Nov. 6, 2015: IMPORTANT PIECES

A few years ago, my nephew had asked for a LEGO set for his birthday, but my parents decided that a LEGO knock-off toy would be just as good. While the box they gave him looked kind of like LEGO, there were some noticeable differences. The knock-off minifigures were a sickly grey colour, as if they had caught some horrible disease while travelling in the box from overseas. But perhaps worst of all, the box was full of missing pieces! While the box had an instruction booklet showing all of the things you could build, it didn't contain the correct bricks so that he could build any of the vehicles! It was almost as if the machine just randomly dumped pieces in the box just to ensure it was the correct weight! It was painful to watch my brother try to coax his little boy to say 'thank you' for that gift. The air was thick with his disappointment.

That knock-off LEGO gift made me think of a weird Bible passage in 1 Corinthians 12:14-21. It talks about how our human bodies are made of all kinds of different parts that each have a unique purpose. All of those body parts work together in unison to carry out whatever tasks they are given by Mr. Brain. Well, Paul, in this passage uses this illustration of a human body, to describe the church community! He's saying that, all of us have a unique role to play. We all have unique skills, interests and gifts to offer in order to help the church fulfill its mission (to show and tell the Good News of God's love with others).

Are you actively involved in the church community? Are you a part of the "body of Christ"? Are you serving and volunteering in a way that suits your skills and interests? A lot of people think of the church as someplace we go maybe once or twice a week, but the Bible tells us that the church is something WE ARE! It's a community that we're supposed to be a part of! If you're not involved, than the church is missing some important pieces! My nephew just couldn't build what he wanted to without the correct pieces, and in the same way, the church just can't be as effective as it could be if everyone isn't plugged in, offering their skills and interests to God in a way that only each one of us can.

If you're actively involved, volunteering in some capacity in the church community, I want to say thank you! The simple truth is that without all of these "important pieces", we just couldn't do what we do each week, or wouldn't be able to do those things half as good.

If you're someone who just shows up on a Sunday, or just hangs out at Catalyst, I want to encourage you to think about ways that you can offer your skills and interests in a way that benefits the body (the church). Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians that EVERYBODY has a role to play. EVERYBODY has something valuable to offer. Being a Christian isn't a solo game, it's multiplayer!

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. Is your teen volunteering/serving in their church community or at CATALYST? Take a few minutes to talk about all of the things they do and why their service is so valuable. Tell them that you're proud of them!
(Someone who helps in the nursery gives parents a break from their kids to enjoy the service and shows young families that we care about them! Without someone running the powerpoint slides or projection at church, singing songs of worship together would be just impossible, and a visitor would just be totally lost! Someone who is a part of a "welcome team" can make someone visiting a new place for the first time feel a lot more comfortable.)

2. If your teen (or even you) is not actively involved in the church community, write a list of the things that you really love to do. What are your unique skills? What are your interests? What are your talents? Ask God to help show you how you might use those skills/interests to serve Him as a part of the church! Talk to Pastor Ben (or one of your pastors if you go to a different church) about how you could use those skills and interests to help do what we do better either on Sundays or at CATALYST. Without you, our church, and our youth group, is missing some important pieces. Without you, we just can't be as awesome as we could be.