Watch here:
Since it’s Family Sunday, we invite all of the children (of any age) to the front
of the church to hear today’s sermon!
Our second reading this morning from 1 st Corinthians (12:1-11) talks about all
kinds of spiritual gifts. These are gifts that the followers of Jesus are given to
help us and one another be more like Jesus. But they’re not gifts like we get
on Christmas or our birthday – they’re not wrapped up with paper and a pretty
bow. Instead, they’re things that are present within us that we can discover
and learn how to use!
Maybe it’s more helpful to think about them as tools! I brought my trusty
toolbox with me to church today. What kind of tools do we have inside?
There’s a hammer, and a wrench, and… What do all of these tools do? What
does a hammer do? What does a wrench do?
Each of these tools does something different, right? You wouldn’t get very far
if you used a hammer when you need to use a screwdriver, would you? A
hammer doesn’t do what a screwdriver does! We use our tools for different
things because that’s what they’re made to be used for, right?
People are kind of the same way; like the Bible tells us. We’re all given
different tools for how to be more like Jesus. Each one of us has different skills
or talents that help us to act how Jesus would act. But everyone has their own
particular gift that they can use! Do you have an idea of what your talent might
be? What are you good at? What do people like about you?
All of the adults at church have their special gifts, and someday I think you’ll
figure out what yours are, too… Like Mrs Marj, for example, is both really good
at math and Godly Play! Rev Deb is really good at making people feel
important and talking about Jesus. Mr Arthur is good at playing music, just like
Mr Nate! What other adults have really good talents that you can think of?
Our personal talents are a lot like our toolbox. I think if you tried to build a
house using only a hammer, you might have a really difficult time. Or if you
needed to put together some IKEA furniture but you only had a saw, you
probably wouldn’t get very far! But this teaches us and reminds us that we
always need to have a friend with a different tool that can help us. This is what
makes us a community. If I have a hammer and Rev Deb has a saw, maybe
when we put them together, we can use our tools to create something even
better! Kinda like Mr Arthur, Mr Nate, and Mrs Amelia, right? We know Mr
Arthur and Mr Nate play music really well on their own, but then when they do
it together… it’s better! And all three of them can sing really well, so when they
sing together, it’s better!
Throughout our lives, we learn that each of us has a unique skill that we can
use to make the world a better place. And at some point, maybe when we’re in
high school or when we’re adults, we learn that other people have different
skills that do entirely different things. So we have to learn how to find the
people whose skills work well with the ones we already have and then work
together to do what Jesus needs us to do!
And just because I have a certain gift and Theo has a different gift doesn’t
mean that one is better or more valuable than the other. Both gifts are
valuable in their own way. I think we sometimes try to feel better than
someone else by thinking we have a better tool than they do. Don’t you
agree? But this isn’t what Jesus would want us to do, right?
What would Jesus want us to do with our tools? Do we think he wants us to
use only our tools to build boxes around ourselves so that we can be
separated from our neighbors? Noooooo. I think Jesus wants us to find friends
who have other tools so that we can build something better, because
everyone is included in building it.
This is what church is like, right? We all have our different gifts so that we can
do something better in the world. Don’t you agree?
And what do we say in church when we all agree on something?
Aaaaamen!
Comentarios