Nov 10 2008
Bible Study Week 28 - Becoming Like Christ in Serving Others
Purpose of This Bible Study Lesson
Today’s lesson will help the participants to understand the principle of serving others with the gifts that God has given us. Since our desire is to become like Christ, we should serve others just as Christ has served us with great humility.
Learning Goals
This lesson will guide the participants to:-
- Learn how to serve others with the gifts God has given
- Learn how to become like Christ in serving others.
- Discover how serving others help you to grow and glorify God
Introduction
In 1 Peter 4:101 Peter 4:10
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
10 according as each hath received a gift, ministering it among yourselves, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God;
we read that “Each one, as a good manager of God’s different gifts, must use for the good of others the special gift he has received from God. There are many people today who have received gifts from God and they do not know how they are supposed to use these gifts to edify others. Today we will learn how to identify the gifts that God has given each of us and how to put them to use in our local church.
Begin Today’s Lesson by Reading: Gen 45. 1 Sam 16:14 -231 Sam 16:14 -23
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
14 Now the Spirit of Jehovah departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from Jehovah troubled him.
15 And Saul's servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.
16 Let our lord now command thy servants, that are before thee, to seek out a man who is a skilful player on the harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well.
17 And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me.
18 Then answered one of the young men, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Beth-lehemite, that is skilful in playing, and a mighty man of valor, and a man of war, and prudent in speech, and a comely person; and Jehovah is with him.
19 Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, who is with the sheep.
20 And Jesse took an ass [laden] with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent them by David his son unto Saul.
21 And David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became his armorbearer.
22 And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favor in my sight.
23 And it came to pass, when the [evil] spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took the harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.
and 1 John 1:6-71 John 1:6-7
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
6 If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in the darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
7 but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
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Team Work
Team work is a biblical principle because even when God created the Universe, He did not do it by Himself but He involved the other members of the Trinity. In Gen 1:2Gen 1:2
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
2 And the earth was waste and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep: and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
we see that the Holy Spirit “moved upon the face of the earth”, and therefore God accomplished the work of creation in 6 days.
The term TEAM can be taken as an acronym of: Together Everyone Achieves More. It is common sense that very little can be achieved by one person, and this fact was demonstrated by Jesus Christ himself when he chose the twelve disciples to do ministry with him. As the Son of God, Jesus could have chosen to do things differently and even work by himself, but he chose the disciples to train them for the larger task of reaching the whole world.
When using firewood for fire, the logs have to remain close together in order to achieve maximum potential and if one of the logs is removed from the fire and isolated, then it eventually loses its fire and becomes cold and useless. The same applies to those Christians who choose not to fellowship with the others and deny their church the use of their gifts, because sooner than later, they become cold and isolated and the gifts begin to wane.
In summary therefore, let us remember that we are striving to become like Jesus and one major quality that distinguished Jesus as a man was the ability to serve others with humility. Even after he left earth, he still promised the disciples that he will send them a “helper” the Holy Spirit. May we become like Christ in the area of serving others with the gifts that God has bestowed upon each of us.
In the reading passage today, we see how Joseph served his brothers in Egypt without counting the sins that they had committed unto him previously. One way that the devil always wants to kill Christian ministry is by making people keep an account of the wrong things that others have done towards them, because the devil knows that by doing so, the person is rendered useless in the service of God and the church.
Let us therefore not deceive ourselves because “if we keep living in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, . .”. (1 Jn 1:71 Jn 1:7
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
7 but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
) Team Work involves fellowship with one another.
Bible Study Questions For Discussion - Week 28
- What do you think Peter means by saying “for the good of others” in 1 Peter 4:101 Peter 4:10
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
10 according as each hath received a gift, ministering it among yourselves, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God; ? Please explain
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. - Why do you think Peter wants you to serve others with the gifts that God has given you in 1 Peter 4:101 Peter 4:10
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
10 according as each hath received a gift, ministering it among yourselves, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God; ? Please explain
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. - How can you know the gift(s) that God has given you today as a child of God? Please explain
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. - How does serving others with your gift help you to become like Jesus today? Please explain
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. - Why do you think Joseph helped his brothers in Egypt? Please explain using Gen 45:5Gen 45:5
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
5 And now be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. - Do you think serving others helps to accomplish God’s purposes in your life ? Please explain using Gen 45:5Gen 45:5
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
5 And now be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. -6
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. - What lesson do you learn from reading 1 Sam. 14-23? Please explain
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. - In your own words please explain briefly why you think Team Work is important in church today. Please explain
…………………………… Tags: Bible lessons, Bible study, Bible study guide
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