“So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up” (Ephesians 4:11-12).

God gives to the church gifts through God’s people to build up the body of Christ – which is the church.

“So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers…”

Whenever you come across lists like this in the Bible, these are not exhaustive lists. The Greeks did not have an “etc.” in their vocabulary, so the way they expressed “etc.” is to put like things together in a list.

Notice, that the purpose of spiritual gifts are for the purpose of building up the body of Christ. It is not for personal gain or personal use. When God gives people spiritual gifts, it is for the building up the church.

So, if you find yourselves content to show up and receive from others, you are missing out. You are missing out on the thrill and the privilege of being used by God for the building up of God’s church, and the church suffers without your gifts. God sent you with your gifts to be used for the building up of His church.

Worse yet, if the pattern of your involvement is to show up without engaging and serving, not only are you missing out, but eventually you will become dissatisfied and disillusioned with church. You will not be getting what you need. BECAUSE YOU WERE GIFTED TO SERVE. And you will be dissatisfied and disillusioned.

You are needed. Your spiritual gifts are needed. We are better and stronger when each of us serve, give, and use our spiritual gifts to build up the body of Christ, His church.

Give Pastors James, Brad, or Bill a call and let’s get you serving!

“Praise the LORD, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits” (Psalm 103:1-2).

Praise the LORD is one word in the Hebrew – hallelujah.

When people heard ‘hallelujah’ people knew it was time to worship.

You will find this refrain all throughout the Psalms. What is interesting is that ‘hallelujah’ is written in the imperative. In essence, David is commanding his soul to praise the LORD.

Why a command? Why an imperative?

Because if you wait until you feel like praising the LORD, at best, you are a seasonal worshiper. Your worship will completely depend on your feelings. Your feelings and your flesh will determine when to worship.

That is ludicrous!

Worship has nothing to do with our feelings. Worship has everything to do with who God is, His character, His grace, His promises, His deeds, His favor.

David proclaims, “Praise the LORD…and forget not all his benefits.” Remember who your God is. And if He is God, He is worthy of worship.

Worship was never about feelings. Worship is all about who God is.

So, Little Church, “Hallelujah!”

Praise the LORD!

“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks” (John 4:23).

We live in a culture that is infatuated with worship.

• We worship wealth
• We worship celebrities
• We worship power
• We worship fame
• We worship politicians
• We worship sports teams
• We worship political parties
• We worship hobbies
• What we worship is endless

Whatever dictates how we spend our time, money, energy is what we worship.

In such a world, the most radical and rebellious thing Christ-followers can do is to gather on the Lord’s Day in declare to the world that Jesus is the only One worthy of our worship.

When it comes to worshiping Jesus, go CRAZY! Go nuts! Even more than when the Seahawks win the Super Bowl. Every Sunday, gather in the Lord’s house, the Lord’s way and when the world asks what you’re up to, let them know that you worship the only One worthy of worship, the One who never changes, the One who is always for us.

In a culture infatuated with worshiping false gods, show them the only One worthy of our worship.

His name is Jesus.

It’s Sunday. It’s time to worship!