Sermon Tone Analysis

This is Amazing Grace

Welcome (Sam Garcia)

Scripture Reading (1 Peter 4:10-11)

Prayer of Praise (God is sovereign), Micah Figgers

Afflicted Saint to Christ Draw Near

Hymn of Heaven

Prayer of Confession (Pride), Aaron Jordan

Living Hope

PBC Catechism #34

Who governs the church?

The church is governed by God’s Word, which teaches that elders are given to oversee the church, deacons are to serve the church, and members are to guard the church’s membership, doctrine, unity, and purity.

Pastoral Prayer (Mike Lindell)

SERMON

The State Department told her not to go, it wasn’t safe.

But Priscilla Morse wasn’t concerned about her safety.

She and her husband David were saving baby Ryan.

So they made a dangerous journey across roads frequented by the Islamic State until they arrived at an orphanage on a small coastal town in Eastern Europe.

There they met Ryan, a severely malnourished boy who was 7 years old and weighed a mere 8 pounds.

Priscilla and David didn’t merely rescue Ryan.

They adopted him and welcomed him as their child.

Priscilla said, “I don’t know how to describe it, but you look at them and you just know . . . .

We had decided long ago that if we were going to adopt, it was going to be the kids no one was coming for - kids in Third World countries who are locked away in orphanages.”

And like any good parents would, Priscilla and David didn’t merely welcome Ryan into their home.

They slowly, gently, patiently restored him to health.

Ryan had a host of medical problems, including cerebral palsy, club feet, scoliosis, and microcephaly.

“I had never in my life seen doctors look at a child and burst into tears,” Priscilla says.

For months doctors were unsure if he was going to make it.

Surgical procedures helped repair Ryan’s clubbed feet and spinal rod placement helped with his scoliosis.

Proper nutrition has taken him out of newborn clothing to a child’s size 5/6.

He’s also made significant gains with speech and communication and now has a full range of motion in his hands.

David and Priscilla are hopeful that Ryan will continue to improve and will eventually reach his full potential.

But they remind those who ask that “It’s going to be a long process.

Seven years of neglect can’t be undone in a day.”

[1]

Turn to 1 Peter 4:10

Today we’re talking about our identity as servants

There’s two ways we could talk about the Christian’s responsibility to serve the body.

I could tell you that we have to serve

Commands, threats, etc.

Would certainly be true!

Or I could remind you where we came from, and then gently whisper that serving isn’t something we have to do, but we get to do.

It’s a gift of grace upon grace.

In many ways, Ryan’s story is the Christian’s story.

Before meeting Jesus, we weren’t merely sick, we were dead.

God sent His Son on a rescue mission.

To live a sinless life and die a sinner’s death in our place.

To rise from death and send His Spirit to breathe new life into our dead hearts.

We weren’t merely rescued from our spiritual death, we were adopted into a family.

When you became a Christian, you weren’t immediately healthy.

You were malnourished, malformed, and spiritually broken beyond recognition.

But God slowly and gently fed us.

First milk, and then solid food.

And as He did, we grew.

Sure we’ve still got problems.

But we’re healing.

And to top it all off, we’ve been given an incredible gift!

God has taken our broken, rejected, sin-torn souls and given us gifts to serve.

Don’t think of Christian service as another guilt-inducing duty from a stern God with high expectations.

Christian service is a loving invitation from the Father who rescued you, adopted you, and is transforming you to look more like your big brother Jesus.

Christian service is a gift.

1 Peter 4:10-11—As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.

To Him belong glory and dominion forever and ever.

Amen.

Three Truths:

1) You've Been Gifted to SERVE

1 Peter 4:10—“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace

He doesn’t start with “serve one another”

He could, but He doesn’t.

He gifts us to serve before He commands us to serve.

Augustine—“grant what you command, and command what you will.”

[2]

Notice also that Peter doesn’t say “some have received a gift” or “each might receive a gift” but “each has received a gift.”

Every Christian has received a gift!

What is my gift?

Christianity isn’t like Hogwarts, there was no “sorting hat” that spoke to you and assigned you a gift once you became a Christian.

So how do you know your gift?

1 Peter 4:11a—whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies...

Peter seems to be dividing the gifts into two main categories

Both gifts are serving gifts, but one type of gift serves primarily by speaking, the other by doing

Four main passages that list these gifts: Romans 12:6-8, 1 Corinthians 12:7-10, 1 Corinthians 12:28-31, Ephesians 4:7-12

SHOW SPIRITUAL GIFTS CHART

The italicized gifts (prophecy, tongues, miracles, etc.) are gifts that many believe are no longer active among the people of God today.

Whether you agree with that or not, all Christians believe the other gifts remain active today

Let’s consider a few practical applications...

These lists aren’t exhaustive

All of these passages were written by the Apostle Paul, yet no two lists are identical, even when they’re in the same chapter!!

For this reason, these lists are probably not exhaustive, but are representative of the types of gifts God gives His people

The gifts aren’t excuses

Some Christians may be especially gifted in evangelism, but all of us must evangelize as we have opportunity

Giving is easy and exciting to some of you.

But all of us must give.

Some of you are fantastic servants.

You don’t like the limelight, you just want to be in the background helping.

But all of us must serve.

The gifts aren’t mutually exclusive

Peter says we’ve each received “a gift,” but that doesn’t mean we only have one gift

Romans 12:6—Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them...

You might be gifted in multiple ways!

That’s great!

But it would be good to find where you’re primarily gifted

The gifts aren’t offices

The NT teaches there are two offices in the church: elder and deacon.