 If you remember from the message Sunday, I talked about your spiritual gift as a sort of divine sweet spot. When you hit a golfball or a tennis ball just right, you know it. When you are doing something naturally and on behalf of others and it just feels right, you are probably honing in on an area of spiritual gifting. One of the main questions that I always get about spiritual gifts is, “How do I know what my spiritual gift(s) are?”
As Jesus was the full embodiment of all spiritual gifts lived out to perfection, rather than focus on a certain “way” or “gift”, we can simply focus on being like Him. However, there are abilities that come more naturally to us that others. We are all wired differently. I want us all to begin to think more deeply about how God wants to use us in the way that he has uniquely crafted us because I know that our our service to others will build our faith in powerful ways. Here are some practical questions to prayerfully ask yourself.
A scripture to help you think more deeply about this is 1 Corinthians 12:4-7: 4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. Often in life we can hit spiritual plateaus. The important thing is not to stay there. One of the best ways out of these lulls in our faith is to “serve” and “love” our way out. When you give to, love, and serve others as motivated by your love for Christ, the gratifying feeling you receive is God at work in and through you. When our service seems effortless, it is because it is the God of the universe enabling you to be far more than you could ever be as working from your our own. If your service seems like a burden, then you may be out of your sweet spot or you could be serving for selfish reasons like having an internal motivation to receive the praise of others. God sees our hearts and will not empower selfish service. If you would like to take an online spiritual gifts inventory I have included a link to a good one. I have taken the test myself and it only takes about 10-15 minutes. I have also read about the group providing the test and I am confident by their Confession of Faith and description of spiritual gifts that their mission and doctrine are consistent with who we are at The Well. If you do decide to take the test, just bear in mind that it's less about self-assessment tests and more about becoming who God already created you to be. SpiritualGiftsTest.com Please feel free to share with us your results or use this opportunity to ask any further questions you may have about spiritual gifts. Josh Kesler, Senior Pastor
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In the past, The Well has taken a month to focus on Wisdom. Much like years past, we are going to take the month of July and have a "31 Days of Wisdom" challenge. There are 31 days in July and there also happen to be 31 chapters in the book of Proverbs. I want to challenge you as a church to read a chapter per day for the entire month. This challenge can help you in two ways. First you will increase in wisdom as each chapter offers countless pieces of wisdom that can be applied immediately to your life. Secondly, if you have not been in the regular habit of Bible reading, this is a great way to start.
We will also be teaching and reading from the Proverbs on Sunday mornings during our regular worship service. I recognize that we should be growing in wisdom every day of the year, but this "31 Days" can simply offer us a good reason to start. If you are new to opening you Bible on a regular basis, I would suggest that you read from the New Living Translation (NLT) or the The Message versions of the Bible. The language used in these versions is much more consistent with how we typically communicate. For example, The New International Version (NIV) gives this reason for the study of the Proverbs; for gaining wisdom and instruction; for understanding words of insight; 3 for receiving instruction in prudent behavior, doing what is right and just and fair; while the New Living Translation reads Their purpose is to teach people wisdom and discipline, to help them understand the insights of the wise. 3 Their purpose is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives, to help them do what is right, just, and fair. Proverbs 1:2-3 This is clearly the same message even if different words are used to articulate it. It will just be more helpful for you if you are using a version of the Bible that you are comfortable with. Please enjoy the next "31 Days of Wisdom." If you are reading this message on Facebook, please “like” this posting to share with us that you have accepted the challenge. I would also encourage you to use the Facebook page to share with us how God is changing you in the process by commenting when appropriate. We really do what to know how you are doing. God Bless and be wise! Pastor Josh  Over the years, I have come to learn that certain practices have become essential in my life as I grow as a follower of Jesus Christ. One of those practices is becoming an avid reader. I am typically involved in a yearly Bible reading plan as well as reading works by trusted Christian authors. If I could challenge you to grow in your faith in one way in 2013, I would challenge you to grow in wisdom through reading. Therefore, I have compiled a list of several books that I have loved over the years that have helped to shape my theology, practice and outlook on what it means to be a devoted disciple of Jesus Christ. The list of books is in no particular order. However, I have coded the books for your convenience based on what I believe to be the reading difEiculty level. Some of the books are great for all people and a relatively easy read. Some of these books will take some mental wading though and a lot of extra thinking. (It took me a year to read Renovation of the Heart and another several months of trying to figure out what it said.) A book coded “1” is great for everyone and I would strongly suggest you read it. A book coded “2” is for those who want to dig a little deeper and think a little more. A book coded “3” is pretty tough but well worth the time.
1. Not a Fan-‐ Becoming a completely Devoted Follower of Jesus-‐ Kyle Idleman (1) 2. The Barbarian Way: Unleashed the Untamed Faith Within- Erwin Raphael McManus (1) 3. Integrity: The Courage to Meet the Demands of Reality- Dr. Henry Cloud (2) 4. Crazy Love-‐ Francis Chan (1) 5. The Cost of Discipleship-‐ Dietrich Bonhoeffer (3) 6. Knowing God-‐ J.I. Packer (3) 7. Spiritual Leadership-‐ J.Oswald Sanders (3) 8. Renovation of the Heart-‐ Dallas Willard (3) 9. The Jesus I Never Knew-‐ Phillip Yancey (2) 10. If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat-‐ John Ortberg (1) 11. After You Believe: Why Christians Character Matters -‐ N.T. Wright (3) 12. Mere Christianity-‐ C.S. Lewis (2) 13. The Pursuit of God-‐ A.W. Tozer (1) If you like these books, keep in mind that these authors have each written several books on relevant theological and practical Christians issues. I would also love to know what books are shaping your life as a disciple so feel free to email me any time. God Bless. Josh Kesler, Senior Pastor josh@thewellathuntington In the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30), Jesus makes the point that it isn’t the amount of talent we’re given that matters. It’s what we do with it.
In God’s economy, risk is greater than security. This is easy to forget, because in this day and age, we are all about security. Security from terror threats, from economic hardships, from sickness and disease. We install security systems to prevent robbery. We lock our cars. We use crazy long, hard-to-remember passwords to keep people from hacking our internet accounts. Security, in the proper context, is perfectly acceptable and wise. But because humans tend to be creatures of habit, it can be easy to let this secure mentality slip into all areas of our lives - our faith included. It is a perfectly human emotion to have fear. Again, as with the talents, it’s what we do with it that counts. Fear can drive us forward and can be the inciting factor that causes us to do our greatest work. But fear can also drive us inward. In that case, it propels us into self-preservation mode, and instead of using our energy to use the talents we have been given, we squander them. We hide them in the ground and rationalize that we are really doing what’s best. Sometimes, we even chalk it up to “wisdom.” Context is key. In his message on Sunday, Pastor Josh challenged us to consider this parable of the talents from a collective viewpoint. Are we, as a church, going to bury our talents? Or are we going to press forward, in spite of our fears, and invest our talents into our families, our friendships, our communities? Are we willing to sacrifice, to take the risk, to invest in the Kingdom of Heaven? From a human standpoint, there is little security in this. But as a church, we need to rewrite the programming of our minds and remember that even as dangerous and fearful as investing our talents may feel, there is no safer place in this universe than being in a place of obedience and surrender to the Savior. So, in God’s economy: our risks will actually bring us to a place of security. Pastor Josh asked us to consider if we know Jesus well enough to love him, surrender to him, and invest back into his kingdom what he has given to us. Can we do this even though we are afraid or uncertain of what, exactly, this could mean for our lives? A whole can only be as strong as its parts. Collectively we, as a church, want to invest our talents so that they can have a powerful impact on our community. But this will only happen as we, individually, respond accordingly. Pastor Josh will speak further on this subject in the coming weeks, but for the moment, let’s make sure that we take stock of the talents we’ve been given and ask ourselves these questions. Let’s press forward through the fear, insecurity, or reluctance. Let’s unbury our talents, invest with greater risk, and let loose the grip of our own intentions. Just as risk is greater than security, so God’s desires will infinitely trump our noblest plans. How have you been gifted? How have you been serving? In what ways have you been afraid or reluctant to serve? Contributed by Aimee McNew I was recently in a small group with several student athletes from Huntington University. In this group there are men who are in season and out of season. But one theme seemed to be resonating with all of them. None of us have enough time. As much as I want to believe that this person or that person has more time than I have, I realize that we all seem to be in a hurry.
Often the people that I wish I could spend more time with I see in passing at Wal-mart or Owen’s or we rush by and say hi as we bus our kids to different events around town. I think that we all need to take a moment, slow down and figure out what there is in our lives that we need to get rid of because it is keeping us from connecting with actual human beings. As I sat with that group of men that night, I shared with them some advice that I read in a book by an author named John Ortberg. I don’t remember which book it was, but I think he was quoting a man named Dallas Willard. Regardless of who said it, it was good advice. “Ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.” Hurry steals the joy from many of our lives. Could there be something in our lives, even a good thing, that if we eliminated it would open up space in our lives for God to bring a greater sense of joy to our lives? When we get rid of some things that we don’t have to do, we may just find out that there are a few things now that we get to do. Serve in a ministry, pray regularly, read our Bibles, exercise. How about this? Invite someone over to enjoy an evening of conversation and growing in friendship. What are your priorities? The early church understood the importance of this. In fact, outside of gathering for worship together, we read that “They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,” Acts 2:46 The other night, a newer couple invited Molly, the girls, and me over for dinner. They cooked us one of their family favorite meals. Much to my delight and my children’s surprise, they covered the table with newspaper, took the pot of food and poured it out on the table. Out came corn on the cob, sausage, red potatoes, and shrimp. Our wonderful hostess then placed a melted bowl of butter in front of me as I wept for joy. No plates, no silverware, just laughter and glad and sincere hearts. I truly believe that both this couple and our family could have come up with dozens of reasons that we didn’t have time to do this, but we didn’t and I am grateful. Our relationship grew and God’s church grew stronger. It is so easy to say that we should get together or have people over or connect with a new family in the church. But too often “we should” becomes we didn’t. John shares with us that mere intentions are not enough. So as Pastor, I will let his challenge to the early church be my challenge to you: 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. 1 John 3:18 - Josh Kesler, Senior Pastor |
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