.
2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.

What would it take to make your Mom perfect?

1. On the inside she's already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.
2. Diet. You know, her hair. I'd diet, maybe blue.

If you could change one thing about your Mom, what would it be?

1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.
2. I'd make my Mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it and not me.
3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on her back.

Happy Mother's Day!