Out of Hibernation
Sermon Notes - January 10, 2021
RESET: Out of Hibernation - Brian Becker
We ALL can wrestle with questions like this:
"How do I know, as a Christian, I’m where I’m supposed to be?"
"What exactly am I supposed to be doing?”
"Where am I supposed to be going?”
“How am I supposed to make a difference in the world?”
Romans 12:1-8
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Don’t COPY the BEHAVIOR and CUSTOMS of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by CHANGING the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5 so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to PROPHESY, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is SERVING others, serve them well. If you are a TEACHER, teach well. If your gift is to ENCOURAGE others, be encouraging. If it is GIVING, give generously. If God has given you LEADERSHIP ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing KINDNESS to others, do it gladly.
Serving AT THE CHURCH is not nearly as important as serving AS THE CHURCH.
Romans 12:5 (The Message)
Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body.”
1 Corinthians 12:14a, 19 (The Message)
“I want you to think about how all this makes you more significant, not less…because of what you are a part of.”
Two questions we can use as we RESET, and come “Out of Hibernation.”
1. What would need to change for me to be more connected to the church starting right now?
1. Since I can’t currently serve AT the church, what would it mean for me to serve AS the church to the people around me?