Spiritual Gifts Sermon - Using Your GPS

Romans 12 and Your GPS: Gifts, Passions, Skills

Romans 12 shows us how to stop drifting and start discerning. It reminds us that each person has God-given gifts, passions, and skills—a spiritual GPS—to help them serve with clarity and joy. Paul isn’t hyping up the church; he’s trying to hold it together. His answer to division and disconnection is simple: act like a body. That means everyone has a role, no part is useless, and we grow stronger when we work together. You have something in you that God can use—on purpose, for a purpose.

 Introduction

We want to know where we’re going in life. There are times we wonder, “What school should I go to? What should I study? What kind of career should I choose?” Then we come to church and we want to own our faith, chip in, join the mission, and give of ourselves, but how? Which volunteer opportunity would fuel me up and be a good fit? Friends or family members open up to us and talk about changing careers or trying to make a right move and we want to be helpful, but what guiding principles can we share?

Some of us were told what not to do, or what we are not good at. But very few of us had someone look at us and name the good that God has placed in us. Few of us were told, “Here’s what I see in you. Here’s what I think God might want to grow in you.”

And in the confusion, we drift. We stall out. We feel stuck or underused. People sit on gifts they don’t know they have. Passions lay dormant. Skills go unused.

Clarity would give us confidence in our process of discernment and discovery. If you’ve ever wondered about any of what I just shared, if you’ve wondered how to find your way through life, where to volunteer, how to think about career moves, or how to help others, then GPS can help you.

I’m not talking about the gps in your phone that helps get you from here to here. This GPS stands for gifts, passions, and skills. Understanding what your gifts, passions, and skills are can help you navigate your decision making process of discovery and discernment, as you try to do something that brings glory to God, uplift to others, and satisfaction to yourself.

You do have something in you that God can use. Your gifts, passions, and skills are not accidents. They are placed in you by God – on purpose, for a purpose.

The psalmist says as much, “God, you knit me in my mother’s womb.” In the darkness and the mystery of our mother’s womb, God made us on purpose, for a purpose, and gives us gifts, passions, and skills that end up helping us shine the light of God’s glory in the world.

And the Apostle Paul would think about this topic as well.

Let’s turn to Romans 12 and listen to how Paul speaks to people just like us – ordinary folks trying to find their place in God’s mission where they live.

How Important Are Your Spiritual Gifts?

In Romans 12, Paul doesn’t talk like a motivational speaker. He’s not trying to hype them up or give them a feel-good message. He’s trying to save their church.

When Paul wrote this letter, he had not yet met them. He is hoping to visit them soon, so he writes this letter, which covers a whole range of very sensitive topics so they know where he stands. But the church is in trouble.

He’s writing to Jewish and Gentile Christians who are trying to figure out how to be the church together after a lot of cultural and religious tension. The Roman emperor had expelled Jews from Rome about 10 years earlier (Acts 18:2). When the Jews were allowed to return, the Jewish Christians found that the church had changed—it was now mostly Gentile. And the Gentiles, for 10 years, had the church look a certain way, and then with the return of the Jewish Christians, they were having to learn what it means to grow and adapt. 

And Paul puts it to them plainly. You want to save your church? You want to see bickering and confusion die down? Then function like a body—work together, allow differences, and grow together. He says that everyone in the church has something they can offer that builds the church, unifies the congregation, glorifies God, and spreads the gospel.

Maybe behind the scenes one group says of another, “I just don’t know what they can contribute.” And Paul answers that clearly, “You have something in you that God can use. Don’t hold back. It is part of what it means to be a Christian.  Your gifts, passions, and skills matter. So don’t just be a taker. Be a giver and see your life grow and your church as well.

Sometimes we think like this: On Sunday, I’m going to worship, pray, and hear the gospel and I’m going to get feed and uplifted. And that is true. We pray that is true. But in a Christian congregation, it’s not just about us. It’s about the other person. I’m here for you. You are here for one another. Church includes us, but it is not about us. Church is about us turning our attention to others and being present for them.

That’s why the after-worship coffee hour is so important. It helps us connect and care for one another. It helps you be there for them. It helps them be there for you. So please, make your presence known at coffee hour.

 “For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another.” What Paul is saying is this: when you say you belong to the Church, the church is people. When we say we belong to the church, we are saying that I belong to them. This is my group.  

We don’t belong to buildings. We belong to God and the people God has gathered.  

So the church is a gathered people who are gifted by God. Paul says, “We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us.”

In other words, you are part of something bigger than just your own life. You’re part of the body of Christ. And bodies only work when all the parts show up and do what they were made to do.

Differences are Divine

Our differences are not flaws. That’s the design. Some of us will be wired for teaching, encouragement, serving, organizing, giving, preaching, music, praying, showing compassion, or something else. And when we realize that and serve others with it, magical things happen.

Paul isn’t listing all the gifts in existence. He’s making the point –you have something and it is not random. It is given by grace. It’s useful. It matters. And when you offer your gifts, passions, or skills for others, that’s meaningful worship.

Hey, Freedom Plains, you were created with something to offer. And the more you know how you are gifted, what you care about, and what you’re good at, the more clearly you’ll see where God can use you to make a difference.

Your GPS isn’t just for you—it’s how God equips you to love others

And if we all want a stronger church then we get there when we all start using our GPS – gifts, passions, and skills.

Let’s talk about GPS.

What are Gifts, Passions, and Skills?

Gifts – these are things God-given. They are what you are naturally good at. You can grow and hone your giftings through experience, accepting feedback, and reflection.

Your gifts are the things God has planted in you that come alive when you use them. They’re often named in scripture: encouragement, hospitality, teaching, healing, leadership, discernment, wisdom, poetry, music, decision-making, intercession/prayer, craftsmanship, mercy, teaching, generosity, faith, and evangelism. But sometimes they’re named differently – things like storytelling, humor, organizing chaos, welcoming strangers, or various types of creativity.

Passions – Passions are different. These are the things you care about deeply. They make you cry, make your angry, or make you lose track of time. Passions are where your heart leans. They’re often shaped by life experience-joys, wounds, and turning points.

Some of you are passionate about kids. Others are passionate about justice. Or prayer. Or caregiving. Or animals. Or environmental stewardship. Or helping newcomers feel at home.

I am passionate about communicating the good gospel of God that is found in Jesus Christ to people of all kinds of faith so that they may be encouraged to take the next step in owning their faith or joining the mission of the church. It combines 2 of my gifts: encouragement and teaching.

I don’t have to try to like that passion. It is there. 

Pay attention to what stirs you. Heather reminded me of something that theologian Frederick Buechner once said: “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”

Where is that for you?

Skills - Skills are the practical tools and abilities you’ve picked up. Maybe through work, school, parenting, relationships, volunteering, or even hobbies.

It could be musical, craftsmanship, fixing things, organizing things. It could be technology or something academic.

Last month when we served with Hope on a Mission by serving food in the city of Poughkeepsie, I talked to one of the volunteers. She is a dental hygienist who was also going to school to become a dentist. I noticed her shirt, and she told me she received it when she participated in a free dental clinic that went into an underserved, resource-poor community and provided free dental care.  She was smiling so big as she spoke about it. Think about the intersection of gifts, passions, and skills there.

It's all connected. When we do this, when we live more into those gifts, passions, and skills, we put ourselves in a place of helping others and becoming who God wants us to be.  

Paul is right, this is how a church works, becomes stronger and more Christlike.

And, that’s why our committees are so important. Our committees empower people to use their gifts, passions, and skills.

I noticed this in the power of a meal train. You know, someone gets sick or experiences a death, and the church provides meals for a period of time. The church always has people who love to cook and show love through food – and God bless ‘em. They are there on the sidelines ready. Another person has the gift of organization or administration and organizes it. They themselves may not cook, but they are passionate about helping others. So they use their gift of administration which facilitates all of these bakers and cookers in the church, and the church is built, connected, and sharing love. It’s beautiful. It’s genius. It’s us.  

I want to encourage you to investigate our committees. Which one aligns with your gifts, passions, or skills?

You have something to give to this church. What is it?

So, let’s all get in where we fit in and help make the body of Christ stronger.