SELAH Commonwealth Commonwealth Knoxville

In this training, we continue our exploration of the five gifts that Jesus has given his church. Every Christ-follower has specific gifts given to them by Jesus so that we might all become more like Jesus, experience the fullness of God's presence, and participate in his ongoing mission in the world together. This week we look at the second of these five gifts: prophets.
Special thanks to Alan Hirsch. J.R. Woodward, Nathan Brewer, Jon Ritner, Rich Robinson, Tim Catchim, Jessie Cruickshank, and Brad Brisco for their contributions to this training series.

Scripture: John 21
Jesus desires us to be in unity with one another. The problem is that our experience of life and community is often characterized more by disunity than unity. Unity among believers is so important to Jesus that in his final hours with his disciples, he both demonstrated and taught them how to intentionally work towards unity in a world that trends towards disunity. 

In this week's training, we continue our journey in Ephesians 4 as we explore the five gifts that Jesus has given his church. These gifts come to us in the form of people. People are the gifts. Everyone has specific gifts given to them by Jesus for the serving of others so that we might all become more like Jesus, experience the fullness of God's presence, and together participate in his ongoing mission in the world. This week we look at the first of these five gifts: apostles. 
Special thanks to Alan Hirsch. J.R. Woodward, Nathan Brewer, Jon Ritner, Rich Robinson, Tim Catchim, Jessie Cruickshank, and Brad Brisco for their contributions to this training series.

Scripture: John 13:1-15
Jesus makes it clear that one of the most fundamental characteristics of his counter-cultural Kingdom community is radical and sacrificial service to one another. This requires us to put aside our egos and give up our incessant need to prove ourselves. It requires us to stoop low and lovingly serve one another no matter the cost.

Over the next couple of months, we will be exploring Ephesians 4 and its profound implications for us as Jesus followers. As we begin this journey, we find right away that Jesus has designed his church with great intentionality. It is to be a community in which each person has a unique and irreplaceable role to play in God's ongoing work in our midst. 
Special thanks to Alan Hirsch. J.R. Woodward, Nathan Brewer, Jon Ritner, Rich Robinson, Tim Catchim, Jessie Cruickshank, and Brad Brisco for their contributions to this training series.

Scripture: 1 Peter 2:9-12, Exodus 19:3-6
Throughout the story of Scripture, God's people are called, not to separate from the world, but to live as a distinct community in the midst of the world. This is key to our role as the representatives of God here on Earth. The call to distinctness began with the people of Israel after their Exodus from Egypt and has continued in the life of Jesus' Church. We are called to live different so that when people look at us, they see Jesus and His Kingdom.