Scriptures: 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 1 Peter 4:10

Spiritually speaking we’ve got too many people in the church today who are still acting like kids unwrapping prat Christmas when they need to become adults. In order to grow up spiritually they need to unwrap their gifts--not literal gifts, but spiritual gifts. Every believer has been gifted by God specifically for a meaningful place of impact for His Kingdom.

Jesus said the greatest person of all is the person who is willing to serve other people. You can serve others your way, but you can only serve God His way. What is His way? His way is by using the spiritual gifts He gives you once you become a Christ follower in the service of the church. In this message, Dr. Merritt talks about spiritual gifts (generally, versus specific gifts) and how they can be used by believers to glorify God through service in the church.

"Spiritual gifts are not natural. They are supernatural. Everybody has talents. Everybody has abilities. Acting is a God-given ability to Tom Hanks. Basketball was a God-given ability to Michael Jordan. Every talent and ability comes from God, but you don’t have to be a follower of Christ to have talent. On the other hand, spiritual gifts are supernatural abilities that God gives to His followers so they can serve Him His way. A spiritual gift may be linked to a natural talent, but it goes beyond natural talent." --Dr. Merritt

Keywords: just great, greatness, character, leadership, gifts, giftedness, spiritual, talent, ability, charismata, charis, grace gifts, diversify, serve, pencil, IQ, individuality, service, serving, volunteer, help