Devote yourselves to using the gifts God has given you. Read 1 Timothy 4:14. Our May theme was "Guardians of the Godly". Marvel had a comic book that became a series of movies and inspired a video game called "Guardians of the Galaxy". In the first movie, a group of creatures came together to save the universe. They had to learn to appreciate each other’s unique gifts and talents. The same lesson is in the Bible. We are to work together using our unique gifts to make disciples by sharing the Good News. The Apostle Paul shared this message many times in his letters to the church, often using the analogy of one body with many parts. In his personal letter to Timothy, Paul encourages him to use the gifts God had given him. Paul assigned Timothy to the church in Ephesus. Timothy had the support of not only Paul, but a group of elders that had laid hands on him. Today we need to hear Paul’s encouragement to use the gift God has given us. When each of us uses the gift that God has given us, and we work together, we are functioning as a healthy church to bring about the mission of making disciples.

Come, Holy Spirit, empower me to use the gift you have given me. Help me to appreciate my brothers and sisters in Christ and the gifts that they bring to your mission. We lay them all at your feet to be guided by you. Amen.