Sermon

God's Tool Box

Theme

The church, service to God.

Object

A tool box full of tools

Scripture

There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us. 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 (NLT)

I have a tool box full of tools. I imagine you have a toolbox like this around your house, don't you? Why do you suppose we need so many tools? It is because each of these tools has a different purpose. There is no one tool that can do everything. If I needed to drive a nail into a board, what tool do you think I would need? Right! I would need a hammer. Here's my hammer. If I were putting together a bookshelf and needed to put in a screw to hold it together, what tool do you think I would need? You are right again! I'd need a screwdriver, and here it is! Let's see, suppose I needed to measure something, what tool do you think I would need. Of course, I'd need a tape measure. I wonder if I have a tape measure in here? Yep, here it is. What if I needed to drill a hole? Sure, I would need my drill. It is important to have the right tool for the job.

The Church is like God’s tool box. God has a lot of jobs to do and he has given the people in His Church different gifts and talents to help Him to do those jobs. We are His tools! To some he has given musical talent to help lead others in worship. To some He has given the talent of teaching so that they can help others to learn more about Him. There is no one person in the church that can do everything, is there? Listen to what the Bible says, "There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us."

If I needed to tighten a screw in my glasses, would this hammer help? Would this great big screwdriver help? No, I would need this little tiny screwdriver. You see, it doesn’t matter what your talent is and it doesn’t matter if you are big or small. What does matter is that when God has a job for you to do, you need to be right there in His toolbox, ready and willing for Him to use you.

Look around you. See this house of worship? It is God's toolbox. Look at all the people in this room. They are God's tools. Each one ready and willing for God to use them to do his work in this community.

Lord, we thank you that you have given each of us special abilities to do things for you. We pray that when you need us, we will be ready and willing to do what you need for us to do. Amen.