The spiritual gift of Mercy is identified in Romans 12:8. An interesting aspect of this short verse is that the Greek word used here, eleeo, is a word used throughout scripture to describe God. Only here, is it associated with humanity.

If we were to do a survey, I imagine that most people would say that they have exhibited mercy many times in their lives. Christians and non-Christians alike could say that they've exhibited mercy, so it seems odd that it would only be described as an attribute of God in Scripture. Yet, if you were to look at all of the Spiritual Gifts described in 1 Corinthians 12-14, Romans 8, and 1 Peter, you would notice that most everyone of them could be genuinely generated by us ... well, to some degree. Obviously, we can instantly heal with a band-aid, but we would need God to give us a gift that could instantly restore sight to the blind.

And that's what we can learn today. God's spiritual gifts are super-sized versions of what we might be able to do on our own strength.

Being a "light" means that we are not the same person that we once were. We have sought God for change, God has enriched us with His Spirit, and we are participating in His Kingdom agenda. This means that we look much differently in terms of our wisdom and perspective, our spiritual authority and values, and the spiritual gifts that flow through us.

How does our new changed life seem to those friends and family we grew up with, particularly when they have so much experience with our "old self"? Perhaps they will struggle to really believe you have changed, or that you are somehow spiritually strong.

This message shows how Jesus had problems with this. Perhaps you will too ...

As is famously stated, going to church doesn't make a person a Christian anymore than sitting in a garage makes you a car. People don't change just because they go to church, they change because they pursue change and the power that effects change.

A spiritual environment that seeks change to become more Christ-like was introduced two weeks ago, and it is given more attention and detail in this message. Specifically, how can one make these disciples into a reality in our life?

We form most of our friendships based on a common passion. Perhaps we hang with the guys who follow football, or we have a monthly book club with the gals.

And, typically we have multiple passions, and thus we may have multiple circles of friends. When we have multiple passions in life, we will often share these with our friends. Our football friends may also become connected with our love of Italian cuisine or our passion for gardening.

But what of our passion for Jesus Christ? How is that passion shared with our friends, particularly if they are not a Christian? Have you considered that your passion for the vision of God might also be so attractive to your friends that they will also desire it for their lives? Well, let them see the light.

Of course, a mom or a dad is responsible for raising up their children to be healthy, responsible, and a contributor to society. In terms of spiritual maturity, a parent is the primary discipler of their kids. But, really, all Christians are involved, in one form or another, with spiritual parenting: spiritual parenting guides and teaches less mature Christians in the ways of God.

But how does this happen in an effective way? Spiritual parenting can obviously "teach", but that will easily evaporate unless there is a healthy spiritual environment. Analogously, we can teach others about the importance of gun safety, but if we are reckless and shoot our guns carelessly around the house then what message really gets communicated?

The spiritual environment that we participate in role models to those we mentor. It demonstrates both the importance of seeking God and the results one may achieve when seeking God. Without this, our lives may look hypocritical to those we mentor.

This message points out six areas of a spiritual environment that are healthy to pursue and to demonstrate to those we mentor. The companion material (see link below) gives some details of each of these six areas.

It is no secret that the church community is made up of a large number of "unequally yoked" couples. Most of the time, the woman will be spiritually involved and growing, and the man "doesn't need Jesus" (sometimes the genders are reversed). However it happened, the husband and wife have a mismatch in their spiritual values, and when there is a profound mismatch in a core value, the family will struggle to grow.

This has an impact on the family. Everyone senses the separate directions of life.

God wants relationships to be spiritually fit, not spiritually split. How does the spouse be a light to the other in a spiritually significant way? How can the couple be "one" again?

This message describes the problems that a couple can face when there are conflicting core values, and gives a scriptural approach to healing the marriage ... but it will take support from the whole church.

(See the companion material for an exercise in identifying core values).

How does one "act" like a Christian in the workplace? How is one a light in the workplace? Not easy, huh? One of the major conflicts that a Christian has in most business environments is that the vision of profit and competition can often be in conflict with visions of love and sacrifice - these are the essence of a Christian's behavior.

Christians do not have to dismiss their Christianity for the 40-60 hours per week that they are on the job. At a very minimum, Christians can follow ethics that will keep their reputation strong (honesty, working rather than surfing, proper boundaries with the opposite sex, working a healthy number of hours, etc.). At best, through the power of the Holy Spirit, a Christian will find many opportunities to love and sacrifice: to their coworkers, to their bosses, to their clients.

Just like a superhero has a superpower, a Christian "superhero" also is enabled with phenomenal super strengths, but our rescue is not to save from burning buildings and runaway trains. Christians provide holistic life correction ... so our powers are things like wisdom, discernment, healing, peace, and life-satisfaction.

These powers are received by the holy spirit and spiritual maturity ... it is the "salt" of the Salt and Light. Today's message considers our hunger to pursue maturity, and two of the biggest barriers to that pursuit: busyness and screens.

Most everyone knows what a superhero does, right? They go out into the world with their special abilities and sense of justice, and they rescue, repair, help, and create a better world.

Funny, that's exactly how a Christian is described ...

This message looks at the fundamental vision of a Christian, and helps us to see that we really are like a superhero. God equips us and sends us out to do the same things. Are you ready to be a superhero?