Dear Friends

Can I please ask you all to pray for all the many children and young people who have started exams this week:-

- SAT’s at primary school

- GCSE’s, mocks and A levels at secondary school

- End of year exams at colleges and Universities.

I know many of you will have family members doing these exams at the moment and my prayer is that all will be able to be calm, and be able to show what they have learnt and get some enjoyment from being able to show what they have learnt. May they be aware that God will be with them each day as they take these exams. Please ask God to give them courage so they will not be afraid. Amen. Thank you.

In my sermon last week we were talking about all of us being called to follow Jesus (as his sheep recognising his voice) and we were called to earnestly seek the gifts that the Holy Spirit can give us.

The scriptures I highlighted for you to read were the following:

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Spiritual Gifts

12 Now concerning spiritual gifts,[a] brothers and sisters,[b] I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans, you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. 3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says ‘Let Jesus be cursed!’ and no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit.

4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.

Galatians 5:22-26

The Fruit of the Spirit

22 By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another.

At our online prayer session on Tuesday morning we explored the same theme through the following scripture:-

Romans 12:3-8 NIV - Judith

Humble Service in the Body of Christ

3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your[a] faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

1 Peter 4:10-11

From his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another – Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ.

A few scriptures to consider as you ponder on the gifts that God has given you and how you can best use them to serve and enable your church family to thrive and grow. If you would like to explore with someone else what gifts you are able to offer, if you would like a conversation about how best to use your gifts, or both, contact me, if you would like to start monthly giving or increasing your monthly giving please talk to Sam our Treasurer.

A reminder that we have our communion service at 9.30 am this Sunday at St James’s

Followed by our APCM at 11.00 am at St James’s

Our Messy Church will be from 4.00 – 6.00 pm at St James’s which will include; craft activities; celebration and singing and eating together

I hope you can join us for one (or all three) of these and I look forward to meeting you soon.

Every blessing

Alison