Sermon Texts:

Romans 12:3-18, NRSV 
‘For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness. Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.  Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are.  Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. ‘ 

1 Corinthians 12:4-22, NRSV 
‘Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses. 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. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot would 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. And if the ear would 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. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many members, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable’

• Who is the text from/to?   
  • The letters to the churches at Rome and at Corinth were written by the Apostle Paul, with the intention of introducing more context and nuance to what they had already learned and been practicing in their faith.  These are hand-written personal letters from Paul to groups of believers at specific churches with specific needs.  Therefore, it is especially important that the sermon was so nice, he said it twice. 
• What’s the point?  
  • Both letters, in their modern printed format, consist of 16 chapters; the message on spiritual gifts appears in the 12^th chapter of both letters. 
  • In Romans, it explains HOW the gifts ought to be used; in 1 Cor., it explains WHY they ought to be used.  In both letters, love is the predominant theme. 
• What are we to do about it? 
  • First and foremost, stop pretending you have no spiritual gifts. 
  • At the end of our 1 Corinthians passage, notice that the weaker members are indispensable. 
    • This passage leads into 1 Corinthians 13 – love is the more excellent way. 
  • Notice how our gifts are instructed to be used in the Romans passage – lovingly: 
    • Cheerfully 
    • Generously
    • Authentically / genuinely
      • God gave you unique gifts with the intention of having you be yourself, not a copy of someone else. 
    • With empathy – rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep 

Spiritual gifts are given with intent of service, not self-service.