APPENDIX E
A Reading for the “Saints”
I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by
the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy
and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be
conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your
minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God--what is good
and acceptable and perfect.
3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone
among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think,
but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of
faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members,
and not all the members have the same function, 5 so we, who are many,
are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another.
6 We have gifts that differ according to the grace
given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; 7 ministry, in
ministering; the teacher, in teaching; 8 the exhorter, in exhortation;
the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate,
in cheerfulness.
—Romans 12:1-8 (New Revised
Standard Version)
So then, my brothers, because of God’s great mercy
to us I appeal to you: offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God,
dedicated to his service and pleasing to him. This is the true worship
that you should offer. Do not conform yourselves to the standards of
this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of
your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God—what is good
and is pleasing to him and is perfect.
And because of God’s gracious gift to me, I say to
everyone of you: do not think of yourself more highly than you should.
Instead, be modest in your thinking, and judge yourself according to
the amount of faith that God has given you.
We have many parts in the one body, and all these
parts have different functions. In the same way, though we are many, we
are one body in union with Christ, and we are all joined to each other
as different parts of one body. So we are to use our different gifts in
accordance with the grace that God has given us. If our gift is to
speak God’s message, we should do it according to the faith that we
have; if it is to serve, we should serve; if it is to teach, we should
teach; if it is to encourage others, we should do so. Whoever shares
with others should do it generously; whoever has authority should work
hard; whoever shows kindness to others should do it cheerfully. —Romans
12:1-8 (Today’s English Version)
Discuss the following questions:
1. What word or phrase “jumped out at you” and captured your attention from this passage?.
2. What does it mean to be a leader of God’s people?
3. How is this different from what the world expects of its leaders?