PARTICIPANTS WORKSHEET. Small Group Study Pack: Called to Serve. Serve (diakone,w): wait on; care for, see after, provide for

Transcription

1 Serve (diakone,w): wait on; care for, see after, provide for Small Group Study Pack: Called to Serve PARTICIPANTS WORKSHEET Developed by: Wesley Small Group Ministry 1

2 Christians go to church. But are we the church? What makes Christians the church? One major expression of Christians to be the church is by serving one another. In Galatians 5, the Apostle Paul wrote that all Christians should serve one another, not just because it looks good or ease off the workload, but primarily because we are the recipients of God s grace; the grace that liberates us for service as an act of spiritual worship to God as well as love to our neighbours. This study guide explores three components of the Christian service. By the end of the study, participants will have an understanding of what the Christian service is, as well as an opportunity to respond to God s call for serving one another. Session 1: Need for service Body of Christ Session 2: Seed for service understanding spiritual gifts Session 3: Basis for service Calling, discernment and response 2

3 Session 1: The need for service The Body of Christ Introduction (Read this as a group) First of all, let us talk about a very practical need of any organisation people. We know that in order for any organisation to work and to grow, human resource is key. However, as we journey through life, we also know that even if we have the right number of people for a certain amount of work; there will be times when productivity falls short. The reasons could be many, but one common reason is that some workers in the organisation are not doing what they are suppose to do. Nevertheless, these under-performing workers could be drawing the same amount of salary that are given to performing workers. In the longer term, if these under-performing workers are not guided to do what they are suppose to do, either the organisation suffers from a acute downfall in productivity, or the peforming workers are made to work harder to fill in the gaps of the under-peforming workers; which sadly is often the case. Unfortunately, the above scenario happens in the church as well. There are many persons who multi-tasked in many ministries and eventually give it up all together due to exhaustion and frustrations. How can we prevent all these from happening? This study will allow us to discuss theologically, not just from an organisational point of view, the need for service. 3

4 Study questions for Session 1 (approximately minutes) 1. In your own experiences at work, study or even the home, have you encountered situations when you thought that someone / or one part of the organization is not doing their work well? If so, what was your response and why do you think this happens? (10-15 minutes) 2. According to the Apostle Paul, the Corinthian church was plagued with what we might be facing in the organization or even church today. Many Christians are disunited, and not using their spiritual gifts for the common good. Read 1 Corinthians 12:1-12. ESV: 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says "Jesus is accursed!" and no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except in the Holy Spirit. 4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. 2a. According to verses 4-7, to whom do you think spiritual gifts are given? (2-5 minutes) 2b. According to the Scripture passage (1 Corinthians 12:1-11), what do you think is the source of these spiritual gifts? (2-5 minutes) 4

5 2d. According to verse 7, what do you think is God s purpose for giving spiritual gifts to those who profess their faith to Christ? You might also want to refer to 1 Peter 4: (5 minutes) 2e. How does knowing about the way these spiritual gifts are given to us and their purpose change the way we relate or serve one another in the church? In groups of two, take minutes to reflect on this and gather back to share. (You can also choose to refer to Galatians 5 as well as 1 Corinthians) 3. Read 1 Corinthians 12:12-18 ESV 1 Corinthians 12: For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body- Jews or Greeks, slaves or free- and all were made to drink of one Spirit. 14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 3a. In the passage, what do you think the Apostle Paul is trying to illustrate to the church in Corinth when he mirrors those in Christ to be of One Body? (Hint: The Apostle s exhortation is linked to the condition of the Corinthian church when he wrote this letter) (10-15 minutes) 5

6 3b. What do you think will happen when a human body loses the function of one member for example, even our little toe? How does this apply to the church today? (You might want to refer to 1 Corinthians 12:19-25) (10-15 minutes) 3c. Do you think there are times when we pay too much attention to one part of the Body of Christ at the expense of the others which are perhaps less prominent? (10-15 minutes) 3d. In what ways do you think as one body in Christ, we can spur / encourage one another to serve? Take some time to reflect on today s lesson and pray. (15-20 minutes) 6

7 Session 2: The seed for service spiritual gifts Introduction (Read as a group) We learn in Session 1 that our Christian service for the Lord and one another is based on His love for us and our love for one another. We also need to serve because Christ has called us to make disciples and that sets the foundation for the existence of the church. All who are in Christ need to serve for the sake of unity and because the Body of Christ cannot fully function without all members of the Body being involved in kingdom work. In this session, we want to learn about how to serve. The seed for Christian service cannot be purely based on worldly values nor natural talents; although these are at times used by God for His kingdom work. The seed for Christian service must come from the Holy Spirit, who distributes spiritual gifts (as we have learned in 1 Corinthians 12) according to the grace of God for the common good. We want to learn what these spiritual gifts are and how we can discern what our spiritual gift(s) are. 7

8 Study questions for Session 2 (60 80 minutes) 1. Let us read 1 Corinthians 12 again. This time, we will focus on verses ESV 1 Corinthians Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. 1a. Identify the nine types of spiritual gifts that the Apostle Paul mentioned in the passage above. Discuss what you think each of these spiritual gifts mean and how they help to build up the Church. (20 30 minutes) 8

9 1b. As a group, list these nine gifts and those found in Romans 12:6-8 into two broad categories: (1) Speaking (2) Serving. As you look through the two categories, do you think that there are times when one category is placed at a higher importance than others? Why do you think this is happening and what must our correct attitude be? (20 minutes) 1c. With reference to the list of spiritual gifts, spend some time (on your own) to reflect on what might be ONE spiritual gift (you might have more) that God has blessed you with. Note that this could be a tentative discernment of what your spiritual gift might be. You will be able to discern more as you serve deeper and walk closer with God. Gather back to the group to share. (15 20 minutes) You might want to use the following guide as you pray: Guide on reflection: Each believer is given at least one spiritual gift as willed by God for the building up of the Christian community. To help you discern what might be your spiritual gift(s), you might want to: Start by praying to God and ask Him to provide insights into what might your spiritual gift(s) be. At the end of this exercise, you don t have to feel frustrated or strange if you do not discern what your spiritual gifts are; for the discernment of these things usually takes experience and time. Reflect on the following questions: o Have you ever volunteer for any type of service to others? If so, what? Why that particular job? o Do you feel drawn to address a particular need or to interact with a particular type of people? If so, what is it? Why do you find this compelling? 9

10 o If you had a choice between two jobs / service in the church one requiring a lot of verbal communication in one form or another and the other requiring you to perform a task which would you prefer? Why? o If applicable, how have your experiences serving in ministries of the church or the small group informs you about the strong and weak areas of your Christian life? o What are your Christian friends saying about you that affirms what is described as some of these spiritual gifts? 1d. Is it enough to just know what your spiritual gift(s) are? What if one day we discover that we only have one or two spiritual gifts? Would we want to compare with others who might have more? Discuss. (15 20 minutes) 1e. Close the session by praying together as a group on the following: That the Lord would reveal to each of us what our spiritual gift(s) are. That upon the discovery of these gifts, we would not compare ourselves with others as God has clearly taught through the Apostle Paul that each of these gifts is equally important for the building up of the church. That we will respond for Christian service upon discovery of these spiritual gifts and thank God for His grace that not only has He calls us into salvation, but also to participate in the His kingdom work! 10

11 Session 3: The basis for service God s call Introduction (Read as a group) Having studied the need and seed for service, we would also want to find out about God s specific call about how and where He wants us to serve. So what exactly is God s call? In our daily use of the Christian lingo or within the community of Christ, we frequently hear of the words God s calling or call. It is perhaps one of the most exciting Christian concepts to talk about; partly due to our desire to please God with our service and partly because many have different experiences or reading into what is God s call. Quite often, we hear that God s call equates to merely two variables: location and vocation. Hence, a calling is about a person being called to do a specific kind of work or to move to a particular kind of place. A person is therefore called to be a missionary; another is called to be a finance manager. A person is called to Japan to take care of victims that survived the earthquake and another claimed that God has called them to be a small group leader. Yet, is the Christian calling restricted to just location and vocation? Or is there something more? How can we discern this calling? Does God speak forth His calling in an audible voice like what Samuel heard in 1 Samuel 3? Or is it much more subtle like how Elijah heard God in a still small voice in 1 Kings 19? Or is it more about discerning what that calling is through growing more and more in our relationship with the One who calls? 11

12 Study questions for session 3 (60 80 minutes) 1. What do you think God s call is all about in the context of the Christian faith? Do you have a personal experience with being called by God to do something? (15 20 minutes) 2. Read the following passages from the Bible and discuss how these passages inform you about what is God s call for a person like you and me. You might want to split into smaller groups to handle each group of passages and gather back for sharing. Galatians 1:3-6, 1 Peter 2:9-10, Romans 1:7, Philippians 3:14 and 1 Peter 2:21 Hebrews 11:8-10 and Acts 16:9-12 Colossians 3: Has knowing the three distinct ways in which God calls us change the way you view your life as a Christian or your way of serving one another? If so, in what ways? (15-20 minutes) 12

13 4. Read 2 Peter 1:3. While there are three distinct ways in which God calls us, how should our responses to these calls lead to? 5. Having a knowledge of the need for service in the church (Session 1), the seed for service as found in the spiritual gifts that God has given to each of us through His grace (Session 2), and the way God calls us unto serving Him (Session 3), how can you discern how and where God wants you to serve in the church, if not already? 6. In the course of this study, do you discern that there are areas in which you desire to serve? If so, what are these areas? (15-20 minutes) 13