1 Corinthians 12:1-11
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
We were planning on meeting as a congregation this morning, but now we will meet as a congregation, to receive the reports of our Church officers and leaders, next Sunday. For some of you such a meeting may not seem very exciting. I mean, what is there really to be said? Whatever was done we can see, and if we can’t, well, it’s over, finished? Some of you may feel this way, but I assure you there is a lot more to this meeting than a rehashing of the past. I’ve heard it said that the past directs the future. While this is not always true, a congregation that has a vision for the future or a plan for the future will, by its actions, point to its vision and show a direction for its future. I encourage all of you to read the reports when they are available, attend the meeting and listen to next Sunday’s discussions.
There is something else to be found in those reports, besides the organized description of past events, these events represent the gifts of our congregation, the gifts of the Spirit held by many of our members. What we do as a congregation and what we do as individuals within the congregation is very often motivated by the gifts that the Holy Spirit has given to us. Important as this is, I would guess that most of us, have not really thought this through or even given much thought to the gifts that have been given to us. But groups in our church have given this some thought: For example, the Outreach Committee would not agree to provide meals for the residents of St. Mary’s shelter if it did not believe that we had enough gifted cooks and willing cooks and drivers to make sure that we can provide the correct quantity of healthy and tasty food at the proper times for this shelter. Likewise, the men of St. Peter’s and the Fellowship Committee would not plan to have the event “Men Who Cook” if they did not believe that we would have enough quality cooks among our men to be able to provide good food for the interested members of the congregation. There seems to be a pattern; we like to cook, serve people and eat. But we do other things; we have men and women talented in building and fixing things and the Property Committee gets them together or take on tasks as individuals and groups to keep St. Peter’s in good shape. And look at our choir and Music and Worship Committee and all that they do to lift up our spiritual lives through music and liturgy using their gifts and depending on the gifts of others. Paul wrote to the Corinthians that “each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” The gifts of our congregation given by the Holy Spirit vary as widely as the list of gifts provided in our reading from 1 Corinthians 12: 1-11, and these gifts are all for the common good. Here at St. Peter’s we have excellent writers who write articles and sometimes temple talks, we have musically gifted members who sing in the choir and individually, we have those gifted with the skills for teaching, and we have creative people in the arts of the Spirit who prepare worship and devotional opportunities, all of these people in addition to others display their gifts of the Holy Spirit for our benefit and the benefit of others.
And an important thing that I have learned over the years, is that the Holy Spirit provides all the gifts needed in each place, where the Holy Spirit has planted the ministry of Jesus Christ. It doesn’t always seem that way, but that is not for lack of the Holy Spirit’s gifts, but for the reluctance of those who have been given these gifts to acknowledge them and to use them to the Glory of God. Again, we have amazingly gifted people here at St. Peter’s; most of them share their gifts willingly, but some are shy and some do not come to church with regularity and so do not share their gifts with the church. What are your gifts? What are your God given gifts? And keep this in mind, all of the talents that you have come from God. Have you used your Spirit given gifts here at St. Peter’s or to the glory of God elsewhere? If you have not used your gifts other than for your own wellbeing, why? What are you afraid of? Does joy and the success of our ministry scare you that much? Or, are too busy, or you lazy, or just don’t care?
The Philadelphia Eagles lost last week, but they came close to a victory, in spite of their injuries and against a higher ranked opponent, because all of the players worked together, employing their skills and gifts (limited as they were); except for a few mistakes, we would be looking forward to another game this afternoon. It could be said that the Eagles won the Super Bowl last year, for the same reason, but with less mistakes.
I’m constantly being questioned about our church deficit; most of you worry about why others are not giving enough; I ask each of you sit down and look at your own offering totals, to see if you are doing all that you can. And then look at your spiritual gifts, your talents and skills and ask yourselves where could you best help the church with its ministry and maintenance and community activity. The weather is against us today, but that doesn’t mean that the Lord hasn’t provided us with all that we need. It frustrates me that everyone is not here today to hear my sermon and so hear God’s word, but I have to accept that the message will be carried out by you to those who are not here today, maybe some will read the sermon on facebook, maybe on the church website. You are a gifted people; St. Peter’s is a gifted congregation; it shows; maybe we can make it show even more. fffff
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