Spiritual Gifts Pt. 3

Intro

Announcements

Pastor Albert

My Preaching

Mission Trip

NYC and Providence

Next Week: Mission Presentation

Body

What is a Spiritual Gift?

teacher, administration, faith, distinguishing between spirits, evangelist, pastor-teacher, serving, encouraging, contributing, leadership, mercy

Given by God

1 Corinthians 12:11 NET

It is one and the same Spirit, distributing as he decides to each person, who produces all these things.

1 Cor

All are to exhibit these individually, but a few are extremely pronounced

How to recognize

Passion

Growing Skill

Useful for the Church

Someone might point out, or you just might notice in yourself

What it is NOT

NOT a hierarchy of gifts

NOT natural talents

NOT spiritual fruit

NOT roles to excuse you from your responsibility

Proper gifting

Peace and joy-filled ministry

Others are grateful and say you do extraordinary work

You bring praise to God and seek to enable others to work beside you and prepare a replacement

Improper Gifting

Hurt the Church

Hurt yourself—burn out

Competitive, self-conscious and paranoid, power-hungry

We are One

1 Corinthians 12:12–13 NET

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

Instructions:

Please take a handout (2 pages)

First page, fill out in correspondence to the number on the page you are working with in your group. Make sure to write the number in the correct spot in your results graph.

Pass the test questions sheets around until each person has had the time to fill out EVERY score on the results graph

Afterwards, your leader will go over what your answers correlate to, which might be an indication of your spiritual gifting.

Discuss and then come back

Reminders

If you do not believe in Christ and you take the test, this will feel like a personality test

If you’re struggling in your faith and you feel unsure, take the test and see me

This is not a one-all end-all; this is a help

Conversations with leaders, being discipled, and experience will be the determinant factor

Be honest- I will not collect to see who said “not at all” about sharing Christ!

Don’t choose traits of what you wish you were more of

E.g. Schools try to idolize leaders and entrepreneurs; don’t choose that

Be realistic- you don’t have all gifts, or none

Be gracious- you don’t have zero gifts, and don’t condemn yourself for not being as good as someone else in the youth group

Questions

Icebreaker:

Please introduce yourselves, along with the answer to this question: What is the most awkward question you’ve been asked?

Test Instructions for Leaders:

Please make sure each of the youth has a personal handout (2 pages). You can fill out too if you like!

Hand out the other 5 pages of the questions around the table. Each youth can handle a different page (or share if there is not enough), while the youth fills out their number in the corresponding answer on their answer sheet.

Make sure to emphasize that they write the number in the correct spot in the results graph.

Pass the test questions sheets around until each person has had the time to fill out EVERY score on the results graph.

Make sure everyone has time to do it

After everyone is done, have them count up their scores horizontally. Then go over what the scores correlate to.

Have the definition read out loud of each of the listed gifts on “Review Gift Definitions” (pg.8).

Go over discussion questions.

Questions:

Anyone want to share their top results? Do you think this test is right, wrong, or somewhere in between?

What are the least pronounced?

Are their gifts in the Church that you didn’t know existed until you took this test? If so, why do you think we don’t see them being used?

What spiritual gift do you think we could we use more of here in Plano, TX and PCAC?

Closing

What do you think? Anyone feel like you have an idea of the ways God has gifted you?

Next Steps

Next week is a Mission’s Presentation—I want you to be thinking about your gifting over the next 2 weeks

Afterwards we learn about how you can use them, then where to use them immediately here at PCAC and in your schools

Immediate Application

Pray

Look into the Bible

Take a more in-depth gifts test, (come see me)

Talk to myself or your leader for wisdom or confirmation on gifting

Take test home, or leave it here if you want me to send you some info and follow up

We want to go from a great church to an excellent church. Chair 2 -> 3

Closing Prayer