{"id":3777,"date":"2020-06-14T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-06-14T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/salvagedfaith.com\/?p=3777"},"modified":"2020-06-10T14:07:09","modified_gmt":"2020-06-10T19:07:09","slug":"you-have-are-a-gift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/salvagedfaith.com\/2020\/06\/14\/you-have-are-a-gift\/","title":{"rendered":"You Have (Are) a Gift"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Text: Romans 12:3-8<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we start off this morning, I want you\nto find a blank piece of paper\u2026 or if you are on Zoom or Facebook, type in the\ncomments or chat window. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I want you to think of one thing that you\nare personally good at. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is one thing that you know how to do\nand do fairly well?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now\u2026 if we were together in the\nsanctuary, I\u2019d have you turn to your neighbor. \nBut, since we aren\u2019t, I want you to share in the comments a few words\nabout how you were able to use that skill or talent recently.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example:  one of my skills is that I can grow\nthings.  I set out some of my extra\nseedlings on the sidewalk in front of our house for our neighbors to take. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take a minute to share and read one another\u2019s comments! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thank\nyou all for sharing! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This week on our road trip across the\nUnited States, we find ourselves in northwest Washington at Olympic National\nPark.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With\nnearly a million acres of land, spanning a huge range of landscapes and\nprecipitation, it contains so many different ecosystems that the largest\nconcentration of life on the planet is found here!  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Photos of coastal survey research.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

You can explore seventy miles of\ncoastline with whales and puffins and oysters, driftwood from ancient trees,\nand the ever present ebb and flow of the ocean\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Or make your way inland through old\ngrowth rainforests where 12-14 feet of rain fall each year. Centuries old\nhemlocks, threatened species like the northern spotted owl, mosses and ferns as\nfar as your eyes can see\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Or maybe you want to climb to the top of glacier-capped mountains where golden eagles and Olympic marmots play among the alpine wildflowers\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

All in one spectacular park. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the balance between each of these\nseemingly separate and distinct elements cannot be ignored. 
\n
\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the National Park site describes,\n\u201cOlympic National Park takes an ecosystem approach to management.  We believe that the health and survival of\nindividual species depends on the health of entire habitats.\u201d https:\/\/www.nps.gov\/olym\/learn\/threatened-and-endangered-species-of-olympic.htm<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To put that in our own faith\nlanguage\u2026  the health of any part of the\nbody depends on the whole.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And every unique part of that habitat, or\necosystem, or body of Christ has an important and distinct function. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each one is necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each one is valued. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each one matters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I want you to think back to that skill or\ngift that you mentioned earlier.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe it is a skill that you trained long\nand hard to learn, or maybe it is a gift that came naturally for you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whatever it is, it is something you see\nwithin yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hanging on to that gift in your mind, I\nwant you to hear what Paul writes to us from Romans chapter 12.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You see\u2026 he continues his message from\nlast week about what it means to be connected to Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hear these verses again from the Message\ntranslation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m\nspeaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and\nespecially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. <\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Living\nthen, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it\u2019s important that you not\nmisinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. <\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

No,\nGod brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by\nwhat God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for\nhim.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This gift that you have identified within\nyourself\u2026 it does not represent something that you own or possess or even have\ncontrol of. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It represents something that God has\ngiven to you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It represents a part of God\u2019s plan for\nthis world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It represents one way in which the Body\nof Christ, the church, is called to share the love of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you ever thought about your gift\nthat way?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you ever thought about how your baking\nor knitting or carpentry was a part of God\u2019s plan for this world? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or how your mechanical skills or\nphotography or singing could bring the love of God to your neighbors? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or how your laughter or negotiating\nskills or sense of direction could be used to share the gospel? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How your mathematical sensibility or your\nhard work or your ability to listen is an integral and important part of the\nchurch?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or is your first response whenever the\ncall of Jesus Christ comes to look around and say, \u201cwho, me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I was in junior high and high school\nI loved speaking in front of people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was always the first with my hand up\nwhen it came time to read out loud in class. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I tried out for every play and musical. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I signed up for speech contests. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I competed, I practiced, I simply loved\ndoing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking in front of people came easily\nto me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was never something I had to think\ntwice about. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I knew that in whatever field of work I\nchose, this skill would be useful. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was something in the background,\nsomething I could fall back on, something I never had to think that much about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But one day in college, I was asked to\nprepare a sermon for our campus worship. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Easy-peasy\u2026 I had written speeches\nbefore. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And I had preached before as a part of my\nyouth group. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I didn\u2019t worry too much about it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the midst of the preparation however, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

in the midst of my wrestling with the\ntext and really trying to find God in the middle, something in me clicked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I realized that I wasn\u2019t just writing another\nspeech\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was sharing God\u2019s love with people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wasn\u2019t up there acting or putting on a\npersona\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

this was real. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is what I was made for. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

God wanted me to share his good news with\npeople. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

God created me to do this!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Paul tells the people of Rome and by\nextension us\u2026 we are like the parts of a body, parts of a vital ecosystem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We get our meaning from the body as a\nwhole \u2013 our gifts and skills find their purpose only in relation to these other\npeople and parts of God\u2019s family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each one of you matters to this body of\nChrist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each one of you has something unique and\namazing to offer to the world.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

God has created us for this!  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I want you to think for just a second\nabout what this church would be like if someone like Rick stopped playing\nguitar\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

or Wendell stopped fixing things\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

or Sherrie stopped calling on neighbors\u2026   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

or Ella stopped serving\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

or Becky stopped asking amazing\nquestions\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

or Hope stopped reaching out to friends\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What would happen if I decided to keep my\ngifts to myself, instead of sharing them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think long and hard about that gift you claimed\nearlier. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You have something unique and beautiful\nand powerful to offer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You are called by God to do amazing\nthings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, YOU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, we are welcoming three new people\ninto professing membership of the United Methodist Church.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are witnessing Becky, Ella, and Hope\nclaim their roles and their gifts as part of this Body of Christ.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their gifts join together with all of the\nother ones in our vibrant and rich ecosystem. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our congregation is filled with teachers\nand accountants and musicians and creators and parents and builders and leaders\nand servants\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are stronger and healthier and more\nvibrant because each and every one of you are part of us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Paul writes: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

since we find ourselves fashioned into\nall these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ\u2019s\nbody, lets just go ahead and be what we were made to be.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In everything you do, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

in everything that you offer, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

from the moment you wake up until the\nmoment your head hits your pillow at night,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ask how God can use you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take those gifts you have and share God\u2019s\nlove <\/p>\n\n\n\n

through every goodbye you make in the\nmorning <\/p>\n\n\n\n

and every meal you deliver to the elderly\nin our community <\/p>\n\n\n\n

and in every car your fix <\/p>\n\n\n\n

and in every meeting you have at work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Share the good news through every post\nyou make on facebook <\/p>\n\n\n\n

and every class you have at school <\/p>\n\n\n\n

and in every game you play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do what you do with integrity, with love,\nwith compassion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul breaks it down like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If\nyou help, just help, don\u2019t take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if\nyou give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don\u2019t get bossy; if you\u2019re\nput in charge, don\u2019t manipulate; if you\u2019re called to give aid to people in\ndistress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the\ndisadvantaged, don\u2019t let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them.\nKeep a smile on your face.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are the body of Christ. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are his living, breathing, hands and\nfeet in this world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In everything we do\u2026 let God shine\nthrough.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Text: Romans 12:3-8 As we start off this morning, I want you to find a blank piece of paper\u2026 or if you are on Zoom or Facebook, type in the comments or chat window. I want you to think of one thing that you are personally good at. What is one thing that you know…<\/span><\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3782,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,6,1],"tags":[209,1609,418,855],"class_list":["post-3777","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kenotic-words","category-ordinary-time","category-uncategorized","tag-confirmation","tag-ecosystem","tag-god","tag-romans"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/salvagedfaith.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/F08CCF70-155D-4519-3ED98DC514B15764HiResProxy.jpg?fit=1000%2C671&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7cYpi-YV","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/salvagedfaith.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3777","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/salvagedfaith.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/salvagedfaith.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salvagedfaith.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salvagedfaith.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3777"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/salvagedfaith.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3777\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3783,"href":"https:\/\/salvagedfaith.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3777\/revisions\/3783"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salvagedfaith.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3782"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/salvagedfaith.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salvagedfaith.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3777"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salvagedfaith.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}