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Sermon of the Week
Look up the passage

14/3/04

Using Gifts Wisely - by Danny Saunders Acts 6:1-7

Have you ever had one of those really annoying waiters or waitresses that are always there hovering around the table? They're the ones who come and take your plate almost the second your last mouthful goes in & the cutlery goes down. This can be really annoying because it denies you the chance to sit back & really appreciate the great meal you've had, especially if there's juices left on the plate that you're thinking about soaking up with the last piece of bread – but before you know it the plate's gone & you have a dessert menu in front of you. It usually happens at those very busy restaurants that almost make you feel guilty for holding up the table.

Now, I shouldn't be too critical because I can confess to being a bit of a dodgy waiter myself. I didn't have the speed waiter approach. I was more neglectful & on occasions incompetent. One of my first casual jobs during Uni was working at Sara's Pizza House in Glenferrie Rd. I was a hopeless waiter. I got completely flustered by the whole thing & was very, very nervous. It was only a matter of time before I would cause some complete disaster. I remember one night I was working & it got quite busy. I was running around in my usual state of frenzy & for some reason, I'll never know why, I returned to a table of a couple I was serving, soon after they had ordered, and I presented them with their soup spoons. I laid them down neatly, in the right place & all that – but I'll never forget to this day the look of surprise, bewilderment & amusement on their faces – because they hadn't ordered soup & they thought it was the funniest thing since Fawlty Towers.

The point of all this & I think the point of this passage this morning is that God calls all his people to service & he calls different people to different ministries. This means that Christians need to think seriously about their gifts, skills & abilities & whether those gifts are being used in the way God intended. [Repeat]

   This passage we're looking at is an exciting part of the story of the early church. At this point in the story the church is small & hasn't got its own identity. It's still seems like a sect of Judaism. The disciples congregate around the Jewish temple & still follow the practices of Judaism & their only distinctive is that they recognise Jesus as the Jewish Messiah or Christ. But this passage is exciting because it introduces the characters that are central to the Church severing its ties with official Judaism & spreading out from Jerusalem.

   But before we jump ahead of ourselves & before the church can move on, we see in this passage that the church faces a problem that could threaten to distract it from its primary task – the task of proclaiming the good news about Jesus.

   We're introduced to this problem in verse 1:

   …the disciples were increasing in number, & the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food.

   If we remember back to the crowd at Pentecost we're told at 2:5 that there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. – and here we're introduced to 2 groups within the church. There are the Hebrews – the Aramaic speaking Jews, native of Palestine - & then there were the Hellenists – or Grecian-Jews – these were Jews from the diaspora, from around the world – their first language was Greek & they had adopted the Greek culture & now these "Hellenized" Jews had come to live in Jerusalem.

   So we see here the church increasing in number, but as its numbers increased new problems rose to the surface. If we think back to chapter 4 we remember that the disciples shared their possessions and - 4:35 says that these possessions or money were laid at the apostles' feet, and was distributed to each as any had need.

   Defending the welfare of widows & the poor were serious matters because God in the OT had made this obligation clear. So we don't know whether this problem was a deliberate act of favoritism or simply an inadvertent omission caused by poor administration or supervision.

   Whatever the cause of the problem, it seems that the apostles detected a deeper issue. It was not their primary task to supervise the financial arrangements of the community or take an active part in this social welfare. Their attitude to the problem & the solution they propose is set out in verses 2-4

   They call the believers together and they say: "It's not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables. Therefore select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this task, while we, for our part, will devote ourselves to prayer and to serving the word."

   There is no suggestion whatever that the apostles regarded social work as inferior to pastoral, teaching & preaching work. This was not a question of hierarchy but was entirely a question of calling & priorities. The disciples rightly decided that they couldn't be distracted from their primary task of praying, preaching & teaching the Bible.

   Let's remember that these apostles had been personally given the great commission of Jesus to make disciples, to baptize them & teach them. [Mt 28:18-20] - and in the direct context of this passage we see the apostles now busy at work fulfilling the great commission – look back at Acts 5:42 - And every day in the temple and at home [or from house to house] they did not cease to teach and proclaim Jesus as the Messiah. – the result was that the disciples were increasing in number.

   So this is the choice they faced: they could teach & preach & proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ OR they could serve in welfare administration & food distribution. [pause]

   Notice also that they didn't impose their solution on the congregation. The apostles recognised that the whole church has a ministry to each other & so they gave them ownership & responsibility. They asked the congregation to select the seven from among themselves. This solution meant the community of believers would recognise & respect the appointments because they had shared in the decision making process.

   And the importance they placed on the task is shown by the qualities required of those to be selected. To rid the church of any hint of favoritism or preference the people needed complete trust in those dealing with the distribution. They needed good reputations, an ability to deal wisely in sensitive situations and above all be full of the Holy Spirit.

   As representatives of the church, they must be Christians, able to explain & defend the faith, & Christians that understood that Jesus' death & resurrection meant that - in this new community - any cultural, social or ethnic divisions had been abolished. In Jesus Christ, all were to be treated equally & fairly.

   Imagine if the church's casserole ministry was outsourced to a local catering company. If the person receiving the food wanted to know why it was that the church provided the service, would the deliverer be able to witness to God's love found in Jesus, motivating God's people to love & help others? The delivery person is likely to say: "I'm just doing my job, sign here please."

   So even what appears to be an insignificant ministry is still done motivated by the love of God and as part of the body of Christ, part of the ministry we have to each other - & so the church's representatives need to be Christians, full of wisdom & full of the Holy Spirit.

   So having confidence in those selected meant the apostles could get on with their work & devote their undistracted attention to the teaching & preaching ministry of the church. Notice also in verse 4 that the apostles include prayer as a priority in their ministry. This shows that prayer was regarded as essential in any effective & fruitful preaching of God's word.

   If you look in vs 5&6, the solution was accepted by the church & seven men were appointed & the apostles prayed and laid their hands on them.

   This laying on of hands didn't give the gift of the Holy Spirit. Being full of the spirit was a prerequisite for being chosen. From what we read here & what we see later from Stephen & Philip, it's clear that the service of the seven is not limited to welfare, but extends to defending the faith and evangelism - & so the beauty of this decision is that rather than cutting down the ministry of the Church, the ministry is expanded & the church grows.

   This is confirmed in Luke's first progress report in verse 7. The news flash is that:


7 The word of God continued to spread; the number of the disciples increased greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.

   The apostles delegate the social work so they can get on with preaching & teaching. The direct result is that the word of God spreads & disciples increase - even priests become Christians, no doubt increasing the tension and pointing to the coming showdown between Judaism & Christianity.

   We shouldn't be surprised by these developments. The word of God is living & active & the gospel is the power of God for salvation. In the parable of the sower Jesus tells us that the seed is the word of God. So of course if the word of God is preached & the gospel proclaimed, seeds will be sown, people will come to faith & the church will grow. It seems so obvious, but yet how many churches neglect the word of God? How many ministers neglect the word of God, either because it's not a priority or they are distracted to other tasks? [pause]

   So this is the vital point of this passage: God calls all his people to service & he calls different people to different ministries. We need to think seriously about our gifts, skills & abilities & whether our gifts are being used in the way God intended. [repeat]

   This passage looks as if it shows us the origin of deacons, but the seven are never actually called deacons. The idea comes up because the verb used for the task of serving tables [diakonew] – is the same root word from which we get the word deacon or server [diakonos] But in this passage neither ministry is superior to the other. The work of the apostles and the work of the seven are both referred to as service. – one is service of the word (or word ministry) and the other is service of tables, food distribution (or social welfare ministry).

   Both are Christian ministry because both are ways of serving God and serving God's people. The only difference is the form the ministry takes which requires different gifts and abilities.

   So if you're a Christian you need to think seriously about your gifts & skills & abilities & whether you're using those gifts in the way God intended.

   Ali & I have a running joke at home. Whenever she asks me to clean the toilet or the bathroom & the shower or anything that I want to get out of doing, my standard response is "Sorry, I'm not gifted in that area." Of course she's had revenge on me. When I asked her if she was cooking one night the response came "Sorry, I'm not gifted in that area."

   This of course is a cop out from both of us. In this passage there's not even a hint that the apostles are being deceptive, using excuses or copping out – like kids might do when they have to do the dishes.

   This is a serious question for the church. It's a question of priorities, calling & gifting. The apostles actions aren't motivated by selfishness, but by a concern that God's word isn't neglected & they're devoted to the tasks to which they're called. They don't want God's people to be neglected but they want to ensure that the right people are doing the rights tasks.

   So how will you apply the principles of this passage here at St Theos? Is your standard response "Sorry, I'm not gifted in that area." Or like me bringing out soup spoons to the couple not having soup, have you had one embarrassing failure at a particular type of service & so you're convinced that ministry can't be for you. Do you know what your gifts are, or are they waiting to be discovered?

   We can see from today's passage that those serving as preachers & teachers shouldn't be distracted in order to do other service - even where that other service is also legitimate & important. These other acts of service are meant to be done by other Christians so that the minister doesn't neglect the word of God & can be devoted to prayer & serving the word of God.

   This is a vital message for the health & growth of a church. If a pastor is overwhelmed with administration, finances, building maintenance, social welfare & other important distractions, the standards of preaching & teaching decline because the pastor has no time for preparation or prayer. What also happens is the lay people don't take on their God-given roles, because the minister does everything. So the congregation is inhibited from growing into maturity in Christ.

   If we have a basic biblical recognition that God calls us to different ministries, then people will look to set their minister free from unnecessary administration so he can devote himself to ministry of the word. The minister will be trying to help people discover their gifts & then develop ministries where people can use their gifts.

   It's a bit like how in a team each individual member of the team works together for the good of the team. This is how it should be in the church. Paul in 1 Corinthians 12 gives the illustration of the church being a body made up of and needing all its parts. The body can't function unless all the individual parts do their job.

   So the expression "full-time Christian ministry" shouldn't be restricted to church work or missionary service. "Full-time Christian ministry" is what every one of us is engaged in all day every day. Our ministry to the world must be exercised in government, in professions, in schools, in business & industry & in the home.

   I admire Mel Gibson because in making the Passion he's seeking to exercise his Christian ministry in the area of his expertise – regardless of what we think of the film, he's put his reputation, his money & even his career on the line to take his Christian responsibility seriously.

   So for the church to function correctly, both locally & as a witness in the world, we all need to think seriously about our gifts & whether we're using those gifts in the way God intended.

   Ultimately we're called to service because we're seeking to follow the steps of our saviour Jesus Christ. Jesus came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many. [Mk 10:45]

   In his death & resurrection Jesus paid the ultimate sacrifice for us. Jesus took our sin on himself so that we could be freed from sin, so that we could live for God & live for God's people. Jesus takes on sin at the cross & he shows that sin is defeated by rising again. Sin is defeated & death has no power over Christ.

   So in thinking about our gifts & how we will serve the church here at St Theos, in our jobs, at home, in our relationships & in the world - our attitude should be the same as Jesus. In Philippians we read:

   Philippians 2:3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. 5 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, 8he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death — even death on a cross.

   Let the life & death of Jesus be your motivation to serve God's church & God's people. As a follower of Jesus, God has called you to serve Him. This means you need to think seriously about your gifts & whether your gifts are being used in the way God intended.





   Study Questions



What factors, other than food distribution, may have caused tension between the Hellenists & the Hebrews? What similar factors cause tension in our church today?

What was the task of the apostles & why was this task a priority in the early church? Is this task still a priority in the church – why/why not?

What qualities did the seven "deacons" need? Why are these qualities important?

Read Ephesians 4:11-13. What is the purpose of the "Word" gifts?

Apart from Word ministry, what other works of service or ministry are there in the church?

Read 1 Corinthians 12:4-11. What do you think are your gifts? What service could you be involved in to "test your gifts"?

What things might stop you from serving in church or from having a Christian witness in the world?

Read Mark 10:42-45 & Philippians 2:3-8. How does the example of Jesus motivate us to serve others?

Pray for each other:
That you would seek to serve & follow Jesus more & more every day;
That God would help you to discern your gifts & areas in the church or at work or at home, where you can use those gifts.

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	Sermon of the Week	Look up the passage
	14/3/04
	Using Gifts Wisely - by Danny Saunders	Acts 6:1-7

	Have you ever had one of those really annoying waiters or waitresses that are always there hovering around the table? They're the ones who come and take your plate almost the second your last mouthful goes in & the cutlery goes down. This can be really annoying because it denies you the chance to sit back & really appreciate the great meal you've had, especially if there's juices left on the plate that you're thinking about soaking up with the last piece of bread – but before you know it the plate's gone & you have a dessert menu in front of you. It usually happens at those very busy restaurants that almost make you feel guilty for holding up the table.
	Now, I shouldn't be too critical because I can confess to being a bit of a dodgy waiter myself. I didn't have the speed waiter approach. I was more neglectful & on occasions incompetent. One of my first casual jobs during Uni was working at Sara's Pizza House in Glenferrie Rd. I was a hopeless waiter. I got completely flustered by the whole thing & was very, very nervous. It was only a matter of time before I would cause some complete disaster. I remember one night I was working & it got quite busy. I was running around in my usual state of frenzy & for some reason, I'll never know why, I returned to a table of a couple I was serving, soon after they had ordered, and I presented them with their soup spoons. I laid them down neatly, in the right place & all that – but I'll never forget to this day the look of surprise, bewilderment & amusement on their faces – because they hadn't ordered soup & they thought it was the funniest thing since Fawlty Towers.
	The point of all this & I think the point of this passage this morning is that God calls all his people to service & he calls different people to different ministries. This means that Christians need to think seriously about their gifts, skills & abilities & whether those gifts are being used in the way God intended. [Repeat]
	This passage we're looking at is an exciting part of the story of the early church. At this point in the story the church is small & hasn't got its own identity. It's still seems like a sect of Judaism. The disciples congregate around the Jewish temple & still follow the practices of Judaism & their only distinctive is that they recognise Jesus as the Jewish Messiah or Christ. But this passage is exciting because it introduces the characters that are central to the Church severing its ties with official Judaism & spreading out from Jerusalem.
	But before we jump ahead of ourselves & before the church can move on, we see in this passage that the church faces a problem that could threaten to distract it from its primary task – the task of proclaiming the good news about Jesus.
	We're introduced to this problem in verse 1:
	…the disciples were increasing in number, & the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food.
	If we remember back to the crowd at Pentecost we're told at 2:5 that there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. – and here we're introduced to 2 groups within the church. There are the Hebrews – the Aramaic speaking Jews, native of Palestine - & then there were the Hellenists – or Grecian-Jews – these were Jews from the diaspora, from around the world – their first language was Greek & they had adopted the Greek culture & now these "Hellenized" Jews had come to live in Jerusalem.
	So we see here the church increasing in number, but as its numbers increased new problems rose to the surface. If we think back to chapter 4 we remember that the disciples shared their possessions and - 4:35 says that these possessions or money were laid at the apostles' feet, and was distributed to each as any had need.
	Defending the welfare of widows & the poor were serious matters because God in the OT had made this obligation clear. So we don't know whether this problem was a deliberate act of favoritism or simply an inadvertent omission caused by poor administration or supervision.
	Whatever the cause of the problem, it seems that the apostles detected a deeper issue. It was not their primary task to supervise the financial arrangements of the community or take an active part in this social welfare. Their attitude to the problem & the solution they propose is set out in verses 2-4
	They call the believers together and they say: "It's not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables. Therefore select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this task, while we, for our part, will devote ourselves to prayer and to serving the word."
	There is no suggestion whatever that the apostles regarded social work as inferior to pastoral, teaching & preaching work. This was not a question of hierarchy but was entirely a question of calling & priorities. The disciples rightly decided that they couldn't be distracted from their primary task of praying, preaching & teaching the Bible.
	Let's remember that these apostles had been personally given the great commission of Jesus to make disciples, to baptize them & teach them. [Mt 28:18-20] - and in the direct context of this passage we see the apostles now busy at work fulfilling the great commission – look back at Acts 5:42 - And every day in the temple and at home [or from house to house] they did not cease to teach and proclaim Jesus as the Messiah. – the result was that the disciples were increasing in number.
	So this is the choice they faced: they could teach & preach & proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ OR they could serve in welfare administration & food distribution. [pause]
	Notice also that they didn't impose their solution on the congregation. The apostles recognised that the whole church has a ministry to each other & so they gave them ownership & responsibility. They asked the congregation to select the seven from among themselves. This solution meant the community of believers would recognise & respect the appointments because they had shared in the decision making process.
	And the importance they placed on the task is shown by the qualities required of those to be selected. To rid the church of any hint of favoritism or preference the people needed complete trust in those dealing with the distribution. They needed good reputations, an ability to deal wisely in sensitive situations and above all be full of the Holy Spirit.
	As representatives of the church, they must be Christians, able to explain & defend the faith, & Christians that understood that Jesus' death & resurrection meant that - in this new community - any cultural, social or ethnic divisions had been abolished. In Jesus Christ, all were to be treated equally & fairly.
	Imagine if the church's casserole ministry was outsourced to a local catering company. If the person receiving the food wanted to know why it was that the church provided the service, would the deliverer be able to witness to God's love found in Jesus, motivating God's people to love & help others? The delivery person is likely to say: "I'm just doing my job, sign here please."
	So even what appears to be an insignificant ministry is still done motivated by the love of God and as part of the body of Christ, part of the ministry we have to each other - & so the church's representatives need to be Christians, full of wisdom & full of the Holy Spirit.
	So having confidence in those selected meant the apostles could get on with their work & devote their undistracted attention to the teaching & preaching ministry of the church. Notice also in verse 4 that the apostles include prayer as a priority in their ministry. This shows that prayer was regarded as essential in any effective & fruitful preaching of God's word.
	If you look in vs 5&6, the solution was accepted by the church & seven men were appointed & the apostles prayed and laid their hands on them.
	This laying on of hands didn't give the gift of the Holy Spirit. Being full of the spirit was a prerequisite for being chosen. From what we read here & what we see later from Stephen & Philip, it's clear that the service of the seven is not limited to welfare, but extends to defending the faith and evangelism - & so the beauty of this decision is that rather than cutting down the ministry of the Church, the ministry is expanded & the church grows.
	This is confirmed in Luke's first progress report in verse 7. The news flash is that:
	7 The word of God continued to spread; the number of the disciples increased greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.
	The apostles delegate the social work so they can get on with preaching & teaching. The direct result is that the word of God spreads & disciples increase - even priests become Christians, no doubt increasing the tension and pointing to the coming showdown between Judaism & Christianity.
	We shouldn't be surprised by these developments. The word of God is living & active & the gospel is the power of God for salvation. In the parable of the sower Jesus tells us that the seed is the word of God. So of course if the word of God is preached & the gospel proclaimed, seeds will be sown, people will come to faith & the church will grow. It seems so obvious, but yet how many churches neglect the word of God? How many ministers neglect the word of God, either because it's not a priority or they are distracted to other tasks? [pause]
	So this is the vital point of this passage: God calls all his people to service & he calls different people to different ministries. We need to think seriously about our gifts, skills & abilities & whether our gifts are being used in the way God intended. [repeat]
	This passage looks as if it shows us the origin of deacons, but the seven are never actually called deacons. The idea comes up because the verb used for the task of serving tables [diakonew] – is the same root word from which we get the word deacon or server [diakonos] But in this passage neither ministry is superior to the other. The work of the apostles and the work of the seven are both referred to as service. – one is service of the word (or word ministry) and the other is service of tables, food distribution (or social welfare ministry).
	Both are Christian ministry because both are ways of serving God and serving God's people. The only difference is the form the ministry takes which requires different gifts and abilities.
	So if you're a Christian you need to think seriously about your gifts & skills & abilities & whether you're using those gifts in the way God intended.
	Ali & I have a running joke at home. Whenever she asks me to clean the toilet or the bathroom & the shower or anything that I want to get out of doing, my standard response is "Sorry, I'm not gifted in that area." Of course she's had revenge on me. When I asked her if she was cooking one night the response came "Sorry, I'm not gifted in that area."
	This of course is a cop out from both of us. In this passage there's not even a hint that the apostles are being deceptive, using excuses or copping out – like kids might do when they have to do the dishes.
	This is a serious question for the church. It's a question of priorities, calling & gifting. The apostles actions aren't motivated by selfishness, but by a concern that God's word isn't neglected & they're devoted to the tasks to which they're called. They don't want God's people to be neglected but they want to ensure that the right people are doing the rights tasks.
	So how will you apply the principles of this passage here at St Theos? Is your standard response "Sorry, I'm not gifted in that area." Or like me bringing out soup spoons to the couple not having soup, have you had one embarrassing failure at a particular type of service & so you're convinced that ministry can't be for you. Do you know what your gifts are, or are they waiting to be discovered?
	We can see from today's passage that those serving as preachers & teachers shouldn't be distracted in order to do other service - even where that other service is also legitimate & important. These other acts of service are meant to be done by other Christians so that the minister doesn't neglect the word of God & can be devoted to prayer & serving the word of God.
	This is a vital message for the health & growth of a church. If a pastor is overwhelmed with administration, finances, building maintenance, social welfare & other important distractions, the standards of preaching & teaching decline because the pastor has no time for preparation or prayer. What also happens is the lay people don't take on their God-given roles, because the minister does everything. So the congregation is inhibited from growing into maturity in Christ.
	If we have a basic biblical recognition that God calls us to different ministries, then people will look to set their minister free from unnecessary administration so he can devote himself to ministry of the word. The minister will be trying to help people discover their gifts & then develop ministries where people can use their gifts.
	It's a bit like how in a team each individual member of the team works together for the good of the team. This is how it should be in the church. Paul in 1 Corinthians 12 gives the illustration of the church being a body made up of and needing all its parts. The body can't function unless all the individual parts do their job.
	So the expression "full-time Christian ministry" shouldn't be restricted to church work or missionary service. "Full-time Christian ministry" is what every one of us is engaged in all day every day. Our ministry to the world must be exercised in government, in professions, in schools, in business & industry & in the home.
	I admire Mel Gibson because in making the Passion he's seeking to exercise his Christian ministry in the area of his expertise – regardless of what we think of the film, he's put his reputation, his money & even his career on the line to take his Christian responsibility seriously.
	So for the church to function correctly, both locally & as a witness in the world, we all need to think seriously about our gifts & whether we're using those gifts in the way God intended.
	Ultimately we're called to service because we're seeking to follow the steps of our saviour Jesus Christ. Jesus came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many. [Mk 10:45]
	In his death & resurrection Jesus paid the ultimate sacrifice for us. Jesus took our sin on himself so that we could be freed from sin, so that we could live for God & live for God's people. Jesus takes on sin at the cross & he shows that sin is defeated by rising again. Sin is defeated & death has no power over Christ.
	So in thinking about our gifts & how we will serve the church here at St Theos, in our jobs, at home, in our relationships & in the world - our attitude should be the same as Jesus. In Philippians we read:
	Philippians 2:3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. 5 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, 8he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death — even death on a cross.
	Let the life & death of Jesus be your motivation to serve God's church & God's people. As a follower of Jesus, God has called you to serve Him. This means you need to think seriously about your gifts & whether your gifts are being used in the way God intended.


	Study Questions
	What factors, other than food distribution, may have caused tension between the Hellenists & the Hebrews? What similar factors cause tension in our church today? What was the task of the apostles & why was this task a priority in the early church? Is this task still a priority in the church – why/why not? What qualities did the seven "deacons" need? Why are these qualities important? Read Ephesians 4:11-13. What is the purpose of the "Word" gifts? Apart from Word ministry, what other works of service or ministry are there in the church? Read 1 Corinthians 12:4-11. What do you think are your gifts? What service could you be involved in to "test your gifts"? What things might stop you from serving in church or from having a Christian witness in the world? Read Mark 10:42-45 & Philippians 2:3-8. How does the example of Jesus motivate us to serve others? Pray for each other: That you would seek to serve & follow Jesus more & more every day; That God would help you to discern your gifts & areas in the church or at work or at home, where you can use those gifts.