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Now you are the body of Christ, and individual members of it. And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, next miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all do miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in other tongues? Do all interpret? But desire the greater gifts. (1 Corinthians 12:27-31) Pastor John’s Notes: Here we see…

So if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. (1 Corinthians 12:26) Pastor John’s Notes: Even though we are living in the most electronically connected world, people these days are more isolated than ever. Many of our homes are little castles, disconnected from the outside world. When family members are together, we tend to be drawn to our screens rather than engage face to face. But God…

The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” Or again, the head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that are weaker are indispensable. And those parts of the body that we consider less honorable, we clothe these with greater honor, and our unrespectable parts are treated with greater respect, which our respectable parts do not need.Instead, God has put the body together, giving greater honor to…

For just as the body is one and has many parts, and all the parts of that body, though many, are one body—so also is Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and we were all given one Spirit to drink. Indeed, the body is not one part but many. If the foot should say, “Because I’m not a hand, I don’t belong to the body,” it is not…

Now there are different gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different ministries, but the same Lord. And there are different activities, but the same God produces each gift in each person. A manifestation of the Spirit is given to each person for the common good: to one is given a message of wisdom through the Spirit, to another, a message of knowledge by the same Spirit, to another, faith by the same Spirit, to another, gifts of healing by…

This week we will study spiritual gifts, the abilities or traits that God gives to each of his people so that they can participate in God’s work. These are listed and explained in 1 Corinthians 12. Now concerning spiritual gifts: brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be unaware. You know that when you were pagans, you used to be enticed and led astray by mute idols. Therefore I want you to know that no one speaking by…

For he (the Holy Spirit) will not speak on his own, but he will speak whatever he hears. He will also declare to you what is to come. He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. Everything the Father has is mine. This is why I told you that he takes from what is mine and will declare it to you. Pastor John’s Notes: Many people think of the Holy Spirit…

I still have many things to tell you, but you can’t bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth.  Pastor John’s Notes: The Holy Spirit is our teacher. He keeps us anchored to the truths of Christ so that we don’t drift away. He reminds us of everything Jesus taught us so that we don’t forget. He also continues to teach us new things. None of the things the Spirit teaches…

When the Holy Spirit comes, he will convict the world about judgment… because the ruler of this world has been judged. John 16:8-11 Pastor John’s Notes: One of the lies that Satan tells us is that he is a power to be feared. The truth is that he is already judged. Jesus Christ obtained victory over the power of Satan when he overcame the temptations in the wilderness. When Jesus emerged from the wilderness, he was able to cast out…

When the Holy Spirit comes, he will convict the world about righteousness… because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see me. John 16:8,10 Pastor John’s Notes: So long as the disciples were in the physical presence of Jesus, they had a perfect example of righteousness. They saw how Jesus lived, what he said, and what he did. They obeyed his immediate commands. If they had any questions, they would only need to ask. But once…