One Team, One Goal

Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  19:48
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We are reminded that God graciously gives His church everything we need for His ministry. We are encouraged to use our gifts in common with the body of Christ.

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All Pulling Together

This morning I want to describe to you a little bit of what I typically see on a Sunday morning. Chris and I normally roll in around eight, we pull in and we’ll unlock the shipping container in the back with all of the stuff we use for worship in it. Then we start pulling out the cases that have what we need. While we’re doing that, usually the elder-in-charge for the day arrives and starts to help us pull the cases in. Inside, Jason is usually already hard at work pulling the sound rack out and running all of the cables that the band needs. As the cases roll in, whoever is on the elder-in-charge’s set up team will arrive alongside the Marsh family and everybody works together on setting everything up. The curtains go up, the soundboard and TVs are connected, the welcome wagon is put out, and the chairs all get arranged. Then, around 9 or 9:15 - depending on how the morning is going, the band will all gather up here and start to rehearse and make sure they have everything ready for our worship together. Lisa will be in the back making sure that everything is as welcoming as possible, Korrin or Janey will be in the Sunday school room getting everything ready for the kiddos, Jason will be fine tuning the mics - or troubleshooting them, and Chris will be running through slides to make sure they’re in the right order. Then about ten minutes before the service starts, whoever the elder-in-charge is will gather the worship team, myself, and anyone else who comes up and they pray over us. They pray that the worship glorifies God and that the words spoken are faithful ones.
That’s what I see on a typical Sunday morning, and I think it’s a great example of what Paul is talking about in the reading today. Everyone has different talents and they’re pulling together toward the same goal. Most of us in the room can’t do what Jason does for us with the sound system, not everyone has the eye for detail that Lisa has with the welcome tables, I still need to ask Caleb and Jason when I help with chairs to make sure I’m starting in the right spot, and not everyone has the ability to connect with the kiddos like Janey and Korrin do. All of these different talents, all pulling together. That’s what Paul’s talking about, but he also talks about some of the temptations we face in a situation like this using the analogy of a body. Which can be a little hard to fully connect with because in reality, your foot isn’t going to say one day that it doesn’t belong to the body and roll off on it’s own. Your foot cannot think or act on its own in that way. So I want to use another analogy to help us to deeper understand some of the temptations that Paul’s talking about here. I want to talk about a team.

A Jealous Teammate

Now the first temptation that Paul talks about is the temptation to be jealous that you don’t have the skills and abilities of someone else on the team. And some quick examples that come to mind for me are these.
Maybe you’re a teacher and one of your co-workers has a gift for connecting with students that you can’t seem to reach. And there’s a temptation to be a little jealous of your teammate’s ability.
Maybe you’re a salesperson and your co-worker has a knack for reading people and closing deals, and if you’re being honest they’re better than you are. There’s a temptation to be a little resentful of your teammate’s gifts.
Maybe you’re a student and you’re working on a group project and one of the other people in your group grasps the material really well and has a crazy talent for presentations. There’s a temptation to be a little jealous of your classmate’s gifts and talents.
Maybe you’re a member of a performance group and one of the other members of the group has an incredible voice or is really gifted with their instrument, and they get a lot of solo time because of those gifts. There’s a temptation to be a little resentful of their blessings.
In all these cases, the whole group is pulling to the same goal of teaching or selling or succeeding or entertaining. And what Paul is saying is that when you look at your teammate and see they are gifted in different ways or more talented, you should be grateful that they’re on the team rather than being jealous or resentful of the ways they’ve been blessed. And this happens in the church too: maybe someone is really gifted at connecting with youth and you are jealous of that because you can’t, maybe someone is great with the tech in the church and you don’t know where the power button on your computer is and you’re resentful of that. We see someone who is more gifted than us, or talented in ways that we aren’t, and there is a temptation to be jealous or resentful of them. But we’re on the same team, we should be excited and grateful that God has put them on it with us.
It helps me to imagine what the mindset might be playing on the Capitals right now. It is pretty indisputable that Alexander Ovechkin, the Mad Russian, is the best player on the team right now. In fact, he’s one of the best players in the history of the NHL and continues to break records all the time. But I’m thinking his teammates aren’t jealous or resentful of that fact, I’m pretty sure they’re thrilled to be along for the ride on Ovechkin’s Capitals.

The Condescending Star

So that’s one temptation that Paul addresses here, but he also talks about the other side. He talks about those who are more gifted or talented in different ways looking down on those who are less talented. And to dive into that a little more I want to use another team example, this time from the world of football. Now, whether or not you’re big into football, most all of us know that the punter is probably not the most important or talented player on the team. If he is, you probably aren’t winning a lot of games. Punters don’t win games, punters don’t generally make headlines, there isn’t a huge difference between a good punter and a great punter. But let’s watch what happens when you have a bad punter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ap_qeoezPH8
Doesn’t really work out. Even though they aren’t the most talented or most important piece, when they aren’t working the team suffers - and I didn’t care enough to check but I’m doubting Tampa won this game - it was from before Tom Brady and after Patrick Mahomes. What Paul is saying is that when you look at your teammate and see that they are less gifted or talented, you should be grateful they’re on the team and thankful for their contribution rather than being condescending or dismissive. Because ultimately it’s about accomplishing the shared goal, not who did more or who has the more important talents. And this happens in the church too: maybe someone doesn’t contribute much to the church budget or they don’t serve in many capacities or they can’t help much with ministry and there is a temptation to look down on them or dismiss their contributions altogether. But we’re on the same team, we should be excited and grateful that God has put them on it with us.

A Guaranteed ‘W’

You see, because some people are more talented than others. Some people have more important gifts than others. Some people contribute more than others. But Paul is calling us to recognize that instead of always comparing ourselves to one another, we should look to the goal. Because we’re blessed with each and every member of the body, each and every teammate. God has given His church everything that we need to pursue His mission. You are a critical part, no matter how talented or gifted you are. We trust that God gives us everything we need in this community to glorify Him and proclaim the Gospel. And here’s where the team analogy starts to break down. Because with most teams, you’re not guaranteed you have all the pieces you need. And you’re definitely not guaranteed a win. But God does both for us. He gives His church everything we need, and Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection promises us the win - eternal life, if you’re not following the metaphor.
So we celebrate each other’s gifts, great and small, because they all come from our loving heavenly Father who will one day draw us all to Him in a perfect new creation. Amen.
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