Notes
...I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.
Matthew 16:18b
God is so good to us that He doesn’t expect us to do life by ourselves. The Bible has a lot to say about how the Church should function as a body of Christ followers.
So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.
Ephesians 2:19-22
Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.
Colossians 3:14
It's by the love and work of Jesus that we are brought together. We’re brought together for God to be expressed and His word to be spread throughout the world. God carefully joins us together, taking us from different places and backgrounds so that we can be an expression of Him in our dark world. It is His love that we come together as the Church, and it is through our spiritual gifts that we can express who He is in the way that He set out for us.
There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.
A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.
1 Corinthians 12:4-7
Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well...
Romans 12:3b-6a
What part of the body are you? Understand that whatever God has given you, it’s meant to be put together with the other parts of the body of Christ so that we can function properly. Your gift is to be a part of reflecting who God is; take comfort that you’re not the whole! It’s not your responsibility to do every part. If He gave us every gift, we would become proud and boastful; instead, we’re to depend upon each other and work together to bring the Good News into the world.
In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.
Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.
Romans 12:6-13
If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
1 Corinthians 13:1
We are a part of something greater than ourselves. We want to be a church that elevates the name of Jesus; when we use our gifts, it should be wrapped in love. If your work for God is not done in love, it’s nothing more to the world than annoying noise.
We don’t need all the gifts to look the same or do the same thing. Brick by brick, day by day, God is building His story. He takes people from different places, spaces, and times and binds them together with the love of Jesus, so that the world can know who He really is. We may not always get it right, but our mission here at Valorous is to do our part to spread the Good News to a hurting world.
...I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.
Matthew 16:18b
The Church is the way God expands His family. Our mission as followers of Jesus is to be fruitful and multiply - that means making disciples who make disciples. And it takes us putting our gifts together to make that happen.
After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us. I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work. For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. You are God’s building.
Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ.
Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.
1 Corinthians 3:5-15
Don’t just put your faith in the forgiveness of sins; that’s where you start, but grow by rooting yourself down by faith in who God says you are. Operate in your gift. Connect with His house. The Church is God’s idea, so join in to do your part to bring hope to a world in need of healing.
Group Questions
- How do you see each member of the Church playing a unique role, like pieces in a puzzle, to build up the body of Christ?
- Have you ever experienced a time when someone's unique gift made a significant impact on the Church or on your own faith journey?
- What are some practical ways we can encourage each other to discover and use our spiritual gifts within the Church community?
- How can we create an environment within our Church where everyone feels valued and empowered to use their gifts for the common good?
Prayer
Thank you for the privilege of being part of your Church, where each one of us has a unique role to play. Help us to operate in our gifts with love and unity so that together, we can effectively spread the Good News and build your Kingdom.