By Rev. John Wayne McMann
“What if someone read the Bible, and particularly the New Testament, before they went to church for the first time? Do you think they would be confused about what they see?”
I have heard this idea talked about by many people. So often our church experience is extremely different than what we see in the book of Acts, for example. What if we are doing this whole faith thing and missing out on the power?
In the beginning of Acts we encounter a resurrected Jesus telling his disciples to go to Jerusalem and wait together for the gift of the Holy Spirit. As a result of this gift, Jesus said, “you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” We see the Spirit poured out, then the growth of the church explodes, followed by this Jesus mission being fulfilled by His followers. The open-ended promise of “witnesses to the ends of the earth,” coupled with the intentional open-ended book of Acts is one more commission for all of the Jesus followers, even today. The promise of power and presence of Spirit is still valid!
Over the coming weeks, we are considering the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the church and the way that God, the great artisan, has crafted us intricately as individuals and more importantly within the community to be His very presence in the world. That sounds amazing, doesn’t it?
Well, how does this happen? How do we, as Christians, know our gifts and how do we lean into them? Join us for this “Watchmaker” sermon series and follow our blog as we meet some members of the community that are living into this calling.
If you would like to explore your Spiritual Gifts, click on the below link and take this assessment. KUMC will be working to help line up your gifts with service opportunities at the church.
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