In the midst of examining the amazing implications of Immanuel dwelling with us we must also admit that there is a mystery surrounding the manger. I think Paul had this in mind when he asked believers to pray for him in Colossians 4:3 so that he could “proclaim the mystery of Christ…”.

As we?ve been focusing on some ways that we can improve our serve, I want to suggest this morning that it?s possible to get so caught up in what we call our spiritual gifts that we might not survive servant-hood. The key is not so much to identify what we have but to use what we?ve been given.

The whole topic of spiritual gifts has been a battleground for many years, going back to the church at Corinth. This tension can result from an overemphasis on certain gifts, or it can come because we like to pick fights with those who are wired differently than we are.