Sermon Tone Analysis

Spiritual Gifts

Week 17 of the Believe series - the topic is Spiritual Gifts.

Brief overview (bullet points) of gifts, then 1 Cor.

12, then some application.

1.

What is a Spiritual Gift?

Spiritual gifts are spiritual.

They are supernatural empowerments or abilities given to a child of God by the grace of God that he or she would not otherwise have.

They are not natural, human, developed skills or talents … they are absolutely of Divine origin.

Gifts of the Spirit - often is one word in Greek - πνευματικός (pneumatikōs or pneumatikōn) - comes from two words: pneuma (spirit or breath - His lifegiving energy or presence) and charisma (gift) which comes from the word charis – grace.

At the root of spiritual gifts is charis or grace.

Grace means unmerited favor.

There is no earning God’s favor or grace.

God gives grace because God gives grace.

No one can say “I deserve grace.”

Grace is received.

Same with spiritual gifts – charisma – we don’t earn them (level 10 Christian) or deserve them, but God gives them.

2. Are Spiritual Gifts Important Today?

Absolutely! Think about the

Key Idea: “I know my spiritual gifts and use them to fulfill God’s purposes.”

In his letter to the Corinthian church, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit Paul wrote,

God wants us to know about, understand and employ spiritual gifts.

Spiritual gifts are just that - gifts from God for His children.

Imagine God giving but we neglect …

To neglect my spiritual gift is to neglect something very special God has given me.

Furthermore,

To neglect my gift is to rob the Church of power, presence and effectiveness.

This is not a guilt trip.

It’s a reality.

Let this be a motivator

So, what do you think - are spiritual gifts important?

3. Let the Word of God Speak

Don’t make too much or too little of spiritual gifts.

Spiritual gifts are real but mysterious.

No one fully understands spiritual gifts -

Embrace the mystery.

Enjoy the gift!

Spiritual gifts were never meant to be put into a box with neat little file system with neat little categories.

Spiritual gifts were never meant to be formulaic.

Not meant to be analyzed, dissected … meant to be received, enjoyed ….

Gameshow

Let the Word of God speak.

Be careful of superimposing our past experiences or modern images … onto Scripture.

Sometimes, the Bible is vague.

When it’s vague, let it be vague.

It’s written that way for a reason.

What do I mean by that?

Get there in a moment.

Whenever we read about spiritual gifts - always in the context of love and serving others

Let’s go through 1 Corinthians and put all this together and then do some application

We see another list in

Paul talks about the body …

Application: Most common question concerning spiritual gifts …

4) How Do I Discover My Gift?

Back in the 80s, we used to say, “That’s rad!” short for radical.

Remember,

Spiritual Gifts are R.A.D.

R - Relationship

- healthy relationship with God / love / serving …

A - Availability

- Am I available to be used …?

D - Desire

- Have I asked God?

How do I know?

Spend some time asking … seeking … dreaming … receiving …

What are 2 or 3 gifts that you desire or think would be “great” to have?

What is it about this gift(s) that stands out to you?

How would you use this gift for the Kingdom of God and His glory?

Are you willing to be available to God?

What gift might God like you to have and use?

Imagine the people of Sunnyside Naz knowing and using their gifts.

How might this change our effectiveness in our

church and in our community?

Our homes?

What are some hindrances or fears that you may have?

How could you purse the gifts of the Spirit in the weeks to come?