reference to a dynamic cell in a list?!

i have used the list function in a worksheet to easily manage data in a large spreadsheet, however in another sheet i need to display the first cell of a particular column from said list, this cell must return the text contained in the first row, which will be different depending on the active search within the list. i have tried using LOOKUP and OFFSET for example, but they return the first value in the table before the search has narrowed the list down, ie they display the hidden cell value instead of the one on screen
how can i do this?!
thanks