A Broken Service
Notes
Transcript
Spiritual Gifts
Spiritual Gifts
Spiritual: connotes something that is given to us by God, its Divine
Gift: something that is given to you not based on merit
God is the giver of gifts. Scripture is littered with examples of His gifts.
Spiritual gifts are given with a specific intention…1 Peter 4:10
10 As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
Our gifts are given in order to give to others
But how are we to give? 1 Pt 4:11
11 Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Two key points
To employ our spiritual gifts appropriately it should be offered in a service to one another
It should be done for the glory of God
Question: How can we utilize our gifts for a service that brings Glory to God — (Eucharistic Giving)
26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”
Henri Nouwen
“...as a Christian, I am called to become bread for the world: bread that is taken, blessed, broken, and given.”
~Nouwen, Henri J. M.. Life of the Beloved:
Looking through the lens of Spiritual Gifts
Taken / Chosen (“As each one”)
Blessed (“Received a special gift”)
Broken (“Employ it”)
Given (“in serving one another”)
Giving out of brokenness
john 12:24
24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
Being ‘broken’ is an essential step in the giving process.
Christ death was an essential step in the giving of life to humanity
Examples of Brokenness
Loss of a loved one
Battle with addiction
Terminal/Chronic illness
Loss of a job and financial perils
Academic failure
Victim of abuse
Rejection from a community
Disillusion church experience that makes you question the faith etc.
Broken households/marriages
In our brokenness God knows how to bring comfort and healing, which can then be poured out on others.
2 cor 1:3-5
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.
Spiritual Gifts and Talents
Spiritual Gifts and Talents
Disclaimer: not a hard and fast rule to differentiate between gift and talent.
Talents
The things we are good at or have a knack for. We use them to contribute to community and society. We still need to work and develop our talents, not bury them in laziness and fear
IT
Hymnology
Craftsman
Financial strategist
Academia
Strategist
Spiritual gifts:
We may have only a few talents, but we have many gifts. Our gifts are the many ways in which we express our humanity. They are part of who we are: friendship, kindness, patience, joy, peace, forgiveness, gentleness, love, hope, trust, and many others. These are the true gifts we have to offer to each other. ~Nouwen, Henri J. M.. Life of the Beloved
Discovering our Gifts and Talents
Gifts/talents frequently come from a place of brokenness
Get out there and try (Don’t Bury it)
Don’t duplicate…Be yourself
Frequently our gift comes from our place of brokenness
Identifying our brokenness helps us identify current and potential gifts
Ex. un-welcomed at one church and leads the welcoming committee at the new church…expression of humanity!
Ex. Victim of abuse can be an example of forgiveness
Ex. Recovering addict knows what it is to persevere and hope
Get up and try (Don’t bury your talent)
Through experience and failure we can both discover new gifts/talents and also realize areas we need to avoid. (Parable of the Talent)
Don’t let perfection get in the way
Don’t Duplicate be yourself
trying to duplicate someone else’s ministry or to make your church like another church or to try and make other churches like your church is a receipt for failure
It lacks authentic and creates a false self.
Sets you up for tunnel vision based on a blueprint. You will overlook your own gifts/talents and frustrate yourself because you are trying to force the gifts/talents of others on yourself.
This is not to say we can’t learn from others.
What we learn, must be synthesized, digested and made our own!
The art of giving
The art of giving
Serving from a place of vulnerability
If using our gifts for the ministry is for the benefit of others, then we are in the realm of relationships
Relationships are fundamentally about connection and intimacy
Vulnerability is a pre-requisite to connection
We must put ourselves out there and in the process we expose ourselves to rejection
Ex. Bad sermon/talk —> criticism and rejection
Ex. Sharing a new idea/initiative in ministry —> Shut down by planning team/leadership or it fails upon launching
Understanding it will hurt and not feel good at times is essential
learning to be resilient
Serving in the context of community
1 Corinthians 12:24-26
24 whereas our more presentable members have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, 25 so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
Serving with guidance
Pruning is essential
John 15:1-2
1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.