Term 4 2017: Spiritual Gifts
In Spring 2017 we will be teaching on spiritual gifts on Sundays and in groups.
On this page:
Sunday teaching
Our Sunday teaching on the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts will start 15 October and will cover things like:
About the Holy Spirit // What are ‘spiritual gifts’? // Purpose of the gifts // When, why and how we are given the gifts // Some teaching on specific gifts // Opportunities to put the gifts into practice in our gatherings and throughout the week
In our groups we can build on this teaching by:
Reflecting on the Sunday talks // Discussing spiritual gifts (we will provide some suggested conversation starters) // Doing a ‘spiritual gifts’ questionnaire (if appropriate for your group) // Giving opportunity to use the gifts when you meet together (this will already be happening naturally)
Key messages
The main bible passages that we will be referring to are:
When talking about spiritual gifts in our groups, here are a few basic points we want to get across:
- The Holy Spirit is alive and active: a counsellor, helper, comforter and equipper.
- Spiritual gifts come from the Holy Spirit. We don’t need to try and generate the gifts ourselves!
- Spiritual gifts are tools not trophies. They are tools the Spirit gives us to help people, not things we put on a shelf to admire occasionally!
- We don’t need to compare ourselves to others, because the Holy Spirit knows what gifts are needed in each person for each situation.
- We trust that the Spirit will equip us with whatever gifts we need in each circumstance, but there may be particular gifts that we operate in more often than other gifts.
- We recognise that we sometimes need to do things that we don’t ‘feel gifted’ in, in order to help the body of Christ do the work of the Kingdom.
Questionnaire
We have a 'Spiritual Gifts Questionnaire' by C. Peter Wagner available if you would like to use it. You don’t have to do it, but it can be a good ‘thought starter’ to get people thinking about how God might be using them at the moment.
Download a PDF version here (This downloadable version looks different to what we used together so take a few minutes before group to familiarise yourself with it).
Allow at least 30 minutes to explain and do the questionnaire, then another 30 minutes for discussion afterwards. Provide pencils and surfaces to write on. Before starting, read out the instructions on the front of the questionnaire.
Things to remember when explaining this questionnaire to your group:
- The reason we do this questionnaire is to help us think through how God might be working through us at the moment.
- The results of this questionnaire are not ‘labels for life’; rather they are ‘musings for this moment’. We trust the Spirit to equip us with the gifts we need for the season we are in. We could do the questionnaire in ten years’ time with different results! We want to remain open to the Spirit equipping us in all sorts of ways, not just in the gifts we identify in this questionnaire.
- The results of this questionnaire don’t define who we are; they describe how God might be using us. Our identity is not in any spiritual gift; our identity is as a child of God!
- This questionnaire is not completely objective. Our results are affected by our conscious or unconscious bias. So treat this as a thought-starter and not as a scientific assessment!
Helpful resources
CLICK HERE for some talks and a big list of books that might be helpful for you or people in your group who want to dig deeper into spiritual gifts and who the Holy Spirit is. For details on any of these or recommendations on books for specific people in your group, chat to Brent.
We will add links to other resources as we go.
Support for you
Each group is different, so we don't expect all groups to have the same level of discussion about spiritual gifts. You know your groups, so please use your judgement in deciding how to facilitate your discussions. If you would like guidance, tips or someone to bounce things off, speak to any of the Redhill Leaders: Brent, Jill, Emily, Vaughan, Candace, Andrew.
