You’ll need:
· A large X made from paper or wood
· Small Puzzle
· Mr. Holland’s Opus
X Marks Your Spot
What is it that keeps people from using their spiritual gifts and talents in our world today?
Is it because we are lazy, unmotivated, or only committed to doing those easy jobs that we can finish quickly? Unfortunately too few people realize being God’s chosen isn’t only a privilege, but it is a responsibility also. God has a unique place, an X if you will, marked for every one of His followers. There is a certain thing or things that He wants His followers to do.
Today, we will counter 3 of the main deceptions that keep us from using our gifts. It also helps us find our X with 3 truths that emerge from Paul’s teachings to the Corinthian church.
The Opening Act:
I have told you about the time that we spent time hunting for my wedding ring in the ocean while we were at the beach. The end story was that it was found. But when you live with Nellie, you are always hunting for things. Nellie has a tendency to lose or misplace things quite often.
Sometimes, it is right under her nose. I can think of times that Nellie has lost something, and I have asked her if she had checked her pockets, she will say yes and check one of her pockets, and then 20 minutes later, it will be found in the other pocket that she didn’t check the first couple of times.
But then, there is the occasional time that she will really lose something and we have to go and get a new whatever it was that she lost.
(Youth Activity) – Treasure Hunt:
Design a treasure hunt in your youth room or on the church campus. Divide students
into teams and give them the same sets of clues—arranged in different orders so
groups don’t merely follow each other around—with a treasure at the end.
What are some things that you have misplaced or lost recently, and what all did you do to try and find that?
Well, today we’re going to check out a real treasure. Just like on pirate treasure maps, it’s marked with an X. That X is the X marking your place in God’s kingdom. The way God has called you and uniquely made you means no one can stand on that X but you. By the end of this lesson, you’ll know 3 truths about your X that will help you overcome anything that keeps you from finding your place. Everyone has an X, and only you can fill you X.
Object lesson—The X
Visual reinforcement of concepts, especially somewhat tricky concepts, is a good
idea. You might want to make an X out of paper or wood and continue to point to it
throughout the talk, maybe even standing on it at times as a reminder of the unique
place that you, and every other believer, have in this world.
If you have your Bibles with you, go ahead and turn with me to I Corinthians 12:4-30. In this passage, Paul is speaking to the church in Corinth, and he talks to them about their individual X’s. Listen to these verses. I Corinthians 12:4-30 says, “1”
The Main Event:
1. X Truth 1: God calls you to serve.
Lots of times we’re prevented from serving by what is called an X deception, the feel good X. A feel good person is willing to serve, but only if it’s not inconvenient and the person gets a lot of affirmation for it. After all, the minister is the one that is paid to do ministry, right? Everyone else can hang out and have a good time while the minister, and the rest of the leaders of the church do all the work. But I asked, the feel good person will do things if it doesn’t interrupt their own lives.
Not only does God call us His beloved children, but He’s given us some responsibility along with that, and that is to serve Him. Once again, I Corinthians 12:5 says that, “There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.”
In 2 chapters in the book of Genesis, we get a vivid contrast of the difference between people who are self-centered and those who are selfless. We tend to be like the people of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11:4 who want to make a great name for themselves. They were self-centered and godless.
Instead, we should be more like Abraham in Genesis 12:2 who becomes great but only because God makes Him great. He was God-centered and selfless.
Mother Teresa was a Catholic nun who served the poor and dying in India by establishing homes and hospitals where they could come to die with some dignity. She would always tell people who asked to work with her in Calcutta to find their own Calcutta.
So, where is your Calcutta?
Where is it that is your place of service?
2. X Truth 2: Others need the gifts you have.
Lots of times we’re prevented from using our gifts because of another X deception. Sometimes we have a tendency to have Little X Syndrome. We feel that we can’t do much, and that what we can do, we don’t do as well as others. But if you notice at the end of that passage that we read, it said that not all were able, or called to do the same things.
Then in I Corinthians 12:7 it says, “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” We are all ministers, not just me. We are all ministers because we all have gifts to use that God has blessed us with.
Here are some of the gifts listed in Paul’s letters.
Wisdom Prophecy Administration
Knowledge Discernment Leadership
Faith Tongues Teaching
Healing Powers Interpretation Miracles
And by us saying that we don’t have these or any other gifts isn’t humility. It’s more like a slap in God’s face. He is the one that gave us all the ability to serve and to stand in our own X’s. And for us to deny that, and not fulfill what it is that God put us here for, is just like slapping God in the face.
God is in the process of developing your gifts. If you look at Corinthians, Paul knows the church is relatively young and needs time to mature. He doesn’t designate specific leaders within the community, but he gives them vision for what they, by God’s grace, will become.
3. X Truth 3: Leaders help us find our Xs, but they don’t stand in our
spots for us.
Leaders are important because they ultimately equip others to find their X’s and do great jobs once they get there.
Look Who’s in the Spotlight Now:
Give an example of someone in your group who does a better job than you at
something.
Some leaders have an X deception called the Big X, they think they’re needed by everyone, that they have to do all the ministry on their own, and that they’re the only ones who can do it right.
In I Corinthians 12:28 Paul says, “2”
And then in Ephesians 4:11-13 it says that, “3”
You see, when leaders help us develop our gifts, they become conductors who bring out the amazing individual skills of each individual player. At this time, allow me to play a movie clip for you. This clip is from the movie Mr. Holland’s Opus. Surrounded by students and families he has touched, he’s asked to conduct a specially assembled orchestra. At this time, go ahead and watch this clip about a true leader.
- Movie clip: Mr. Holland’s Opus
The Grand Finale:
Activity – Every Little Thing Counts:
Give each student one or more puzzle pieces from a fairly simple puzzle, and
have them complete the puzzle as an example of what can come together when
everyone contributes what they have.
Encore:
Get It?
· Why would someone not want to fulfill their X?
· Who is the minister here at Fly Branch Church Of Christ? (I Corinthians 12:7)
· What would Paul say about your answer?
· What were you thinking during the movie clip from Mr. Holland’s Opus?
· Which of the following do you struggle with most? Why?
- The Feel-Good X : you serve only if it’s convenient
- The Little-X Syndrome: you feel that you don’t have any gifts or that they are insignificant
- The Big X : you think you’re needed by everyone
What If? The Big Picture:
· What do you do if you don’t like the gifts you have or if it seems like everyone else has better ones?
· If we were all using our gifts to serve, how would our church be different?
So What? It’s Your Life:
· If Mother Teresa were to walk in this room and ask you where your Calcutta is, what would you say?
· What might some of your spiritual gifts be?
· If you don’t know, how can you find out?
· What might your own X look like? What might God want you to do?
· What might you gain by standing on your X?
Does anyone have anything that they would like to add before we close this evening?
Well, if there is nothing else, just keep in mind that when it comes to your X, everyone has an X that only they can fill, and everyone’s X is important to God and to others.
Let’s Pray!
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