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God equips every believer with at least one special ability, or
spiritual gift, to be directed by the Holy Spirit in the up building of
the church. The Bible identifies these gifts primarily in three letters of
Paul:
- Romans 12: 3-8
- 1 Corinthians 12: 7-11, 27-30
- Ephesians 4: 11
Additional spiritual gifts are identified in 1 Corinthians 14: 25-33
and in 1 Peter 4: 9-11. It is up to us to identify our spiritual gifts.
Cool Spring has councilors who can aid in the determination of our gifts.
The taking of a Spiritual Gifts Analysis test, also available from the
church, can further pinpoint our gifts. Finally, self-reflection and
prayer will reveal to us our unique gifts.
Once our spiritual gifts are revealed to us, we are to determine how we
can best place these gifts into service for the church. By taking our
spiritual gifts and meshing them with our own talents, background, and
personality, we can discover our own personal ministry, as planned by God.
Finally, we need to place this ministry into action.
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- Prophecy
- The gift of prophecy is the gift of communicating God's word
with power and conviction, as in inspired preaching.
- Serving
- The gift of serving involves behind-the-scenes work that
supports the overall functioning of the church. Practical needs
of the church are recognized and met with joy.
- Teaching
- The gift of teaching is the ability to comprehend and
effectively communicate and explain God's word to others, so
that they may understand it clearly.
- Exhortation
- Exhortation is the ability to counsel others to become their
best in God's kingdom. This is through encouragement, comfort,
inspiration, and guidance.
- Giving
- Those with the gift of giving have the ability to understand
the financial needs of the church and and related missions.
Those needs are then met by generous and sacrificial
contributions.
- Leadership
- The gift of leadership is the ability to understand God's
purpose for a group of believers, and then motivating others to
fulfill those goals.
- Mercy
- The gift of mercy involves providing practical support to meet
the needs of others with sincere compassion. Often those in need
are undeserving or in crisis.
- Wisdom
- Those with the gift of wisdom gain divine insight and
understanding into the application of biblical truths to
everyday situations.
- Knowledge
- Those with the gift of knowledge have the ability to gain deep
insight into God's word through study and research.
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- Faith
- Those with the gift of faith are able to understand God's
purpose in a situation, and trust in God's power and wisdom to
accomplish that purpose.
- Discernment
- Discernment is the ability to distinguish between true
teachings or actions of God from those originating from man or
Satan.
- Apostleship
- Those with the gift of apostleship are able to adapt to a
different culture in order to share God's word.
- Administration
- The gift of administration is the ability to organize the
gifts and talents of other Christians and resources to meet
specific goals.
- Evangelism
- Those with the gift of evangelism are able to clearly and
effectively introduce Jesus Christ to a group of non- believers.
They share the gospel effectively with those who are not yet
Christians.
- Shepherding
- Those with the gift of shepherding care for a group of
Christians through guidance, nurturing, and protection. They
take the responsibility of the spiritual growth of their group.
- Hospitality
- The gift of hospitality is the ability to welcome groups or
individuals into one's home for fellowship, lodging, food, etc.
- Intercession
- Intercession is the ability to pray with exceptional
perseverance and frequency. The result is that answers to prayer
are experienced in a remarkable way.
- Music
- Those with the gift of music use music to communicate God's
love and word effectively. One shares his relationship with God
through music, leading others to worship God.
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