Fill this house with Partners (2)

Main Idea:

Opening Line: Have you ever use a tool or ingredient that wasn’t ment for what you used it for?

Maybe it still worked out okay, but it was clear something else would have better.

1 Corinthians 12:12–31 NIV

12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. 27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28 And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? 31 Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. And yet I will show you the most excellent way.

We all have a place and a function in the Body

Test time

Scenario 1. a person comes into the church for the first time and looks a little lost or confused - How do you make them feel comfortable and welcomed?

Scenario 2. a family has been in our church for a while - How do you help them grow and be connected?

Scenario 3. a person has been in the church for a long time, but something terrible happened in their life - What do you do to show love and Christ?

Scenario 4. our church has a heart for people - How do we accomplish the great commission in Greenville?

It is without each person functioning we are not able to accomplish our tasks

Apostle: People who score highest with an Apostolic position are Dream Awakeners* in the Kingdom of God. They awaken people to their God designed potential. They are instrumental in people discovering who they really are, and walking alongside them to get there. They forge new paths in the Kingdom and are a catalyst for change wherever they go.  Listen to a message preached by Eric Knopf on the role of the Apostle.

Prophet People who score highest with a Prophetic position are Heart Revealers* in the Kingdom of God. They are effective in revealing God’s heart for His people where ever they go. They can accurately discern God’s heart for a situation. They help people experience God’s voice for the very first time and help them develop hearing the voice of God in their own life. Listen to a message preached by Eric Knopf on the role of the Prophet.

Evangelist People who score highest with an Evangelist position are Story Tellers* in the Kingdom of God. They make the stories of Jesus’s remarkable goodness and love famous. They are the carrier of good news and partner with Jesus in celebrating people’s transformation. They stir curiosity and desire to know Jesus. Their life is a living invitation to all to join the Family of God. Listen to a message preached by Eric Knopf on the role of the Evangelist.

Pastor People who score highest with a Pastoral position are Soul Healers* in the Kingdom of God. They are instrumental in guiding people through brokenness back to wholeness and healing their soul from wounds that keep them where they are. They create a safe atmosphere of family and belonging. They bring fun and enjoyment to God's ministry and allow people to feel like they are part of a greater family. Listen to a message preached by Eric Knopf on the role of the Pastor.

Teacher People who score highest with a Teaching Position are Light Givers* in the Kingdom of God. They make the truth and knowledge about God accessible to all. They have an ability for breaking confusion and misinformation. They are strategic in helping people know the truth of God and also how it applies to their own life. Listen to a message preached by Eric Knopf on the role of the Teacher.

Ephesians 4:11–16 NIV

11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

The HOW?

1. Recognize we are all important and needed

2. Find your fit

3. Be excited and encourage others when they find their fit

4. Allow the Holy Spirit to strengthen the bonds and unity in our differences

Closing Line: