In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. -Paul (Romans 12:6-8, NLT) So many times we may think in order to be in ministry or have an impact on a persons life we have to be behind a pulpit. Not so. A pastor serves as an integral part in equipping and training the church to be effective in their culture. Yet it is you who has the opportunity to take the message of hope through Christ, to the masses! To understand Paul's position as a business owner, we have to take a step back into time and understand the tradition. Paul grew up in Tarsus, ...

"Early Christians made the marketplace the focal point of their ministry because their occupations regularly took them there" -Ed Silvoso (Anointed for Business,2002) To understand the marketplace of our time is to take a step back in time into Paul's culture. Paul spent allot of time in the marketplace. Whether it was setting up shop or discussing philosophy, it seems Paul was comfortable in the marketplace. And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. But when some became stubborn and continued in unbelief, speaking evil of the Way before the congregation, he withdrew from them and took the disciples with him, reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus. This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks. Acts 19:8-10 (ESV) The marketplace was the center for political, commercial and social life. It was the place where shopping took...

Now I know that I had said we would take a look at the Marketplace this week, yet throughout the week I could not get Paul the student out of my mind, so we are going to start with that. Next week we will look at Paul and the Marketplace. I believe there is a reason, which will tie in greatly with next weeks lesson! ...though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. -Paul (Philippians 3:4-6, ESV) To understand how Paul impacted the marketplace we need to begin at the beginning. Paul was effective in his culture, not only because he had encountered Christ on the road to Damascus to persecute Christians (Acts 9), but that he was a student first. His understanding of Scripture (Old Test...

For the next couple of weeks we will be looking at Paul. There is so much we can learn from Paul when it comes to impacting our surroundings. Paul understood that people would not come to the hope of Christ in a building...it was going out into the community. The place where people did business, talked politics and philosophy. Paul knew his mission... For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I di...

For You did form my inward parts; You did knit me together in my mother's womb. I will confess and praise You for You are fearful and wonderful and for the awful wonder of my birth! Wonderful are Your works, and that my inner self knows right well. My frame was not hidden from You when I was being formed in secret [and] intricately and curiously wrought [as if embroidered with various colors] in the depths of the earth [a region of darkness and mystery]. Your eyes saw my unformed substance, and in Your book all the days [of my life] were written before ever they took shape, when as yet there was none of them. Psalm 139:13-16 (Amplified Bible) Sit back and ask yourself a simple question. You may of asked it many times before. Why am I the way I am? David wrote an answer that through science we can actually see what he meant. For some reason David understood that it began in the womb. Maybe one night as he looked into the stars, he began to question his purpose...his reason for livin...