Greetings, brothers and sisters in Christ and children of God,

Do you cherish and love all the gifts you are given? Do you ever return a gift someone gives you if you did not want it or did not like or appreciate it? Do you like to share your gifts with others? Does giving a gift away make you happy? How would you feel if you loved someone so much that you gave them a gift, only to find out later they had given it away? The definition of a gift is something given willingly to someone without payment. There is no expectation for someone to give back. However, it does make us feel good when we give back.

God is a gift-giver. He loves to give gifts away to show His love to every creation He creates. His gifts are special and often cannot be duplicated by human hands. God gives the gift of life, knitting each person together in the mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13). He gives us the gift of free will so that we may choose moral responsibility and an opportunity to grow spiritually. God gives us the gift of grace (Ephesians 2:8-9) to transform us into the likeness of Christ through the forgiveness of our sins, which can not be received through works. He gives us also the gift of salvation through the Gift of Christ Jesus. It is an “indescribable” gift that can only be received by God through His grace.

God also gives us Spiritual gifts such as wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, prophecy, discernment, speaking in tongues, and interpretation of tongues that are given as God wills for the common good (1 Corinthians 12:7-11).  God gives gifts of talents and abilities such as teaching, serving, and leading (Romans 12:6-8). God’s gifts extend to writing, music, preaching, counseling, and more. If God has blessed you with an ability gift, do not take it for granted by refusing to use it. Refusing to use it is like returning the gift and is hurtful to God. Use it to do good, just as it was intended.

Share the gifts that were given to you, such as forgiveness, grace, and the most important gift – love. Love is the greatest gift that God gives us. For He loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son (John 3:16), and Jesus loves us so much that he was willing to lay down his life for us to be free of sin and darkness and live eternal life with the Creator. Love is the greatest gift you could ever share.

Last week, the little lambs learned about the fruit of the Spirit. We find that the fruit of the Spirit is a fruit of good that others can see in us and that we can share with them. The Spirit that is in us, which is given to us by God, possesses the qualities of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. When we do not access this good fruit through the Spirit, then we tend to show others the bad fruit: hate, idolatry, impurity, jealousy, selfish ambition, and more. This fruit can consume and destroy us. Therefore, we long for the fruit of the Spirit. This week, we will be focused on love as we look closer at the fruit of the Spirit.

We will be worshipping in the sanctuary and then going to Sunday school after worship.

I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow as we worship our dear Lord and Savior with praises and dancing. If, for whatever reason, I do not see you tomorrow, may the Lord bless you with love, joy, peace, and may He comfort you, heal you, and guide you when you are in need.

God bless you,

Your brother in Christ

Michael (aka Mr. Michael)