Volunteer Appreciation Sunday
Memory Verse:
' Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. '
James 1:12
Sermon Sentence:
' Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. '
James 1:12
Sermon Sentence:
Day 1
Read 1 Corinthians 12:1-11
My family likes to watch the show “Alone.” If you are not familiar with that show, I don’t think I should take the whole devotion to sell you on its incredible value. Suffice it to say that it is a contest where people are dropped into the middle of nowhere with only 10 items they have chosen and a camera kit to record things. Most of the people that break on this show and end up giving up, give up because loneliness gets to them in a way they never imagined no human contact for 45+ days would get to them. Also, a lot of these wilderness type people just start out weird. They will catch a fish and then thank the fish and cry over its life. They will pray to all sorts of entities like weather and so on. In those moments, when I am trying to empathize with some of the weirdness, I realize that the stories on the Bible make a bit more sense when it talks about gods of weather, love, and farming all being false gods. To be perfectly honest, I don’t understand the idea of bowing to a god of the fish because I am not going 8 days without eating anything, finally catching fish, and then going 8 more days without a fish. I guess you appreciate the fish far more in that situation. Either way, there is no real fish god. Paul starts this chapter out by talking about how the reader was probably an idol worshipper before, and there was no real power in that idol. But they were led astray thinking they had some sort of power. As a follower of Jesus, we believe that all provision and all power comes from God, along with every good gift. That is why it doesn’t seem to make sense that we hold up the people with the more prominent gift in ministry above others. The gifts, whatever they may be, are all from God. God would not be divided against Himself or in competition with Himself, that seems silly.
What are some spiritual gifts that you notice at Keystone Church and how are they used?
What do you feel your spiritual gifts are and how would they be useful in a church?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
My family likes to watch the show “Alone.” If you are not familiar with that show, I don’t think I should take the whole devotion to sell you on its incredible value. Suffice it to say that it is a contest where people are dropped into the middle of nowhere with only 10 items they have chosen and a camera kit to record things. Most of the people that break on this show and end up giving up, give up because loneliness gets to them in a way they never imagined no human contact for 45+ days would get to them. Also, a lot of these wilderness type people just start out weird. They will catch a fish and then thank the fish and cry over its life. They will pray to all sorts of entities like weather and so on. In those moments, when I am trying to empathize with some of the weirdness, I realize that the stories on the Bible make a bit more sense when it talks about gods of weather, love, and farming all being false gods. To be perfectly honest, I don’t understand the idea of bowing to a god of the fish because I am not going 8 days without eating anything, finally catching fish, and then going 8 more days without a fish. I guess you appreciate the fish far more in that situation. Either way, there is no real fish god. Paul starts this chapter out by talking about how the reader was probably an idol worshipper before, and there was no real power in that idol. But they were led astray thinking they had some sort of power. As a follower of Jesus, we believe that all provision and all power comes from God, along with every good gift. That is why it doesn’t seem to make sense that we hold up the people with the more prominent gift in ministry above others. The gifts, whatever they may be, are all from God. God would not be divided against Himself or in competition with Himself, that seems silly.
What are some spiritual gifts that you notice at Keystone Church and how are they used?
What do you feel your spiritual gifts are and how would they be useful in a church?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Day 2
Read 1 Corinthians 12:12-31
This Sunday was Volunteer Appreciation Sunday. It was nothing more than a time for us to reflect on the incredible team that we have at Keystone giving us the ability to accomplish the goals we feel we are called to. Paul is doing something similar in 1 Corinthians, but he is having to approach that idea at a point when things had become a bit out of hand. The lines had been drawn and the favor was being given. James talks about that idea in the church and how it is sinful in his book. In the gospel, people are not given status off of their callings or gifts. That doesn’t mean they do not have titles, it just means that titles don’t elevate people. With that understanding is also the understanding that, like we talked about yesterday, spiritual gifts are all from God. They are gifts by the Holy Spirit, who has the mind of God, and as Paul already said in chapter 2, gives us the mind of God. So if we all have the same mind, and we are all gifted in that mindset, and we are all together as a community, it seems easy to reason that there will not be any division in that. That is how Paul arrives at his analogy of the body with many members, or parts.
Let's make this easy to reflect on. IF you are a part of the body of Christ (aka: a disciple of Jesus), then you have been given a gift. If you have been given a gift, you have no claim in that gift for selfish purposes. Your gift is for you and the rest of the body's growth.
What part of this reading really matters to you today?
How have you felt not part of the body of Christ in a church?
How have you felt a part of the body of Christ in a church?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
This Sunday was Volunteer Appreciation Sunday. It was nothing more than a time for us to reflect on the incredible team that we have at Keystone giving us the ability to accomplish the goals we feel we are called to. Paul is doing something similar in 1 Corinthians, but he is having to approach that idea at a point when things had become a bit out of hand. The lines had been drawn and the favor was being given. James talks about that idea in the church and how it is sinful in his book. In the gospel, people are not given status off of their callings or gifts. That doesn’t mean they do not have titles, it just means that titles don’t elevate people. With that understanding is also the understanding that, like we talked about yesterday, spiritual gifts are all from God. They are gifts by the Holy Spirit, who has the mind of God, and as Paul already said in chapter 2, gives us the mind of God. So if we all have the same mind, and we are all gifted in that mindset, and we are all together as a community, it seems easy to reason that there will not be any division in that. That is how Paul arrives at his analogy of the body with many members, or parts.
Let's make this easy to reflect on. IF you are a part of the body of Christ (aka: a disciple of Jesus), then you have been given a gift. If you have been given a gift, you have no claim in that gift for selfish purposes. Your gift is for you and the rest of the body's growth.
What part of this reading really matters to you today?
How have you felt not part of the body of Christ in a church?
How have you felt a part of the body of Christ in a church?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Day 3
Read 1 Corinthians 13
We are at the famous love chapter! It was read in my wedding and I have seen it read in countless other weddings as well. It's almost as if that is what it is about, marriage. But it is not. It is about unity in the church! Remember, you have read the context in chapter 2 and Paul is dealing with divisions in the church over the abuse of spiritual gifts. Then he lands that point home with this chapter here. That does not mean that it is not a good place to find advice for a marriage, it surely has the same. The main point is that love is important and it is the very thing that we should operate out of. The reason that God gave his only son for us, is because of love…for us. If the church is an expression of that or even compelled on mission by that truth, it goes to reason that the people of the church will find that the very thing that gave them life after sin, will sustain their life in unity with those in the family of God.
In direct contrast to this idea is the cultural struggle of selfishness, or as James puts it, bitter jealousy and selfish ambition…and then he calls it demonic. This is why we say that church is not about you. Will you and should you grow in a church? Yes! But you will grow and be gifted and that gift is for the service of those around you as well as for you. This is the heart behind volunteering and serving in the church. If the mission is on point, we should be in the thick of it all, steeped in love, sharing love with everyone around us, in hopes that they get what we have.
Spend time walking through the list of what Paul says love is. How would each of those be needed in the church today?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
We are at the famous love chapter! It was read in my wedding and I have seen it read in countless other weddings as well. It's almost as if that is what it is about, marriage. But it is not. It is about unity in the church! Remember, you have read the context in chapter 2 and Paul is dealing with divisions in the church over the abuse of spiritual gifts. Then he lands that point home with this chapter here. That does not mean that it is not a good place to find advice for a marriage, it surely has the same. The main point is that love is important and it is the very thing that we should operate out of. The reason that God gave his only son for us, is because of love…for us. If the church is an expression of that or even compelled on mission by that truth, it goes to reason that the people of the church will find that the very thing that gave them life after sin, will sustain their life in unity with those in the family of God.
In direct contrast to this idea is the cultural struggle of selfishness, or as James puts it, bitter jealousy and selfish ambition…and then he calls it demonic. This is why we say that church is not about you. Will you and should you grow in a church? Yes! But you will grow and be gifted and that gift is for the service of those around you as well as for you. This is the heart behind volunteering and serving in the church. If the mission is on point, we should be in the thick of it all, steeped in love, sharing love with everyone around us, in hopes that they get what we have.
Spend time walking through the list of what Paul says love is. How would each of those be needed in the church today?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Day 4
Read Psalm 101
David wrote this Psalm, by the evidence we have. As king, he had a lot of expectations of him and a lot on his plate. This is pretty self reflective for a man of that position, and that is why it is so intriguing for me to read. I would encourage you to really think about what he is saying here and think about what it would mean for him and those around him. Here is a way to do that: (it may be a bit different in other versions, I am using the ESV) make a list of all of the statements that start with “I will…” Then think about what it would mean for you to make those same commitments in your life today.
How many “I will…” statements do you see here?
What are some “I will…” statements that you should make for your life today?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
David wrote this Psalm, by the evidence we have. As king, he had a lot of expectations of him and a lot on his plate. This is pretty self reflective for a man of that position, and that is why it is so intriguing for me to read. I would encourage you to really think about what he is saying here and think about what it would mean for him and those around him. Here is a way to do that: (it may be a bit different in other versions, I am using the ESV) make a list of all of the statements that start with “I will…” Then think about what it would mean for you to make those same commitments in your life today.
How many “I will…” statements do you see here?
What are some “I will…” statements that you should make for your life today?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Day 5
Read Colossians 4
In a few of his letters, Paul would include in the ending a list of people that he wanted to greet or mention for some reason. Paul was traveling all the time and had many friends that he had met along the way. He was also all about setting up the local church so that it could function without him and that involved moving many people into positions of help and influence in the churches. In order to do this, I would imagine that Paul spent a lot of time with these people and had some really special friendships. I can also imagine that he spent many days packing up his things, getting ready to move to the next spot, longing to spend more time with the people and hating to say good-bye so often. I have always found that people that you minister with are in a different friend category than other people. Being friends with a spiritual purpose is a pretty incredible thing. That is what I hope we create at Keystone over and over again.
Pretend that you are Paul and writing this letter. I know there is not a lot of information given about some of these people, but imagine what they are like and why they get the greeting they get. Some of them you may recognize from other places in the Bible, and some you may only hear of here.
What can you deduce from these small amount of words about each of these people?
If you were away, and writing a letter back to Keystone, who would you greet and what would you say about them?
What would other people write about you as a greeting if they were sending a letter to the rest of us?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
In a few of his letters, Paul would include in the ending a list of people that he wanted to greet or mention for some reason. Paul was traveling all the time and had many friends that he had met along the way. He was also all about setting up the local church so that it could function without him and that involved moving many people into positions of help and influence in the churches. In order to do this, I would imagine that Paul spent a lot of time with these people and had some really special friendships. I can also imagine that he spent many days packing up his things, getting ready to move to the next spot, longing to spend more time with the people and hating to say good-bye so often. I have always found that people that you minister with are in a different friend category than other people. Being friends with a spiritual purpose is a pretty incredible thing. That is what I hope we create at Keystone over and over again.
Pretend that you are Paul and writing this letter. I know there is not a lot of information given about some of these people, but imagine what they are like and why they get the greeting they get. Some of them you may recognize from other places in the Bible, and some you may only hear of here.
What can you deduce from these small amount of words about each of these people?
If you were away, and writing a letter back to Keystone, who would you greet and what would you say about them?
What would other people write about you as a greeting if they were sending a letter to the rest of us?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Devotions
Archive
2025
January
February
March
May
September
2024
January
March
May
June
July
August
September
2023
January
February
No Comments