Rhythm Week 2- Gifts
Notes
Transcript
WHAT? What are we talking about today?
ACTIVITY | Theme Song Trivia
Welcome back to another week of Rhythm — where we see that when we create rhythms of connecting with God, our friendship and connection with Jesus will begin to move from striving to thriving. Last week, we talked about how we can create a rhythm when it comes to spending time with God. This week, we're talking about our talents and gifts. Who's ready for a game?
INSTRUCTIONS: For this activity, pick a few theme songs you think your group will recognize and prepare them to play over the speakers. To play, ask for a student to volunteer. Play the scores or theme songs from television and film. If they guess the song without help, it is worth ten points. After ten seconds, give them four multiple-choice options if what it could be. If they guess it in this round, they can earn six points. Ten seconds later, narrow the possibilities to two, where a correct guess is worth three points. The person with the most points is the winner.
Avengers
Mission Impossible
Toy Story
All Star
Liv & Maddie
Some of those songs were harder to remember than others, but each had a distinct rhythm, melody, and instrumentation. They all work together to make the song beautiful! Everyone has unique ways of contributing to our friendships and families, but maybe we are still discovering how those connect to our relationship with God.
POLL | Who has been to a concert before?
This series is about rhythm. Last week we defined rhythm as a predictable pattern people learn. In the music we listen to, rhythms hold motes together. Think of your favorite band.
How many of you have ever seen your favorite band in concert?
INSTRUCTIONS: Poll your students’ responses to the previous question. You could ask them to respond by raising their hands. Ask a few who raised their hand what concert they have attended and what they like about the music.
You saw that each member of that band had their own instrument. Beyond that, the people you didn't see — audio engineers, lighting techs, stage managers — were doing things too! Without the different gifts and talents of everyone there, a concert would be impossible to put on.
These artists and engineers didn't just wake up one day able to craft brilliant songs or put together incredible productions. They had to put in some work ahead of time. All musicians, lighting techs, and audio engineers had to start somewhere. They had to take lessons, attend school, and start their careers in smaller venues. But they created rhythms to use their gifts. Everyone needed to show up to make something incredible. Whether it's your favorite band, an orchestra, a choir, professional actors, athletes, or influencers, there is something really powerful when people display their talents to create something beautiful.
SO WHAT? Why does it matter to God and to us?
SCRIPTURE | Romans 12:6–8
People working together by using their gifts is something we see displayed all throughout Scripture. God uses our gifts collectively to live out our purpose. Our different gifts and talents are needed, and together we can create some pretty amazing stuff. Sometimes we may be hesitant to add what we can offer. We may feel inexperienced or unsure of what to do. The Bible helps us see that we don't have to do this alone! God invites us to join others in finding rhythms to connect with God and use our gifts. Look at how an Early Church leader Paul talked about it.
INSTRUCTIONS: Read Romans 12:6–8
We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
We all have different gifts given by God!
What Paul mentioned weren't given all the gifts a person could have, but the point is that we all have gifts given by God. The book of Romans was written to a community of Jesus-followers, composed of Christians from different ethnic and religious backgrounds, all with unique gifts. Unfortunately, that led to quite a bit of tension. It seemed like all the different rhythms and voices were not coming together in a unified melody. The people in the Roman church likely saw their differences as weaknesses, but Paul was trying to help them see their gifts as good things. They all needed each other. If they could bring their unique gifts and talents together, they could create a melody that reverberated around their city. Sometimes, I think we need to be reminded of that, too.
If we have a talent or gift that God has given us, then it's our responsibility to understand what that gift is and use it to serve others.
We need all of these unique skills to help complement each other.
VIDEO | Layering Your Gifts
Each unique gift used to serve one another and connect with God is similar to what makes a choir or band so incredible. They layer together to make new sounds we hadn't heard before. This happens when you mix and match different sounds and tones to create something rich and full of life.
INSTRUCTIONS: As a teaching tool, play a short clip from a video like this one (0:59–2:39) of how talented engineers layer sound.
Did you catch how full and vibrant the music sounded when all the different layers were added? The layers worked together to create the same song, but each contributed uniquely, just like our gifts. When we all create rhythms to use our gifts, the world comes alive, just like this piece of music. It thrives. It flourishes because we collectively use our skills to bring God's goodness to the Earth.
SCRIPTURE | Mark 1:29–39
Jesus shows us that it is not just about using your gifts but also about doing it from a place of rest.
INSTRUCTIONS: Read or summarize Mark 1:29–39
As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they immediately told Jesus about her. So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.
That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. The whole town gathered at the door, and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!”
Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.
Jesus used his gifts of healing to serve people. Jesus is at Peter's house, and his mother-in-law is sick. Jesus could heal sick people, so he didn't hold back. He used what he had and the gifts God had given him to heal her. It's not surprising that Jesus would use his gifts to heal others. But Jesus invites us into something more than that — rest. We see Jesus taking a pause from his gifts and taking time to be alone with God — to rest, refresh his body and soul, and sleep. Think about a concert you have watched. Did every band member play at every moment of the song or concert? Nope! There are high and low moments in a concert, loud and soft, fast and slow — that's what makes a great show! The same is true with our gifts. Jesus had a rhythm of serving others, and meeting needs, and then he would pause, go away for some time to rest, pray, sleep, and then return, continuing to use his gifts to serve others. Jesus invites us to do the same. We can take a pause and a break which allows us to return feeling renewed and recharged to share what we have to offer.
SCRIPTURE | 1 Peter 4:10
Seeing Jesus use his gifts from a place of rest must have profoundly impacted Peter. Let's read what he wrote in a letter directed toward churches.
INSTRUCTIONS: Read 1 Peter 4:10
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.
Peter, a follower and friend of Jesus, is now a leader in the Early Church. He was once a simple fisherman, but Jesus invited him to be one of his closest friends. As Peter followed Jesus, he learned a lot about how Jesus did things. Jesus was always serving and showing compassion to those he met. As Peter followed Jesus, he learned to see gifts and abilities in himself. He never imagined that he'd become a leader, but as he served, he stepped further into his gifts, consistently modeling the rhythms he had learned from Jesus. Like Peter, each of us has been gifted with abilities to do things uniquely. This means God is calling you to
Create rhythms to use your gifts.
Create rhythms to use your gifts.
NOW WHAT? What does God want us to do about it?
STORY | Share about when you discovered your gifts.
Creating a rhythm to use your gift may seem a bit intimidating.
INSTRUCTIONS: Tell a story about a time when you started to discover how God gifted you. Remember to highlight things in your life from the four takeaway points below.
In fourth grade, I won a D.A.R.E. writing contest at my school.
DARE stands for “Drug Abuse Resistance Education”
I got a free t shirt and the chance to get up and share the essay I wrote out loud to around 100 people.
I had a calm and peace when sharing this essay to my classmates and some parents.
Fast forward to 2005.
I was a volunteer youth leader at my church and was asked to share the message one Wed night when the youth pastor had to be out of town due to his Father’s passing.
Even though it was 12 years after that school speech, I was terrified.
Eventually, I did this every week once the youth pastor move to Kansas City.
After a few weeks, God showed gave me a peace and passion for preaching His word to students and being a spiritual shepherd for them.
Here are four simple areas to explore how God has gifted you.
SPIRITUAL GIFTS:
These are specific gifts God gives when we fully trust in Jesus. Some of these gifts include teaching, preaching, encouragement, serving, giving, and acts of mercy. God has given you these and built many of them into your personality. This means we don't have to stop being who God has created us to use our gifts.
HOBBIES:
We all have hobbies — things we love spending time on. Watercolor painting? Hiking? Playing an instrument? Those can be gifts you regularly use to connect with God.
SKILLS:
These are similar to hobbies in that you enjoy doing them, but they are things in your life that you've developed past the point of just a hobby. These are things that you could be considered an expert in. You already spend so much time doing them. What would it look like for you to connect with God while doing those things?
CHARACTER TRAITS:
These are how God wired you — the things about you that make you, you! These are your personality traits – whether you love crowds of people, if you prefer a quiet evening alone, whether you can think fast in certain situations, or if you are a deep thinker who processes things over time. You can offer these gifts to connect with God and help others connect with God, too. All these gifts make you who God created you to be — and they're completely unique to you! Think about how special that makes everyone. Imagine if we all created rhythms to use our gifts. The world is being forever changed because of this beautiful symphony — followers of Jesus — utilizing their gifts because they create rhythms individually and collectively.
If we want to create rhythms to use our gifts, we must start by exploring what God has given us. It takes courage to try new things to discover how uniquely we are gifted. Ask God for help. You can ask God what makes you come alive, the hobbies you love, or serving opportunities that make your heart beat faster. Or maybe you have skills someone you trust has told you they admire in you? Or a way your personality connects with other people. These are great places to start discovering your gifting. Once you discover your gifts and find a place to use them, you can create your rhythm of using them to serve others. These are not coincidences. These are ways that God has specifically formed you and wants to connect with you, and help you connect with others.
REFLECTION | Our Musical Score
Imagine that each of our gifts is a set of notes in a piece of music, and when we combine those with the other people's gifts, we get an incredible musical score of how God has gifted this community.
INSTRUCTIONS: For this reflection, you will need die-cut musical notes, chalk markers, tables, and the backdrop described in the Room Design for this series. (If the black musical notes blend in with your backdrop, you may want to paint them white in advance.) Before your program, set up a few different stations around your space. Each with notes and pens on the tables. For the reflections, tell students to spend some time at stations and encourage them to write down the skills, character traits, and spiritual gifts they see in others in the room (For example: Do they listen well? Are they generous? Do they paint?) and then hang them on the wall you provided. Encourage students to spend some time reading them as people hang them up. Consider playing some reflective music as students respond. Leave the wall up for the remainder of the series as part of the backdrop.
We hope that this is just the start of you learning about your gifts and how to use them best. It starts by exploring and figuring out your hobbies, skills, character traits, and spiritual gifts you have been given to connect with God and each other. Just like creating music, you have to try some things out first to see what works for you and the gifts God has given you. And as you begin to see what those things are, you can
Create rhythms to use your gifts.
Create rhythms to use your gifts.
RESPONSE | In The Rhythm Prayer Prompts
INSTRUCTION: Before teaching time, prepare additional copies of the In The Rhythm Prayer Prompts for your students that missed last week and hand them out to anyone who needs them. This week's prayer prompts will continue to talk to God about how they are gifted.