“Jesus works in community. For that reason, you find no personal pronouns in the earliest description of the church.”- Max Lucado
Dare I say it?
You. Me. Us…..we were made for this….
Each of us purposely unique, specially designed with certain gifts and abilities to serve, encourage and strengthen the body of Christ, our community…the church.
Ohhh dear friend, YOU are wanted and needed.
We can’t do this alone.
The church is not a solo act, but rather a beautiful orchestra.
Each one of us needs to play our music with the gifts, skills, talents that God designed us to play.
TOGETHER…we can play the most majestic of songs….but only when we are working together, focused on our “conductor” as He directs our song.
A few points to focus on today from our text:
- God is the giver of our gifts and the purpose of our gifts is to build up the church…not individuals. We need to realize all gifts and abilities come from God. There is no reason to “think of ourselves more highly than we ought.” In Romans 12:3 Paul is not saying we need to have poor self-esteem, but rather that our identity should not be in who we are or what we can do, but in Christ alone.
- God has gifted each of us with certain gifts to help strengthen the church. We are not called to be sideline spectators, instead we are to use the gifts God has given us to build up His church.
“…the main thing in being the church is every member growing in the ability to minister a unique grace to others in the body and a unique witness to those outside and a unique tribute to God in heaven.”- John Piper
- Do what you do best…God has uniquely gifted YOU to play a special part in His story, in His orchestra. Together, we can make beautiful music.
- Use our gifts for God’s glory…not our own. When we live our lives for God’s glory, God takes what He has done through us and ripples it throughout the next generations.
- Be thankful. Instead of wishing God had given you a certain gift, be thankful for the spiritual gifts He has given you and use them to the best of your ability to bring glory to God.
“I believe God intends to create a perfect a people for himself not ready made as immediately perfected individuals; rather he intends to create and perfect a people for himself by having them use their gifts toward each other so that they join God in the process of helping each other grow in knowledge and faith and hope and love.”- John Piper
- Let’s do this together…
“God works through different men/women in different ways, but it is the same God who achieves his purposes through them all” (1 Cor.12:6). God uses all types to type his message. Logical thinkers. Emotional worshippers. Dynamic leaders. Docile followers. The visionaries who lead, the studious who ponder, the generous who pay the bills. Action-packed verbs. Rock-solid nouns. Enigmatic question marks. Alone, we are meaningless symbols on a page. But collectively, we inspire. “All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a separate and necessary part of it” (1Cor 12:27).- Max Lucado
Let’s Talk:
In your church, how have you seen the importance of God using different people with different gifts to bring Him glory?
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We would LOVE to begin sharing how God is working through your life and in your LoveGodGreatly groups here on our site!! Do you have a story to share with us? If so, we’d love to hear it! Click on the image below and share your story with us today!
Love God Greatly!
If any of you are in church leadership, I ask you to remember this verse and be mindful of it. While we know not everyone in the church can sing in the choir and hold babies, this may be the gifts of your congregation. If a member steps forward for the first time and asks to contribute in an area that isn’t your greatest need, work with them to find them something similar, don’t just say “no thanks.” You may crush their desire to serve. Also, you can suggest the church’s needs as an alternative, but let them say ‘no’ if they feel it isn’t their gift. Sometimes a “do this or nothing at all” ultimatum is delivered and it is not recognizing the grace given gifts unique to all of us.
Emily, This is a great point! I think there is a struggle to allow newer church members to serve if it means changing the way “it has always been done.” Thank you for stopping by with this reminder!
Blessings, Amy A (LGG Encourager)
Years ago, when I was involved in children’s ministry, I always stood in awe as I watched our Christmas performances unfold! To see everyone working together to put the show together, using their own unique gifts. There were the writers, the directors, the actors, the singers, the artists who made the backdrops and props, the people that put together the costumes. There were the crew members that did lighting and sound and those that helped changing sets and moving props. There were the servants that set up and tore down after the production was over. It always reminded me of the bigger Body of Christ, and what it must be like in Heaven, when all God’s people from all walks of life, with different talents and gifts, come together to serve and worship God!
Mistie….
I love when we all work together for Christ how well things go. I use to be in the choir at my church, we had to set up and tear down. Like you said with the Christmas performances… knowing what goes on behind the scenes and seeing how smooth everything went during the performance makes me shed a tear of joy just thinking about how many people it took to work together.
Thank you for sharing and being here with us today.
Blessings, Martha ‘LGG Encourager’