** Unlocked은 Keys for kids Ministries에서 지원받은 프로그램입니다. 원본으로 듣고 싶으신 분들은 홈페이지 Unlocked.org로 들어가시면 < February 1, 2022>에서 다시 들으실 수 있습니다.**
Your Unique Gifts
• Romans 12:3–8, 1 Corinthians 12:12–31, Colossians 3:14–16
In high school, I wanted to be like my friend Alyssa. Alyssa has a passion for loving others. She’s outgoing and good at making friends. I admire how she and her family often travel to serve communities that are struggling.
I’ve been out of high school for seven years now, and I wish I’d known sooner that God gives us different gifts. While love and service are important to all of us who follow Christ, my gifts are different from Alyssa’s. I love and serve differently than she does. And that’s okay. God didn’t create us all to be preachers. He didn’t create us all to prophesy on street corners. He didn’t create us all to be teachers.
No, in His great grace and love, God has given us each unique gifts that we can use to love and serve Him. The Bible says the church is the body of Christ. Everyone who has put their trust in Jesus is part of the body, though we are all different (1 Corinthians 12:27). There is great freedom in this truth. Imagine how boring the world would be if we all had the same gifts. Imagine how challenging it would be for the church to move together as one body.
In Romans 12:6-8, Paul writes, “If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.”
Friends, we are free to love God and love others with the gifts God has given us. We don’t have to love and serve the same way. Like a body, the church needs different parts, and it needs people with different gifts. Let’s embrace the gifts God has given us as we become the hands and feet of Jesus in a broken world. • Becca Wierwille
• Have you ever wished you could be more like someone else? Consider taking a moment to thank God for how He made this person, and also thank Him for how He made you.
• What natural abilities and spiritual gifts has God given you? How might God be inviting you to use your unique gifts to serve others?
We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. Romans 12:6 (NIV)
** Unlocked은 Keys for kids Ministries에서 지원받은 프로그램입니다. 원본으로 듣고 싶으신 분들은 홈페이지 Unlocked.org로 들어가시면 < February 02, 2022>에서 다시 들으실 수 있습니다.**
When Things Are Falling Apart
• Romans 8:22–39
God is always at work. But because we are just human and we can only see a small portion of the big picture, sometimes we get so discouraged when it feels like things are falling apart...because we don’t know what’s going to come next. But God does. God knows what needs to work out and what needs to fail. He knows what is best for us in the end.
God’s power is amazing. So often we underestimate the things that He can do through us when we are at our weakest. In our pain, He has compassion on us; He comforts and strengthens us. When we feel like we have nothing left to give, He can still do great things through us. Even in our disappointment, we can share the hope of Jesus with others.
Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Specifically, God is planning to renew His creation...including us! If we’ve put our trust in Jesus, we get to look forward to living in renewed creation with Him, where all our deepest desires will be fully satisfied in His wonderful presence.
Until that day, life can be really hard as we experience the brokenness caused by sin. But we can rest because God knows the desires of our hearts, and He cares about us deeply. He knows what is best for us in the end, and He is worthy of our trust. We can leave it all to Him. And when we lay our lives before Him and ask Him to work through us, we get to be part of the good things God is doing here and now!
Life isn’t always easy, but we can trust that everything will turn out according to God’s ultimate plan to save the world. So often we underestimate God and His power. It’s mind-boggling that He can use every situation for good. He knows much more about what is going on than we do, and He is always working to defeat evil, heal brokenness, and draw us close to Himself. • Bethany Acker
• Can you think of one way you’ve seen God work in your life? Consider taking a moment to thank Him for this.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 (NIV)
