The following message is by pastor John Piper.

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Let's pray together.

Father, I ask that now you would bestow gifts upon your people like this, serving, exhorting, teaching, contributing, mercy. Lord do this great work. Gift your people that we might bless each other with your power,

that we might be channels to each other of your grace and your blessing,

your purifying agency.

Then grant us, Lord, to overflow for the sake of the world. Oh, how the world needs Christ.

There is no hope without Christ. There is only destruction and wrath outside Christ.

So open the mouths of your people and open the hands and the lives of your people.

Open the Thanksgiving tables of your people, the hearts of your people,

oh God. Grant that we would be an outgoing, infolding people.

May the lost world be a sweet and painful burden to us.

May we pray about it in the morning

and pray about it in the evening.

May we not hoard the riches of Christ and all his gifts for ourselves and so prove to be false disciples.

Spill over from this church, I pray, for the world.

Now come and help me be faithful to this passage of scripture and you speak and do the work of saving and sanctifying and gifting that your love moves you to do.

Pray in Jesus' name, amen.

The last time we were together,

I stress that these gifts in verses 6 through 8

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