Sermon Response Guide
PRIMARY SCRIPTURE:
Romans 12:1-8
1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
Key Points
- We are united in our worship of God in response to God’s great love for us.
- To worship God is to pour out our lives to God wherever we are, whoever we are with, and in whatever we are doing.
- When we welcome Jesus to be the one who transforms and renews us, we will be united. When we welcome the world to shape and guide us, we will be divided.
- In the Kingdom of God, we need each other. We were designed by God to grow together.
- God has given each of us gifts to share with one another as we serve the Lord together.
- Unity is fostered by using our God-given gifts for the growth of the body of Christ and the glory of God.
- Here at PCBC, we are committed to living in unity.
Memory Verse
Ask God to write this word on your heart this week:
“so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.”
-Romans 12:5
Questions for Reflection
Take time to reflect and respond to these questions on your own in the presence of the Holy Spirit, or with trusted friends or family members:
1: When you envision unity in the body of Christ, what do you imagine?
2: How have you personally suffered from a lack of unity in the body of Christ?
3: How have you personally been encouraged by true unity in the body of Christ?
4: Why do you think God chooses to give us different gifts for the growth of the body of Christ and the glory of God?
· What does that teach us about God?
· What does that teach us about children of God (people)?
5: How might using our God-given gifts for the growth of the body of Christ and the glory of God help foster unity among us as a local and global faith family?
6: What gift(s) do you think God has God given you for the growth of the body of Christ and the glory of God?
7: What do you sense God doing in and through PCBC in these days that God has uniquely created and positioned you to contribute to for such a time as this?
8: Where, with whom, and/or how can you tangibly share your God-given gift(s) while you are planted here at PCBC?
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Pray
Lord, thank you for loving us like only you can. Help us to see how – by grace – you have united us together with you. Help us to believe – by grace – you can unite us with one another. Show us how you have uniquely created us to contribute to unity in the body of Christ, both locally and globally. Then, give us the courage and endurance to walk in the way you make for us to live in true unity for the glory of your name.
