Rev Chris Roth

Sirach15:15-20; 1 Peter 5:2-4; John 21:15-19

Ministry Specialties Test https://spiritualgiftstest.com/tests/
Discover Your God-Given Gifts by Don Fortune & Katie Fortune
We are continuing with our sermon series on the gifts of the Holy Spirit. This week we are looking at the gift of leadership. When we turn to the Bible there are a number of examples of leadership that would be beneficial to look at. The obvious example for all the gifts given to the body of Christ is, of course, Jesus. But there are many others, as well.

In our Gospel reading we see Jesus reinstating Peter as a disciple (Jesus re-calls him- “follow me”) and gives him responsibilities as a leader. To counter his three denials, he proclaims his love for Jesus three times. And each time Jesus tells him to care for the flock- “feed my lams”, “tend my sheep”, “feed my sheep”. And we hear Peter’s message to leaders in his letter appropriately using the same imagery- 
“…tend the flock of God that is in your charge, exerci…

Isaiah 58:1-12; 2 Corinthians 8:1-5; Matthew 6:19-21, 24  Ministry Specialties Test https://spiritualgiftstest.com/tests/
Discover Your God-Given Gifts by Don Fortune & Katie Fortune


We are continuing our sermon series on the Spiritual Gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives people gifts that help with the work of the church. No one is given all the gifts, but when we all work together then we are much more effective as we do God’s work in the world.

This week we are looking at the gift of giving. Every Christian is called to be a giving person, just as all Christians are called to be people who serve. And just as some Christians have a special gift for service, so some of us have a special gift for giving.

Giving is an important discipline for all Christians in the life of the church. Christians give because God wants us to learn to be generous people. Giving is a spiritual discipline that trains us to be thankful and to act and think in way that express our belief that al…

Proverbs 12:25; 16:24; Acts 9:26-28; Matthew 5:1-12 
Ministry Specialties Test https://spiritualgiftstest.com/tests/
Discover Your God-Given Gifts by Don Fortune & Katie Fortune
This week we are continuing to look at the Spiritual Gifts of the Holy Spirit. As Christians we are all members of the Body of Christ. The Body of Christ has a mission to serve God in the world, and to that end the Holy Spirit has given the members of the church special gifts or abilities. When all of us learn our particular gifts and use them, then we become particularly powerful in our service to God and the world.

This week we are looking at the gift of Exhortation. If you have the gift of Exhortation you are particularly good at encouraging people. You know how to touch someone’s heart. If someone feels like they want to give up you know what to do to help them stand up and dust themselves off and keep going. We read about the words of the encourager in Proverbs, 
“Anxiety weighs down the h…

Isaiah 9:1-4; 1 Corinthians 1:10-18; Matthew 4:12-23
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Discover Your God-Given Gifts by Don Fortune & Katie Fortune
We read in our Gospel that Jesus 
“went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their Synagogues and proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom” (Matt 4:23). Teaching was an important part of the ministry of Jesus. He helped people deepen their understanding of the Scriptures- of God and of the depths of their hearts. Jesus taught not just about the Scriptures that prohibit murder, but he went deep into the human heart and taught us to see the anger that leads to murder. He used Parables to teach in memorable ways. He taught in ways that people went away with his words turning over and over in their minds and hearts.

Teaching was also important for the disciples of Jesus. The Scriptures of the New Testament are largely the product of the teaching ministry of the Early Church as they passed on the teaching of Jesu…

John 1:29-42
Ministry Specialties Test https://spiritualgiftstest.com/tests/ Discover Your God-Given Gifts by Don Fortune & Katie Fortune


Service was a big part of the ministry of Jesus. In Paul’s letter to the Philippians we read that Jesus, “emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant” (Phil 2:7). He ultimately served humanity by becoming the “Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn 1:29). … Jesus' whole life is an integrated act of loving service to us and to his Father. His birth, baptism, teaching, healing, exorcism, cross, resurrection, and ascension are all about Jesus' loving service.

Once at a meal he got up and served his disciples by washing their feet, which was completely unheard of for a Rabbi to do for his disciples (John 13). That was usually the job of the lowest ranking servant. We read, 
“After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, ‘Do you know what I have done to you? You call me …

Romans 12:1-8
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Discover Your God-Given Gifts by Don Fortune & Katie Fortune
Today we are beginning a sermon series on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. At Pentecost the church received a special filling of the Holy Spirit, which inaugurated a new age in the life of God’s people. Part of the receiving of the Holy Spirit, was that members of the church were given certain abilities for the sake of serving. They build up the church in love, and they honour Jesus.

When Paul talks about the spiritual gifts in our reading from Romans (and in other places as well- like 1 Cor 12-14; Eph. 4:11-16) he uses the image of the body. Different parts of the body have different abilities. The eyes see. The ears hear, and so on. When each part of the body is serving the whole, the body is healthy and functions properly. … It is a good image to use for the church since the church is also called the body of Christ. The church, empowered by the S…