Sermon Info
Summary
Every person, through Christ, is called to minister. So often we think that the only “ministers” are those who are on staff at a church. But, actually, if you are a Christ-follower, then you are called to minister and serve the Body of Christ. God has equipped you with spiritual gifts – not simply to grow your own kingdom, but to grow His Kingdom. You grow spiritually when you learn to serve and invest in others. God will use you to impact so many lives for His glory. There have been many people in your life who invested in you, and now this is our time to invest in others.
Content
Using Your Skills for the Kingdom
Think about a time that you were given a role. It could have been on a sports team, in a theatre production, in your workplace, or even in your family. Based on your skills and abilities, your coach, teammate, boss, friend, or family member gave you a particular role because you had the skills to accomplish what that role required. You were the person for the job.
This holds true in the church, too. In a church body, there are many different roles that are needed to be filled. And, based on your skillset, you may be the person for one job – and you may not be the person for another! We all have special talents that God gave us, and He designed His church to be one of the places where we get to use those talents to serve others. You have a specific role in His Church.
What the Bible Says about Ministry
In Ephesians 4:11-13, we read, So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. In this passage, there are many different roles and responsibilities mentioned, and they are all roles within the church where we can serve Christ and serve those who walk in through the doors of the church building.
In Christ, we each have been given spiritual gifts. These gifts were given to us by God as a means of equipping us for ministry, as Paul writes, Each one should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms (1 Peter 4:10) Part of stewardship means serving others, Christ, and the church with the gifts that were entrusted to us. And, ultimately, that’s where true life comes from – serving with a grateful, humble attitude, knowing that we are modeling our service after the perfect example of ministry, Jesus himself.
Your Ministry Matters
It’s kingdom work that we’re doing, church. Ministry is about humility. It’s about service. It’s about becoming like Jesus in the way that we love and serve those around us. It doesn’t matter what your skillset may be, God can use you in His church – actually, He equipped you to do just that! Each of us have been given particular talents, abilities, desires, and dreams in order for us to continue the work that He began.
So, if you’re 10, 30, 50, or 70, you have a role in God’s Church.
If you’re a singer, a writer, a tech wiz, or a teacher, you have a role in God’s Church.
If you’re in an exciting, life-giving season or in a hard, devastating season, you have a role in God’s Church.
The point is this: regardless of who you are, what your abilities are, or what season you’re in, YOU have a place in God’s Church to do ministry – that’s Kingdom work. And that’s what matters.
