Marks of Maturity - Serving in Teams

Intro

I’m not sure about you, but when I came in here last week, I was excited to see how many of us are meeting together in small groups. Even better was the feeling of family in this room.

When Jon and I started attending here 25 years ago this spring, we loved the friendliness of the people we met. It took only a few weeks before we were “all in” with a group of “young married” couples sharing meals and Bible study and life with each other. It felt natural to want to be part of not just that group, but to be part of the greater church family as we served together. I made some great and lifelong friends in that group. Over the past several decades, our relationships grew as we raised our kids together, but also as we served together. I will always remember my girls and Becky Miller’s kids begging (yes, begging) us to direct VBS the next year because they loved it so much. Now, this was after a grueling couple of weeks where we lived off fast food and felt like we were dragging our kids around with us. It was hard, but boy was it rewarding!!

Pastor Jeremy kicked things off for us last week with the starting line for our journey to becoming mature believers. He told us that “every mark of maturity hinges on [that] one” which is CROSSING INTO NEW LIFE. We first have to believe as Pastor Jeremy reminded us that it says in 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

When we got into our small groups, several of you might have shared your own story of Crossing into New Life. For me, I went to church from the time I was born, so it was never difficult for me to believe in Jesus...but my little church sure made it feel like I had to work for my salvation! HAHA I was a terribly shy 8th grader and was taught that if I wanted to be saved, I had to walk down the aisle during the last hymn and stand before the whole church. I could not do it. But what I did was SO EASY. I sat on my bed one night and told God how afraid I was to walk up in front of everyone but I did not want to let my fear keep me from proclaiming my belief and accepting his gift of salvation. The next Sunday, I walked up the aisle during the FIRST VERSE! Yes!

You know, I have been serving with other volunteers for thirty-five years and most of that has been teaching kids. One of my favorite things about teaching kids is how easy it is for them to believe. Their faith is amazing and innocent and I grow a little more each time I have the privilege of sharing the gospel story with them. It is exciting to plant those seeds with even our littlest ones that Jesus loves them and wants to give them the gift of eternal life with him. God made it SO EASY for US. Scripture tells us that salvation is a FREE GIFT from God and that there is NOTHING we can do to earn it!

But then what? What if all we did and all that God expected of us was to take that step of faith to cross into new life? I wonder if we put so much emphasis on how easy it is to receive the gift of salvation - AS WE ABSOLUTELY SHOULD - that when someone takes that first step into new life, we forget to look further or take the opportunity to come alongside new believers and show them what comes next. And I mean not just tell them, but SHOW them.

Dick shared last week that we need to be seeking a HEALTHY WALK WITH GOD through consistent prayer, digesting scripture and walking in the Spirit.

Pastor Tim just told you about LIVING IN COMMUNITY through small groups which you are seeking to do right now.

Those are both things we must choose to do in obedience to God. The emphasis I’m making here is that once we are part of God’s family, WE MUST DO WORK as part of God’s family.

SERVING ON TEAMS is no different. What I mean by this is that we must be actively serving together here at Journey Church. As believers, we are called to a life of service, to use the gifts and talents God has given us to build up the body of Christ. We all have a unique role to play in the kingdom of God.

God wants us to receive His gift of salvation but then he also expects us to actively participate in His kingdom work.

Ephesians 2:8–10 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

God wants us to receive His gift of salvation but then he also expects us to actively participate in His kingdom work.

1 Corinthians 12:12–31 (ESV)

[READ] For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.

The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.

Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the higher gifts.

And I will show you a still more excellent way.

[SLIDE] I am a visual person and I looked at a lot of ways to try to paint a picture for you up here of what I think of when I read this. I even tried out some AI images, but they were not great, so you just have to try to picture this. Paul says here in 1 Corinthians 12 that “The body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot says, “I’m not a hand so I guess I don’t belong here,” or if the ear says I’m not an eye so I don’t belong either. That puts all kinds of pictures in my head that could be a great kids book… I have training in early childhood education (basically working with kids from birth to age 8) and now some training in pastoral counseling. I have zero training in preaching. I used to be great at administrative tasks, but not so much these days. Being in the role I am here at Journey, should I say, “well, I’m not gifted at preaching, so I don’t belong here and I definitely don’t have anything to contribute…NO WAY! GOD has not provided me with the gift of prophecy or discernment among others but that doesn’t mean I am not needed. We are all needed if this body of Christ which is Journey Church is going to thrive. Remember that Paul also said, “ But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. “ We ALL have work to do here!

1 Corinthians 12:4–6 “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.”

[verse slide] Romans 12:3–8 “For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. [verse slide 2] Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.”

[slide] When we use our spiritual gifts in service to others, we are fulfilling a purpose as members of the body of Christ.

DID YOU KNOW… SLIDE

THERE ARE MANY PLACES FOR EVERYONE TO SERVE SOMEWHERE HERE AT JOURNEY CHURCH…TODAY ALONE, THERE WERE AT LEAST THESE JOBS HAPPENING.

MAYBE YOU DON’T KNOW WHICH PART OF THE BODY GOD HAS GIFTED YOU TO SERVE…WELL, I MIGHT BE ABLE TO HELP

[SLIDE] I have taken many personality assessments and spiritual gifts tests over the years. Sometimes they vary a bit with the order, but they are usually these four in some order.

MERCY

Exhortation

Faith

Service/Helping

Teaching

If you would like to see what your spiritual gifts might be, I have provided a link to an online assessment. There are many, many of these that you can find, so you don’t have to use this one, but if you want to scan the QR code, it should take you right to it.

YOU CAN ASK ANYONE WHERE TO SERVE....

LET’S PRAY