#1527. Stewarding our practical gifts (29/5/26)
- Matt Beaney
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
Welcome to this Come to Jesus Daily Devotional (posted, at present, every weekday) as we continue our Stewardship series.
Practical service is a vital way that we are to engage in serving God in His church and the world.
To watch this devotional, please select the link below:
‘For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.’ (Romans 12:3-8)
In our last devotional, we briefly reflected on how God wants us to steward our words in many ways for the building of the body of Christ. Today, we turn to the more practical ways that God gifts us.
Our text points specifically to three practical gifts:
i. Serving (diakonia) - Acts of assisting others in the church
ii. Giving (metadidómi) - Contributing material resources to the work of the Lord with exceptional liberality and cheerfulness.
iii. Mercy (eleeó) - Feeling and serving out of God’s compassion.
However, the Bible gives us a number of other practical gifts, for example:
Hospitality (philoxenos) - Providing and loving welcome to guests and strangers (1 Peter 4:9).
Helps (antilémpsis) - To use our talents to give help, Assistance (1 Cor. 12:28).
Miracles (energēmata dynameōn) - This is very practical. As we pray for healing, provision, deliverance… we are serving the real needs of people. (1 Corinthians 12:10)
Recently, at our church’s 150th anniversary celebration service, the children created a large collage of the number 150 using images connected to the church’s history. At the end of the service, they carried it onto the stage for everyone to see. It greatly added to the joy, gratitude, and sense of celebration that we shared together. However, this memorable, meaningful and teaching moment would never have happened if the children’s team had not been willing to serve in such practical ways.
As a part of the body of Christ, we all have very practical ways that we can serve the body of Christ and serve Jesus in this world.
A great example of this in action, is what we read of in Acts 6.
In Acts 6:1–6, the early church faced a practical need: some widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. The apostles asked the church to appoint trusted people to oversee this ministry so that the needs of the people would be cared for well. This reminds us that practical service is spiritual service.
The church was told to choose people who were:
‘full of the Spirit and wisdom’ (Acts 6:3)
And Stephen is described as:
‘A man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit’ (Acts 6:5)
None of us should think of ourselves as beyond practical and menial service. And, although this should never be our motive, it’s our willingness to serving in small, practical, unglamorous ways that lead us to grow in the scope of our leading and gifting.
Response
I’m reminded of Gods’ words to Moses:
‘Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.”’ (Exodus 4:2)
We all have many things ‘in our hands’ - oftentimes we don’t recognise their powerful potential in God’s service! Like Moses, let’s ‘throw them on the ground’ - obey God and put our time, talents and treasures at God’s disposal.
This year we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the founding of CCP; to watch our anniversary video, please select the link below:
Community Group Study
1. Notices
It might be good to begin with notices. Please share from this week’s Church News.
2. Icebreaker
How has God been speaking to you from His Word this week, and how has this helped you?
3. Worship together
Let’s begin our time together by lifting our eyes and hearts to worship our great God. Perhaps you have readings and songs that you would like to use together. Let’s be open to the gifts that the Spirit wants to give in order to encourage one another.
4. Study and pray together
Balanced Time Allocation - Please ensure a balanced focus on discussion, SIV (Serve, Invest, and Invite), and prayer so that each section is meaningful and fruitful.
On Sunday, we continued our series:
Stewardship - A teaching series on how we are to use the good things that God gives to us.
Please read Romans 12:3-8 and discuss:
Personal Reflection – What did God speak to you about through Sunday’s message?
How would you define a spiritual gift and what they are for?
What are the ways that we can have poor ‘sober judgement’ and so can hinder the use of our gifts?
How do we find our gifts - Could one of you retell the oil illustration used by Lucy?
How would you like to grow in the use of your gifts?
Notice - If you are not already on a team, why not think about joining a serving team - this is the greatest way to find and grow in your gifts.
SIV (Serve, Invest, and Invite)
Why will a church that pursues the use of spiritual gifts be effective at bringing the gospel to their community?
Share Stories – Have you had any recent opportunities to Serve, Invest in, or Invite someone toward Jesus? Let’s encourage one another by sharing testimonies of God at work through us.
Practical Next Steps – Who is God putting on your heart to reach? Are there any ‘people of peace’ (*see note) in your life—those who are receptive to you and spiritual conversation?
Let’s pray together:
Let’s pray for one another based on our study, and bring before God any other needs or requests for prayer.
Pray for one another's SIV opportunities and boldness in following the Spirit's promptings.
Pray specifically for the “people of peace” in our lives—asking God to open hearts and provide opportunities to speak life and truth.
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