Good morning! Thank you for joining. Today we will continue our reading in Ephesians chapter 4, beginning with verse 11 where it continues with the gifts given to the church.
Bible Verses – Ephesians 4:11-13 NLT
“11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.”
Reflection
The foundational gifts that were given to the church are apostles and prophets. Apostle means one sent as an authoritative delegate. The first group of apostles included the twelve disciples who had the role of apostles by simply being with Christ (Acts 1:21-22) and being appointed by Him, and Paul they were all recognized as an apostle with an apostleship title. James, Barnabas (Acts 14:4 and 14; 1 Corinthians 9:6), Andronicus, Junias (Romans 16:7), and a few others were considered apostles but they were not part of the ‘apostolic office’.
Prophets were gifts to the New Testament church in the sense that they were to provide edification, exhortation, and comfort according to 1 Corinthians 14:3.
Evangelist were responsible for spreading the gospel. Pastors and teachers pastor believers by comforting, guiding, teaching, and instructing them in God’s way.
The overall purpose of these leaders is to equip other believers for ministry, unite one another in faith, and train them to become spiritually mature in the faith – and more like Christ every day.
Sisters and brothers, may we continue to pray for our church leaders. May we continue to pray for our own spiritual maturity too.
Prayer
Father God, we thank you for waking us up this morning. We thank you for your amazing work around the world, the miracles you continue to perform, the lives you continue to save and transform. Lord, thank you for saving us. Lord, help us to be open and willing to use our spiritual gifts in this world.
Lord, we pray for our newly elected leaders around this nation and we pray for Your work to be done through their hands. Lord, give them wisdom, discernment, strength, and grace to lead in their rules as you would have them to lead. Lord, prepare us for the things ahead and continue to draw us closer together in unity under Your leading. Lord, continue to protect us and keep us as we go through this day. Lord, help us to align our lives and our homes with your word and love. Suit is up in the Armor of God so that we are covered from head to toe.
Lord, we pray for each household. We pray for healthy unity, healing and transformation, peace and discernment, and love to feel it. Lord, we pray for those who are grieving the loss of their loved one and we ask that you comfort them and keep them today and throughout this holiday season. Lord, we pray for those who are in the hospital and ask for healing for those who are ill, physically challenged, and mentally unwell. Lord, we pray for them to be restored to good health. Lord, we continue to pray for the man with knee problems, the woman who had a stroke, the women who are still recovering from surgery and illnesses, and for those recovering from traumatic events. Lord, help them and heal them. Lord, protect each child from abuse, remove abusers from their reach, and keep the kids safe. Lord, protect each child as they go to and from school. Protect them from bullies, murders, drug dealers, and unsafe people. Cover their schools and shield them from gun violence.
Lord, be with us as we go about our day. Get us safely to and from our destinations. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen!
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BIBLE STUDY
Our next Bible study session is on Thursday, November 5, 2026. This in-depth Bible study series is on the Book of Galatians. The book is titled: Now That Faith Has Come, written by Beth Moore. Study is online via Zoom and it begins at 6:30 p.m. and ends at 8:00 p.m. To join the study, send an email to contactus@maryewhiteministries.com
You can pre-order your book from Living Proof Ministries at https://store.lproof.org/products/copy-of-now-that-faith-has-come-a-study-of-galatians-bible-study-book?pr_prod_strat=jac&pr_rec_id=b65982225&pr_rec_pid=6667403690035&pr_ref_pid=4721695260723&pr_seq=uniform
Picture of the Bible Study Book – Now That Faith Has Come: A Study of Galatians Bible Study
PRAYER REQUEST
Do you have a prayer request? We would love to pray for you. Send your prayer request to: contactus@maryewhiteministries.com
Bible Reference: http://www.biblegateway.com
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