Annanagar Methodist Church

The spiritual gift of serving is the ability to serve the spiritual and material needs of other people. There are a number of women in the Bible who used their spiritual gift of service for others.

Source of Gifts: The Triune God is the source of the different kinds of gifts, services and workings in every one of His children (1 Corinthians 12:4-6). All saved people will be sanctified people and equipped for service

Kinds of gifts: Paul lists seven gifts and seven effects of service gifts. (Romans 12:6-11) Gift of Prophesy to build up faith within the community; Practical service to promote the growth of the Church; Teaching to provide the faithful with right teaching to understand the faith; Encouragement or Exhortation to promote ethical teaching and practice within the community; Almsgiving to generously support the Church and her ministries: Position of Authority to conscientiously and humbly provide resources and leadership in serve to the faith community; and Acts of Mercy to bringing relief to the unfortunate with a cheerfulness of spirit that relieves the recipient of embarrassment through understanding that performing the service on their behalf is a privilege of love

 Purpose of gifts: These gifts are given for common good (I Corinthians 12:7), for strengthening, encouragement and consolation of people (1 Corinthians 14:3), to equip saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, to attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:12-13), to declare that God is really among us (1 Corinthians 14:25) and to glorify God in everything (1 Peter 4:11)

 Impact of gifts: Using the spiritual gifts of service strengthens the church (Ephesians 4:12); Service reflects God’s love (1 John 3:18), leads to eternal blessings (Matthew 25:34-40) the word of God increased, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith (Acts 6:7)

 Biblical examples: From Sarah to Mary, women played integral roles in God’s overarching plan for humanity; Ruth and Esther left a lasting legacy and impact: Deborah and Hulda inspired and empowered others through their faith and actions motivate countless generations; Abigail and the wise woman of Abel served as examples of righteousness and virtue and their lives can provide lessons in how to live righteously;‍ Stories of women like Hannah and Mary Magdalene show profound moments of divine interaction giving hope to countless women; From the very beginning, women like Eve, Hannah, Lois and Eunice played essential roles in the family unit by nurturing and caring for their families: Each woman, from Deborah to Ruth, embraced their unique callings and giftings and played their unique role and purpose in the biblical narrative.

 Use our gifts of service for God: God has given each one of us some spiritual gifts of service. We need to (i) discover the gifts- don’t neglect them (1 Timothy 4:14), (ii) Dedicate our gifts to God as an instrument for God’s glory (Romans 6:13) (iii) develop and deploy our gifts (Romans 12:6)

Let us use God’s gifts for His glory everywhere and all the time

Dr Sujatha Elizabeth Prasad