MESSAGE NOTES
Passage – 1 Corinthians 12:7-26
Memory Verse:
“Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” (1 Corinthians 12:27, NIV)
Paul explains that:
- Each Member is __________ for Each Other (1 Cor. 12:7-11)
- Our gifts are “manifestations fo the Spirit”.
- The Holy Spirit decides our gifts so we can give them away to one another.
- Are you actively participating in God’s grand design with your home church?
Paul reminds the Corinthian church that:
- Each Member is ___________ Gifted (1 Cor. 12:12-18)
- We don’t choose how we are gifted to serve the church body.
- You are uniquely created and gifted to do great things for Christ and your church family.
- Have you discovered your unique gifting and calling?
Because:
- Each Member _____________ Each Other (1 Cor. 12:19-26)
- Every part of the church body is necessary for the whole!
- We are gifted uniquely to nurture unity and compassion for one another.
- Do you celebrate the uniqueness of one another even when you don’t understand it?
Conclusion:
Using our gifts to bless others is part of the reason God has given them to us. He gives them to us to ensure that Christ will be glorified in our lives and to build up our church family in the way we use our gifts.
Our spiritual gifts are never intended to bring glory to the gift or the person the Holy Spirit is manifesting the gift through.
Have you discovered how the Holy Spirit has gifted you?
Are you developing and practicing your gift to glorify Christ and encourage and grow His body, the church?
Have you begun your relationship with Christ by becoming His follower? Today is the day you can begin.
Do you have a prayer need today?
Share your decision or prayer need today by clicking on the Next Step button/link or the prayer button/link.
NEXT WEEK: Equipping, part 4, Give Love
Answer Key:
Gifted
Uniquely
Needs
You can share what God is saying to you today by telling Pastor Blake about it on your Next Step form. Click this link to share your spiritual step with Pastor Blake.
Watch our Livestream each week HERE
Passage – Rom. 12:3-8
Memory Verse:
“Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” (1 Corinthians 12:27, NIV)
Followers of Jesus need to give attention:
- To ___________ (Rom. 12:3)
- 1-2 tells us to transform our thinking to know God’s “good, pleasing, and perfect will”.
- Humility is the foundation for proper exercise of our spiritual gifts.
- Are you keeping a humble attitude about the spiritual gifts God has given you?
By making sober judgements about the gifts given us for God’s purpose, we will give attention:
- To Our _________ in Diversity (Rom. 12:4-5)
- Our bodies have many parts to support the health of the whole body.
- Likewise, Christ-followers are each gifted as part of the church body to contribute to the health of the whole church body.
- What spiritual gift has God given you to contribute to the health and growth of the church body?
So Christ-followers must give attention:
- To ________________ Our Gifts (Rom. 12:6-8)
- All followers of Jesus are given gifts according to the grace (charis) given by God. Paul lists 7 representative gifts:
- Prophesy – to speak a message from God.
- Serving – to serve or minister to the church.
- Teaching – nurturing and growing the church family.
- Encouraging – to urge others to live our the truth of the Gospel
- Giving – to do so with a generous and cheerful heart.
- Leading – done with eagerness and diligence.
- Mercy – gladly caring for the sick, poor, and downcast.
- Christ-followers are to discover, develop, and practice their spiritual gifts to honor God and grow the church body.
- How are you growing in discovering, developing, and practicing your spiritual gifts? Have you taken the Growth Track classes? Are you volunteering to practice your spiritual gift?
Conclusion:
There are two major mistakes commonly made by followers of Jesus in relation to exercising their spiritual gifts:
- They see themselves as observers instead of participants in the church body. So they never try to discover their spiritual gifts and purpose in their church family. Not only do they lose all the blessings of being an active part, but the church body also loses the blessing of their giftedness.
- Then others discover their spiritual gifts, and it becomes a place of pride and self-celebration. When confronted with it, instead of encouraging and growing the church, they can become disruptive and divisive, hurting the church family, its mission, and bringing shame to the name of Christ. Humility is so important for all followers of Jesus!
We are called to discover our unique spiritual gifting and then seek to use it for God’s glory and the benefit of the church family. We need to nurture a humble attitude at the same time by remembering Who gave us our gifts. We shouldn’t waste any time comparing ourselves to others. It only leads to minimizing our gifts or overspiritualizing them. We are all unique and needed for a church family to accomplish its mission most effectively.
Do you know what your spiritual gifts are? Are you developing them and using them to glorify God and grow the church?
Have you surrendered your life to Christ to begin this wonderful, supernatural journey with your Creator who loves you?
Do you have a prayer need today?
Share your decision or prayer need today by clicking on the Next Step button/link or the prayer button/link.
NEXT WEEK: Equipping, part 3, Give Away
Answer Key:
Humility
Unity
Develop
You can share what God is saying to you today by telling Pastor Blake about it on your Next Step form. Click this link to share your spiritual step with Pastor Blake.
Watch our Livestream each week HERE
Passage – Eph. 4:1-16
Memory Verse:
“Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” (1 Corinthians 12:27, NIV)
Paul begins by laying out the:
- Foundation of ___________ in the Spirit (Eph. 4:1-6)
- He urges the Ephesians to live up to our calling as followers of Jesus.
- Jesus’ followers maintain rather than create the peace and unity provided by our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Are you practicing humility, gentleness, and patience toward your church family?
This “sets the table” for:
- _________-Gifted Growth (Eph. 4:7-11)
- Jesus gave every believer their grace gift through the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:11; Rom. 12:6)!
- We are reminded how our spiritual gifts have been provided.
- Our spiritual gifts are not to bring glory to ourselves!
As spiritually gifted followers of Jesus, we need to keep in that:
- ________________ is the Holy Spirit’s Goal (Eph. 4:12-16)
- Spiritual maturity IS NOT…
- Spiritual maturity IS:
- Admitting our need for a local church family.
- Working together to grow in faith and knowledge of Jesus.
- Becoming more like Jesus every day.
- A journey we are called to, not a destination!
- Are you doing what is needed to “grow up” in Christ?
Conclusion:
As followers of Jesus, our equipping for ministry has already begun because Jesus has sent His Spirit to dwell within us. The question is, are you tapping into the gifts that reside in you by the presence of the Holy Spirit?
Have you given your life to Christ? Without Christ, we are all on the road to destruction in every way! And our final destination is the lake of fire with Satan and his demons. But God has given us a way out by sending Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins and rise from the dead 3 days later.
The only question left is whether you will choose to continue toward your current destination or take the off-ramp provided by salvation through Jesus Christ.
Will you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior by surrendering your life to Him? Pray with me…
If you’ve given your life to Jesus, then He has sent the Holy Spirit to live inside you and, with His arrival, you have been given spiritual gifts to be used to minister to your church family and bring glory to Jesus.
Are you discovering and developing them? We can help you with that with our Growth Track classes…
Have you been disillusioned by a bad experience with a local church?
I understand how you might feel. We all need to accept the reality that local churches are not heaven, but instead are filled with imperfect people learning to work together to become more like Jesus. Of course, some local churches have lost their way. It doesn’t change the fact that followers of Jesus are called to be a part of a church community to grow effectively.
What step is the Holy Spirit calling you to take today?
Is it time to take the step to become a follower of Jesus?
Is it time to sign up for Growth Track to discover your spiritual gifts?
Or is it time to plug in with a local church family?
Are you in need of prayer today?
Share your decision or prayer need today by clicking on the Next Step button/link or the prayer button/link.
NEXT WEEK: Equipping, part 2, Give Attention
Answer Key:
Unity
Spirit
Maturity
You can share what God is saying to you today by telling Pastor Blake about it on your Next Step form. Click this link to share your spiritual step with Pastor Blake.
Watch our Livestream each week HERE
