Over the past year you may have heard me say that Christianity is not for the spectator. All followers of Jesus are to be involved! I often reflect on what Paul teaches in Ephesians 4:11-13 “it was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ”. My role as a pastor is to encourage you to be serving your Lord and His people. Serving is one of the most important outcomes of all you read and study in the Scriptures. Paul makes this abundantly clear! So I am encouraging you once again to make a stand for Christ and serve Him in the life of our church in 2015!
There are many opportunities for you personally to serve. Today we start planning for next year’s ministry. All of us have been given gifts, talents and skills for the purpose of building God’s Kingdom here in Kogarah and beyond. We need a team of people. We need a church body that is connected together heading in the direction that the Lord has clearly given us to go! I now call on you to ask the Lord in what capacity are you to use these gifts, talents and skills for His glory here at Grace Church. Once again we will have an opportunity for you to sign up for service for 2015. The sign up board is in the church foyer. All you need to do is to pin your name in one of the areas of service on offer.
God chooses each one of us to serve – there is no mistake here. He chose Solomon to rule a nation. He was only 20 years old when he was placed on the throne of Israel. He was no more than a boy. In a dream, God spoke to Solomon. He showed Solomon how a true leader is to lead. It was a reality check where he was shown that God is generous, faithful and has a great love for His people. All he needed to do was ask God and he would be given everything and more to be a great leader of God’s people. This is a good lesson for us all – ask and let us receive all that we need to serve God and His people!