Use Me God: Finding Your Spiritual Gifts Week 2

This past Sunday (6/7) was the 2nd week in our Sunday morning study entitled "Use Me God: Finding Your Spiritual Gifts" and provided some great discussion in class. We spent time discussing how easy it is to compare ourselves to others spiritually and be left feeling inadequate or frustrated. The point was also made that the comparison can take place even within ourselves as we remember other times in our life when we were more or less spiritual. It made it interesting to think about how people might view the Church when people start playing the comparison game.

We also spent time talking about the scripture passage from last week and so I thought I would share a few thoughts that were mentioned:
- Transformation is a choice. We must choose to allow the Spirit of Christ to transform us.
- "renewing of your mind" is a kind of rebirth; a new way of looking at things, a new attitude.
- "living sacrifice" is a continual surrender, not just a one time event.
- one quote from class discussion, "People need to be reminded more than taught."

Follow-up questions we were left with were:
- Is there a sin in your life that is keeping you from fully living for God?
- In what ways do you tend to disconnect your "spiritual life" from your "real life"?

This Sunday (6/14) will be the 3rd week in our Sunday morning study and will focus on: 1 Peter 2:9-10, 1 Peter 4:10-11, Romans 12:3-8, Ephesians 4:1-13, 1 Corinthians 12:1-11. I encourage you to spend some time with these passages throughout the week and consider these questions...

1. What comes to mind when you hear the word priest?
2. Spend some time looking at the gifts mentioned in the last 4 passages listed. These lists are not exhaustive but can give you an idea of some of the gifts that God may have given you. Do you feel like God has given you any of those listed in these verses?
3. Have there been times when you were serving God that felt like you were using the gift(s) He had given you exactly as they needed to be used? What did that feel like?
4. If you are not sure yet what your gifts might look like or how to use them, how beneficial might a trial-and-error approach be for you?

Feel free to comment and interact here during the week and join us on Sunday mornings as we continue our study and discussion. Don't hesitate to contact me at matt@castletonumc.org with any questions, thoughts or comments if you would rather not post here.