How do we steward the gifts that God has given us? This week we will look at stewardship of our own gifts and also a bit about service and leadership (because we will be picking new leadership for CCF at the beginning of next term, and now is a good time to start thinking about whether you will serve through leadership next year).
Additionally, I encourage you to come to the CCF Prayer Meeting this coming Saturday (Feb. 4). It is a place where I learned a lot about my gifts as a Christian through the mentorship of the older folks who watch over CCF.
Finally—our Large Group homework—have we been putting our gifts to good use and stewarding them well? Have we been living out what talk about in Large Group? Have we been inviting friends to join in Christian community? Are we spending time together and growing in love with each other as a community? Are we reaching out to those who are struggling? I encourage us to consider these matters and pray in the Spirit that we might die to ourselves and become more like Jesus every day!
Love in Christ,
Peter
P.S. Potential leadership positions! Email Robb, me, or CCF Council (ccf-council@caltech.edu) with any inquiries! Also, CCF Council meetings are open to everyone—they are Thursdays at 12:10 just outside the Red Door Café—please stop by if you want :)
President—makes sure things happen in CCF, usually leads council meetings, is spiritual cover for CCF, and takes care of miscellaneous things
Secretary—takes notes at council, is in charge of treasury things, does reimbursements, mostly behind the scenes things
LG Coordinator—leads Large Group (doesn’t have to do it the way I do!)
SG leader—leads a small group (about bible study/worship/service/
Event Coordinator—Might take on some or all of the following roles:
Retreat Coordinator—plans and does logistics for retreats each term
SG Coordinator—makes sure small groups are happening
Dig-In Dude—organizes a major (day or 2-day (even better!)) bible-study once per term
Turtle prayer coordinator—makes sure someone is there (themselves or a delegate) is at Turtle Pond for prayer every day
Let me know if anyone notices that I forgot a role!
P.P.S. I have attached this week’s discussion prompts; please reply (or reply-all!) to start a discussion if any of these catches your eye.
1.
Let’s
start with arguably the best-known parable in the bible about stewardship: the
parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30
or Luke 19:12-28).
a.
What
is the main point of this parable? Who is the master? Who are the servants?
What do the bags of money/minas represent?
b.
Things
do not go well for the lazy, wicked servant (Matthew 25:26-30); what does this tell us about the kingdom of God? Notice also that the servant makes excuses (Matthew 25:24-25). How does the master respond?
c.
Is
the reward that the master gives to the diligent servants here on Earth, or
something to look forward to in heaven? How does this story fit into the rest
of scripture? Perhaps think about the Luke version and the conjunction of Luke 19:26 and 19:27. Consider also Luke 8:16-18 and any other biblical
evidence you can think of.
2.
Next
let’s think about Ecclesiastes: a
book about the meaning of life and toil and labor under the sun (and, of
course, about Jesus!) written by King Solomon.
a.
Ecclesiastes
has a lot to tell us about the purpose of life, our talents, and our labor, and
gives context for how to steward our gifts. (I highly suggest reading it
because it’s a good book for young people—our age—who are pondering the purpose
of their life.) Let’s start with Ecclesiastes
1:1-11 and Ecclesiastes 3:1-14).
Does it make sense to use our talents on ourselves? Will our use of our talents
always look the same throughout our lives (the Ecclesiastes 3 passage)?
b.
Now
let’s think about “the conclusion of the matter” (Ecclesiastes 12, especially 12:13-14).
Compare this with Ecclesiastes 9:9-10.
Now, compare this with the parable of the talents! What do Ecclesiastes and
this parable have to tell us about stewardship, our talents, and the reward for
talents put to good use (e.g. Matthew
25:19-23 and question 1c). Is everything meaningless? (Or only meaningless
without God?). How then should we use our talents?
3.
What
are our talents? How should we use them? As you read through these callings,
consider your personal talents and how you fit in the body of Christ (recall 1 Corinthians 12), and how they might
apply to you—I encourage sharing your thoughts with the group you’re in! God did give you talents and has a plan for
you (see Psalm 139:13-16 and Jeremiah 1:5 for encouragement).
a.
Tell
others in your group about one of your talents.
b.
Each
person (person A) pick one other person (person B) in their group and A tell the
group what they see is B’s talent.
c.
Now
let’s think about some universal callings.
d.
Personal
callings and prayer. Psalm 1:1-3.
How do we know whether we’re doing the right thing? Share about times when God
has directed you specifically.
e.
How
do we support each other to steward our gifts well? I’m hinting at thinking
about topics from previous large groups! :)
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