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    Gifts: The Joy of Serving God
    Gifts: The Joy of Serving God
    Gifts: The Joy of Serving God
    Ebook158 pages1 hour

    Gifts: The Joy of Serving God

    By John Ortberg, Laurie Pederson and Judson Poling

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    About this ebook

    Gifted--that’s you! Uniquely equipped to help build up the body of Christ. As a follower of Jesus, serving others is an integral part of your identity and an important key to your personal growth. But how do you cultivate a servant’s heart and your spiritual gifts in ways that build up your church, your family, your friends, and your world--without wiping you out in the process? Gifts guides you to the answers. Through personal study and small group interaction, this study will help you develop a passion to be used by God. You’ll find out about your unique place in the body of Christ and how to surmount the obstacles that keep you from thriving. You’ll discover the joy of serving with others--doing together what you cannot do alone. And you’ll learn how to abide in Christ, experiencing a freshness and vitality that grow as you give!Leader’s guide included!Gifts group sessions are:Use Me!Use My Gifts!Walking into WeaknessComparison: The Killjoy of ServanthoodThe Ministry of the MundaneServanthood’s Bell-Shaped CurveAbide in Him
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherZondervan
    Release dateDec 19, 2009
    ISBN9780310862192
    Gifts: The Joy of Serving God
    Author

    John Ortberg

    John Ortberg is teaching pastor of Menlo Church and author of many books, including God Is Closer Than You Think.

    Read more from John Ortberg

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      Book preview

      Gifts - John Ortberg

      PURSUING SPIRITUAL TRANSFORMATION BIBLE STUDY SERIES

      Fully Devoted: Living Each Day in Jesus’ Name

      Grace: An Invitation to a Way of Life

      Growth: Training vs. Trying

      Groups: The Life-Giving Power of Community

      Gifts: The Joy of Serving God

      Giving: Unlocking the Heart of Good Stewardship

      ZONDERVAN

      Gifts: The Joy of Serving God

      Copyright © 2000 by the Willow Creek Association

      All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Zondervan.

      ePub Edition June 2009 ISBN: 0-310-86219-1

      Requests for information should be addressed to:

      Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530

      ISBN 10: 0-310-22077-7

      ISBN 13: 978-0-310-22077-0

      All Scripture quotations unless otherwise noted are taken from the Holy Bible: New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

      All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

      We are grateful for permission given by a number of gifted teachers to use excerpts from their books and messages for the opening readings in the sessions. These authors and speakers are acknowledged throughout this guide.

      Interior design by Laura Klynstra Blost

      CONTENTS

      TITLE PAGE

      COPYRIGHT PAGE

      PURSUING SPIRITUAL TRANSFORMATION

      TEN CORE VALUES FOR SPIRITUAL FORMATION

      GIFTS: THE JOY OF SERVING GOD

      session one

      USE ME!

      session two

      USE MY GIFTS!

      session three

      WALKING INTO WEAKNESS

      session four

      COMPARISON: THE KILLJOY OF SERVANTHOOD

      session five

      THE MINISTRY OF THE MUNDANE

      session six

      SERVANTHOOD’S BELL-SHAPED CURVE

      session seven

      ABIDE IN HIM

      LEADER’S GUIDE

      ABOUT THE PUBLISHER

      SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS

      Pursuing Spiritual

      Transformation

      The Pursuing Spiritual Transformation series is all about being spiritual. But that may not mean what you think!

      Do you consider yourself a spiritual person? What does that mean? Does spiritual growth seem like an impossible amount of work? Do you have a clear picture of the kind of life you’d live if you were to be more spiritual?

      Each guide in the Pursuing Spiritual Transformation series is dedicated to one thing—helping you pursue authentic spiritual transformation. Here, the focus is growing through servanthood and the use of your spiritual gifts.

      You may find this study different from others you have done in the past. Each week in preparation for your group meeting, you will be completing a Bible study and experimenting with a variety of spiritual exercises. These elements are designed to enhance your private times with God and, in turn, to help you invite him into all aspects of your life, even the everyday routines. After all, spiritual life is just life—the one you live moment by moment.

      It is very important that you complete this work before going to each meeting because the discussion is based on what you’ve learned from the study and what you’ve observed as a result of the spiritual exercise. The Bible study and exercises are not meant to be done an hour before the meeting, quickly filling in the blanks. Instead, we suggest you thoughtfully and prayerfully complete them over the course of several days as part of your regular devotional time with God.

      A good modern Bible translation, such as the New International Version, the New American Standard Bible, or the New Revised Standard Version, will give you the most help in your study. You might also consider keeping a Bible dictionary handy to look up unfamiliar words, names, or places. Write your responses in the spaces provided in the study guide or use your personal journal if you need more space. This will help you participate more fully in the discussion, and will also help you personalize what you are learning.

      When your group meets, be willing to join in the discussion. The leader of the group will not be lecturing but will encourage people to discuss what they have learned from the study and exercise. Plan to share what God has taught you. Try to be sensitive to the other members of the group. Listen attentively when they speak, and be affirming whenever you can. This will encourage more hesitant members of the group to participate. Be careful not to dominate the discussion. By all means participate, but allow others to have equal time. If you are a group leader or a participant who wants further insights, you will find additional comments in the Leader’s Guide at the back of the study.

      We believe that your ongoing journey through this material will place you on an exciting path of spiritual adventure. Through your individual study time and group discussions, we trust you will enter into a fresh concept of spiritual life that will delight the heart of God … and your heart too!

      Ten Core Values

      for Spiritual Formation

      Spiritual transformation …

      … is essential, not optional, for Christ-followers.

      … is a process, not an event.

      … is God’s work, but requires my participation.

      … involves those practices, experiences, and relationships that help me live intimately with Christ and walk as if he were in my place.

      … is not a compartmentalized pursuit. God is not interested in my spiritual life; he’s interested in my life—all of it.

      … can happen in every moment. It is not restricted to certain times or practices.

      … is not individualistic, but takes place in community and finds expression in serving others.

      … is not impeded by a person’s background, temperament, life situation, or season of life. It is available right now to all who desire it.

      … and the means of pursuing it, will vary from one individual to another. Fully devoted followers are handcrafted, not mass-produced.

      … is ultimately gauged by an increased capacity to love God and people. Superficial or external checklists cannot measure it.

      Gifts: The Joy of Serving God

      After forty years of faithful service to the company, Jerry was finally getting his reward—a formal retirement banquet held in his honor. When the night arrived, everyone showed up looking their best. White-gloved attendants served all of the meal’s courses, but as the night progressed, people looked around nervously. Where was the guest of honor?

      After dessert, the CEO of the company got up to speak, awkwardly confessing that no one had seen Jerry. Suddenly, one of the servers came bursting out of the kitchen. Jerry was back there—up to his elbows in soapy water! He had been part of the festivities all night, but he had been waiting on his guests, unrecognized. Now he was doing the dishes.

      It’s a ridiculous story, right? What guest of honor would spend his moment of glory doing the dirty work for others? You can be the guest of honor, we’d say, or you can be the busboy. But you can’t be both.

      Unless, of course, you’re talking about Jesus. At the last banquet Jesus had with his disciples, he was the guest of honor, supreme leader, king—and the towel-wrapped busboy, servant, and footwasher. The Son of God was also the Son of Man, who did not come to be served, but to serve.

      It is perhaps the supreme paradox in God’s kingdom. Greatness and servanthood are not simply compatible; they are synonymous. No one will know greatness in his kingdom without knowing servanthood. No one.

      Serving may sound like a grudging task we have to gut out by

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