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GROUP GUIDEBrentwood BaptistEverybody on MissionEphesians 4:11-16?Oct 11, 2020MAIN POINT2020 has been a year of accelerated change and challenge. One of the opportunities for the church in 2021 is to recover the basics of ministry and rediscover the God-given capacity of the church to adapt.? In a post-Covid-19, postmodern world, ministry isn’t just about an hour on Sundays anymore, it’s about living out the mission every day (Acts 5:42).?God uses your passions and experiences to shape a new calling in your life that brings purpose and meaning. Jesus intends the church that bears his name to reflect his nature as a diversity of believers function in unity as one body for His glory and our joy.?INTRODUCTIONAs your group time begins, ask:Do a quick count of the number of full-time jobs you’ve had (including being a stay-at-home parent).Where do you serve in your community: civic organizations, sports clubs, volunteer services, etc.Where do you serve in the church: ministries or missions? Why did you pick this particular ministry? (notice who is not serving in the church).God has created each of us uniquely, and the passions and talents we have are gifts from Him. Sometimes, though, we allow these passions to consume us and create an identity for us. Like a brass ring that we obsess over, our career pursuits can consume us. No calling can give you the ultimate validation that you crave. Through faith in Christ, God uses our passions and experiences to shape new callings in our lives that bring purpose and meaning.UNDERSTANDINGHave a volunteer read Ephesians 4:11-12.In Ephesians 4, Paul focused his letter on church life. One of the important aspects of church life he wanted to highlight is the unique spiritual gifts and callings God has given us. All spiritual gifts are important and are needed by the church. He pointed to this truth by first mentioning, in general, the gifts of all believers (4:7). Then he went on to discuss Christian leaders who had been given special gifts (4:11). Every disciple of Jesus has a responsibility to discover their role in the body of Christ. Ministry isn’t one size fits all because Christ takes special delight in giving spiritual gifts and a sacred sense of calling to each believer that contributes in a unique way to one mission: multiplying disciples of Jesus.What do you understand to be the purpose of spiritual gifts?Verse 9 explains that before He could ascend to heaven, Christ first descended from heaven to earth. In verse 8 (quoting from Psalm 68:18), Paul compared Christ to a victorious warrior who returns home from battle with enemy captives, distributing gifts from the spoils of war. When Jesus returned to heaven victorious over sin and death, He gave spiritual gifts to His church in order to help it grow and impact the world.Have a volunteer read Ephesians 4:13-16.How might we contrast mature and immature believers? How does maturity enhance our unity as a church?What did Paul say is the cure for immaturity and instability in our faith?In your own words, what does it mean to speak the truth in love?Paul referred to spiritual maturity as a benefit and goal of unity in the church. In a healthy, unified body, individual believers grow from infancy (little children) to adulthood (mature man, 4:13), or from immaturity to maturity. As we remember who we are and whose we are, we grow to be more Christ-like.? The cure for immaturity is speaking the truth. Yet this truth is to be expressed in love with compassion and understanding. Truth without love can be cold and harsh; love without truth can be mushy and weak. When members of a church intentionally embrace both truth and love, they will grow in Christ together.What do we learn from Paul’s analogy of the church as a body building itself up in love? What does this reveal about God’s purpose for our lives?Share where/how you have observed Christians working together to build up the church?Paul described the church as a single body with Christ as the head, or the director of operations. At the same time, the body (the local congregation) has many parts that need to work together. The unique nature of the church is a diverse body of believers functioning together in unity.? An individual church member is a supporting ligament or an individual part (see also 1 Cor. 12:14-21). Each part has been fitted and knit together by the Lord with all the other parts. With the proper working of each part, the body will do what it’s supposed to do. When believers in a congregation function properly, this promotes the growth of the body for building up itself in love.What is the end result of building up the body that occurs when believers use their gifts and work together? How are we doing as a church in reaching this goal?How can using your passions and gifts help sustain your connection to Christ? How might using your passions and gifts help you mature spiritually?Every member of the body of Christ contributes to the growth and maturity of the Church as a whole. Through faith in Christ, God uses our passions and experiences to shape new callings in our lives that bring purpose and meaning. Remind the Group that the Brentwood Baptist Discover Class includes a gifts and passion study for free.? There are also coaches who can help each member find a place of service using those gifts and passions. Sign up for the next Discover class at your group identify how the truths from the Scripture passage apply directly to their lives.The giftings and talents God gives us are intended to be used to point other people to Jesus and to draw us closer to Him.The ministries of our church are designed to help us realize who we are in Christ and how we are to live out His purposes for Him. Do you agree or disagree with the statement: "Serving in your gifting and passion is never a drain on your energy"???How can this Group help you take the next step in discovering and committing your gifts for ministry and mission? ?PRAYERGive you group members the opportunity to voice silent prayers to God asking for direction in using their gifts and passions. Then ask God to show you the ways He intends for you to use your gifts and passions in order to serve Him and His MENTARYEphesians 4:11-164:11. Our exalted Lord has distributed gifts as He wishes. Although each believer has at least one spiritual gift, Paul focused on the gifted leaders Jesus personally gave so that congregations will grow.Apostles (literally, sent ones) refers to those Christ personally commissioned. These were essential for the foundation of the church (2:20). There are no more apostles in this sense, although today’s cross-cultural missionaries are similar in the sense they are sent out by the Lord.Prophets spoke messages inspired by God (3:5). Paul connected this group with the foundational stage of the church in 2:20. Our New Testament is the written words of the apostles and prophets. There are no more prophets in this sense, although today’s preachers, we trust, deliver messages from God.Evangelists can make the gospel especially clear and relevant to unbelievers. Every Christian is called on to be a witness for Christ, but some are especially capable in this area. In a local congregation, gifted evangelists will encourage other believers in how to reach persons for Christ.Pastors and teachers provide leadership for local congregations. Pastors is literally shepherds, referring to the need for God’s flock to be tended (1 Pet. 5:2). One way that shepherds tend is by feeding the sheep (teaching the Word). In the original language, Paul might have been referring to a single gifted person, the pastor-teacher. It has well been said that every pastor must be a teacher of God’s Word, but that gifted teachers may not be called as pastors of local churches.4:12. It is not the task of these gifted people to do all the work of the ministry. Their task is to prepare God’s people for works of service. When believers are equipped and people accept the adventure of ministering to others, then the whole body is built up, matured, strengthened, and flourishes.4:13. Diverse gifts create and build up one body in unity. This unity is in faith and knowledge of Christ. Christ does not try to build up superstars in his kingdom with superior faith or superior knowledge. He tries to build up a church unified in its faith and knowledge, each member being built up to maturity. All are to reach the fullness of Christ. The church’s goal is that each member and thus the entire church will show to the world all the attributes and qualities of Christ. Then the church will truly be the one body of Christ.4:14-16. The result of these spiritually gifted people’s equipping the saints is that believers are not to be like children, easily persuaded and confused, jumping from one opinion or belief to the next, like waves on the sea being driven by gusting winds of false teaching. Rather, the believers are to speaking the truth in love. Speaking the truth in love is a mark of maturity, which will enable us to grow up spiritually. Immature people often fall into one of two opposite errors. They speak the truth, but without love, or they love without speaking the truth. When we do the first, we often brutalize others, pounding them with truth but doing it in an unloving way. When we do the second, we don’t tell others the truth, thinking that by shielding them from the truth we are sparing them from pain. We are not, however. All we are doing is delaying their maturation. To share the truth with our fellow believers is a mark of maturity, but to do it with love, with understanding, with compassion. From Christ the whole body is gifted, and as each one uses his gift for the benefit of others, the whole body matures. We must recognize that we belong to one another, we need one another, no matter how insignificant we think our contribution is.4:14. The Ephesian church, as most of the churches Paul wrote, faced teachers with opposing viewpoints. They divided the church body into factions, each opposing the others. Their presence required the type of spiritual maturity and church unity Paul had described. Without such unity the church would act like a group of babies, each crying out because of his own pains and needs, each inconsistently saying one thing and then another, each at the mercy of cunning, deceitful teachers. To avoid infantile behavior, the church must mature into unity of the faith and of knowledge of Christ.4:15. Such maturity involves teaching the truth in love. False teachers showed no love or care for the members; they simply wanted to get their own way. Mature believers search for the truth as a united body, loving and caring for the needs of each member. Such loving, caring search for truth allows them to grow as members of the body whose head is Christ, for Christ is the truth.4:16. The head allows each part of the body to mature and grow, not concentrating on special knowledge and growth for a favored few. Each of the parts of the body is needed to hold the whole body together in unity. The body is truly a maturing, loving body only as each part is encouraged to grow and do its part of the work. ................
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