Post by Admin on Nov 30, 2017 7:40:44 GMT
We began our last look at Images of the Spirit tonight with a small and beautifully wrapped Christmas gift – the opening questions we discussed as we looked at the present were:
All of this discussion of gifts then led to reading Paul’s explanation in 1st Corinthians of the gifts which the Holy Spirit gives to all of us. Paul used this discussion as part of his counseling the Corinthians about their internal conflicts and lack of unity. He clearly and repeatedly explained that the Holy Spirit decides what gifts are needed and discerns how to distribute the gifts. They may enhance our natural gifts or endow us with new abilities, and these spiritual gifts may stay with us or be temporary. The bottom line is that the gifts are not a reward or connected to any person’s status in the congregation – the gifts are distributed as needed by the Spirit when needed for the work of God and to whomever the Spirit decides needs them for the strength of the congregation. The Holy Spirit’s distribution of gifts is the perfect unifying factor for a congregation.
A number of interesting personal stories and enlightening perspectives on scripture were shared. Don told a story about an employee at his work who was dramatically arrested on a warrant from the FBI, a gentle person for whom Don prayed in the midst of this law enforcement action – it turned out that the man was falsely accused and soon after released from custody. Here, an act of sincere prayer for intercession, spurred by the Spirit, flowed out as a gift of support and release to the man (who will probably never even know). When we talked about some of the gifts Paul lists that seem strange to us, like speaking in tongues, Buzz brought up Pentecost, when everyone was speaking in tongues and were understood without an interpreter – obviously the work of the Spirit. We talked more about the ability to interpret tongues, and came to a conclusion that it could refer to the skill of communicating the scripture and the gospel in ways that are effective to the person one is talking to (i.e. “you are talking my language”), not just an ability to translate prophetic utterances.
We concluded by writing notes about the gifts of the Spirit and Spiritual inspiration we see in each other, then Michelle read the final song about the Spirit, which totally captured the feeling in the room:
There's a sweet, sweet spirit in this place
And I know that it's the spirit of the Lord.
There are sweet expressions on each face
And I know that it's the presence of the Lord.
Sweet Holy Spirit
Sweet heavenly dove
Stay right here with us
Filling us with your love.
And for all these blessings
We lift our hearts in praise
Without a doubt we'll know
That we have been revived
When we shall leave this place...
(Composer: Doris Akers, 1962)
- What do we imagine will be in the little gift box? Answers were all over, including that sometimes the anticipation is more fun than opening the gift!
- Does the size or appearance of the present reveal its value? Unanimously we thought “no.”
- How would we feel about the gift if we learned that the item inside had to be used for someone else, and not ourselves (such as gift card we had to use to buy something for another person)? That was acceptable.
All of this discussion of gifts then led to reading Paul’s explanation in 1st Corinthians of the gifts which the Holy Spirit gives to all of us. Paul used this discussion as part of his counseling the Corinthians about their internal conflicts and lack of unity. He clearly and repeatedly explained that the Holy Spirit decides what gifts are needed and discerns how to distribute the gifts. They may enhance our natural gifts or endow us with new abilities, and these spiritual gifts may stay with us or be temporary. The bottom line is that the gifts are not a reward or connected to any person’s status in the congregation – the gifts are distributed as needed by the Spirit when needed for the work of God and to whomever the Spirit decides needs them for the strength of the congregation. The Holy Spirit’s distribution of gifts is the perfect unifying factor for a congregation.
A number of interesting personal stories and enlightening perspectives on scripture were shared. Don told a story about an employee at his work who was dramatically arrested on a warrant from the FBI, a gentle person for whom Don prayed in the midst of this law enforcement action – it turned out that the man was falsely accused and soon after released from custody. Here, an act of sincere prayer for intercession, spurred by the Spirit, flowed out as a gift of support and release to the man (who will probably never even know). When we talked about some of the gifts Paul lists that seem strange to us, like speaking in tongues, Buzz brought up Pentecost, when everyone was speaking in tongues and were understood without an interpreter – obviously the work of the Spirit. We talked more about the ability to interpret tongues, and came to a conclusion that it could refer to the skill of communicating the scripture and the gospel in ways that are effective to the person one is talking to (i.e. “you are talking my language”), not just an ability to translate prophetic utterances.
We concluded by writing notes about the gifts of the Spirit and Spiritual inspiration we see in each other, then Michelle read the final song about the Spirit, which totally captured the feeling in the room:
There's a sweet, sweet spirit in this place
And I know that it's the spirit of the Lord.
There are sweet expressions on each face
And I know that it's the presence of the Lord.
Sweet Holy Spirit
Sweet heavenly dove
Stay right here with us
Filling us with your love.
And for all these blessings
We lift our hearts in praise
Without a doubt we'll know
That we have been revived
When we shall leave this place...
(Composer: Doris Akers, 1962)