Live the Dream

  (Ephesians 4:11-12) “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” Title of Message: Live the Dream    I don’t serve because:   1.    It doesn’t look like they need me.       2.  I did it before and hated it. 3.    I’m just an ordinary person. I can serve because:   1.    Every Christian is a minister. (1 Peter 2:9) (NLT)  “But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.”  2.    Every task is important. (1 Corinthians 12:27) (NLT) “All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.”    3.    Every person is unique. (1 Corinthians 12:4-7) (MSG) “God's various gifts are handed out everywhere; but they all originate in God's Spirit. God's various ministries are carried out everywhere; but they all originate in God's Spirit. God's various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God himself is behind it all. Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people! The variety is wonderful”   4. Every person does something with excellence.    “How do I love God? …by doing beautifully the work I have been given to do, by doing simply that which God has entrusted to me, in whatever form it may take.”  Mother Teresa      (Psalm 139) “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”