“Follow the way of love and eagerly desire the spiritual gifts, especially prophecy”
1 Corinthians 14:1
If there were ever a church where an apostolic leader would be tempted to dial down the gifts of the Spirit it would be the church at Corinth. Earlier in the letter, Paul tells them that their meetings do more harm than good! Instead of banning the use of the gifts, Paul encourages the church to eagerly desire them. For Paul the best way to deal with poor use of the gifts is to teach the church how to use the gifts properly. He is aware that much of their misuse of gifts is due to their immaturity and their lack of mutual compassion. By introducing a culture of agape love and reminding the Corinthians that the purpose of the gifts is to help the church grow up, to become mature, he is equipping them more effectively for the Kingdom mission they are called to in Christ.
Like the Corinthian church, we are seeking to become more like Christ and we recognise the role that the gifts of the Spirit play in our maturing. We want to follow the way of love and eagerly desire the gifts of the Spirit.
Alongside our “Inspired” series we are hosting a mornings training on the prophetic on Saturday 21st October from 9:30-12:30. We have invited our friend Livy Gibbs to help equip us in this key gift. Livy is a gifted communicator with vast experience in handling the prophetic gifting in the local church. She teaches on the Newground Academy and is a key part of the leadership team of Emmanuel Church Greenwich. http://www.emmanuelchurchlondon.org/about/
The morning will include teaching on the biblical role of the prophetic in the local church together with practical teaching on how we grow in the prophetic and avoid common pitfalls. The morning will also include workshop elements where we will have opportunity to seek the prophetic in our own lives.
There is no charge for the morning but we will be blessing Livy with a gift and if you would like to contribute to that gift you will have opportunity on the morning.
