You have the gift

LATE PEOPLE VS. EARLY PEOPLE

WE ALL HAVE A FINITE AMOUNT OF TIME

What you do with that time is up to you. You don’t get to decide when you die. But you do get to decide what you will do until the day you die.

84,600 minutes in a day

I WANT TO SPEND MY LIFE DOING SOMETHING THAT MATTERS IN ETERNITY

THERE’S A LOT OF IDEAS TODAY ABOUT THE CHURCH

A mature Christians alarm system should go off when someone tries to tear down something that Jesus built. The calling of every Christian is to be a part of building God’s Church.

THE GREAT COMMISSION

Matthew 28:19 CSB

19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

THE GREAT COMMANDMENT

Matthew 22:37–39 CSB

37 He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the greatest and most important command. 39 The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.

JESUS’ LAST WORDS ON EARTH

Acts 1:8 CSB

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

A GREAT COMMITMENT TO THE GREAT COMMISSION AND THE GREAT COMMANDMENT WILL BUILD A GREAT CHURCH.

Loving God and loving people. Pursuing God with everything we have. Becoming more like Jesus. Caring about what He cares about. And He cares about people. Loving those people enough to being the news of Jesus to them. This is how we build a great church.

JESUS HAS A FUNNY INTERACTION WITH THE DISCIPLES

Samaritan woman

He’s loving God and loving people

John 4:31–34 CSB

31 In the meantime the disciples kept urging him, “Rabbi, eat something.” 32 But he said, “I have food to eat that you don’t know about.” 33 The disciples said to one another, “Could someone have brought him something to eat?” 34 “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work,” Jesus told them.

THE WORLD SAYS FEED ME BUT JESUS SAYS I’VE COME TO FEED OTHERS

Isn’t it much easier to be a consumer than a contributor?

We have this natural tendency to consume. We are just born with it. No kid has to be given selfish lessons.

FAST FOOD ILLUSTRATION

You want a burger? 10 places.

All have a drive through.

Don’t like it? 15 more down the street.

Want fries? Done. On the burger? We can do that.

Super size 100%.

Are you worried people will get in the way of you consuming? No worries we have an app for that. Order, pull up in the parking spot. Zero human interaction.

THAT THOUGHT PATTERN HAS CREPT INTO THE CHURCH

As a pastor you hear things all the time. Well we’ve been looking for a church for 12 years. We’ve tried 15 different ones. None of them meet our needs. After 15… maybe it’s that your needs don’t line up with God’s needs.

No Church is perfect. If it is don’t go you’ll mess it up. But Church is not about our needs it’s about God’s. It’s about Him and His mission.

SO TODAY WE ARE GONNA TAKE A TEST. READY?

ON A SCALE OF ONE TO TEN. 1 BEING CONSUMER 10 BEING CONTRIBUTOR. WHERE WOULD YOU PUT YOURSELF?

Now one is Satan so you’re not that low…

2 = Someone who will come to our anniversary services.

3 = Emotional. Like you don’t tithe but when you see something that moves you emotionally you’ll give to that.

A lot of you are 789. We have so many amazing people who give, who serve, who invite. One of my favorite things is almost every Sunday someone comes up to Emily and I and says “I invited my neighbor. Or my co worker. Or I asked my dad to come to Church with me.”

IF YOU GAVE YOURSELF A 6 OR LESS I WANT TO TALK TO YOU TODAY

That the HS would stir up in you who you are called to be. That what God put inside of you would start to come out of you. We are not spiritual consumers but contributors.

WE ARE CALLED TO SERVE IN GOD’S CHURCH

EVERYONE SAY “IM CALLED!”

We think calling is just for preachers but it’s everyone! The Bible says you have been called out and set apart. Look around this is the Body and we get to serve each other and reach people.

Romans 12:6–8 NLT

6 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. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 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.

PROPHESY

SERVING

TEACHER

ENCOURAGEMENT

GIVING

LEADERSHIP

KINDNESS

IT’S NOT HARD TO SEE WHERE GOD HAS GIFTED YOU. JUST LOOK AT FIRES YOU UP THE MOST!

LIST OF PEOPLE WHO SERVE

Ally

Brandon & Madi

Jacob

Charlie & Logan & Andy

Emery & Misti

Erica & Hector

Faith

Haley

Ingram

Isaiah

Jason & Melissa

Kristine & Scott

Matthew 5:14–16 CSB

14 “You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

YOU ARE CALLED TO SERVE AS GOD’S CHURCH