An Instruction Manual for Spiritual Gifts

Faithful Service (2)

CGCM Youth Fellowship
4/30/2021

Icebreaker:
Are you someone who likes to follow an instruction manual (or what others say) or are you
someone who would prefer to figure it out by yourself, even if you make mistakes?
Romans 12:1-8 can be seen as an instruction manual on how we can use our Spiritual Gifts.

Review main points of the sermon:

Romans 12:1-8
How can we effective serve with our Spiritual Gifts? (4 ways)

I. Serve in unity with other members of the church.

II. Serve according to the amount of faith given to each of us.

III. Serve by being willing to offer your whole self as a living sacrifice.

IV. Serve by first seeking God’s will for you through renewing your mind with His Word.

I. Serve in unity with other members of the church.

1) In verses 4-6 (and 1 Corinthians 12:12-31), the Apostle Paul compares the church with a
human body. Just as a human body has many members with different functions, the
church also has many members with different gifts and roles of service. But all are part
of the same body and church in unity with the same goal of building up one another
towards Christ using our Spiritual Gifts. We cannot accomplish this with just our
Spiritual Gifts alone, but it takes the effort of every member in the church.

a) Even though we are a Chinese-ethnic church, do you still see diversity in our
church? How so?

b) How have you seen the members of our church use their Spiritual Gifts to
build up one another towards Christ? What do you think would happen if
everyone in the church has the same Spiritual Gift?

© 2021 Ivan C. Yu https://ivancyu.com/

 c) Since we are a local church that is part of a universal church of believers
around the world, has our church partnered with other churches to serve? If
so, in what ways? What else do you think we can do to serve with other
churches to build up one another towards Christ?

II. Serve according to the amount of faith given to each of us.

2) In verse 3, the Apostle Paul instructs us not to think highly of ourselves and be prideful,
but to use the measure of faith God has given us to serve in proportion with our Spiritual
Gifts (v6). This means, the more faith you have, the more you can use your Spiritual Gift
to serve.

a) In general, do you agree that you need a level of faith in order to do something
new or challenging? Would you ever do anything new or challenging if you
don’t think you can do it?

b) Serving according to the amount of faith we have is referring to not the faith
we have in ourselves to serve, but the faith we have in God to use us to serve.
That is why the Apostle Paul tells us not to think highly of ourselves.

Have you only considered faith in yourself (whether you can do it) when it
comes to deciding on whether to serve on a Student Ministry Team or in
another ministry? How can we encourage one another to reflect on our faith
in what God can do instead?

III. Serve by being willing to offer your whole self as a living sacrifice.

3) In verse 1, the Apostle Paul urges us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, especially
in the context of serving God in the church.

a) What is the difference between a physical sacrifice and a living sacrifice?

b) What does being a living sacrifice look like when it comes to using our
Spiritual Gifts and serving God in the church?

4) The Apostle Paul urges us to be a living sacrifice, “by the mercies of God”. We don’t
become a living sacrifice to God to try to receive mercy from God. Rather, because we
have already been shown mercy from God through Jesus Christ, we are called to be a
living sacrifice.

© 2021 Ivan C. Yu https://ivancyu.com/

 a) How has God shown you mercy in your personal life?

b) Does knowing about this mercy change your attitude and approach to serving
God?

IV. Serve by first seeking God’s will for you through renewing your mind with His Word.

5) In verse 2, the Apostle Paul tells us to not be influenced by what the world says, but to be
transformed by the renewal of our minds. We can do so by knowing God’s Word.

a) What are some messages we hear from the world that may be different than
what God says?

b) In the past, we have talked about setting aside time every day to spend in your
relationship with God by reading the Bible and prayer. Check in with each
other on how we are doing in our relationship with God.

6) The result of being transformed and renewed in our minds with God’s Word is to know
God’s will.

a) Do you feel you know what is God’s will or calling for you to serve Him in
the church? (This will be our topic for next week’s sermon.) If so, how do
you feel called to serve?

Closing

7) What is one thing you learned from the message today?

Share prayer requests and close in prayer.

© 2021 Ivan C. Yu https://ivancyu.com/