One of the most exciting things about being a Christian is that God gives His children special gifts in order to help them serve Him.
In this unit, children will be encouraged to learn about both their talents and spiritual gifts and will be guided through a process of exploring what their spiritual gifts might be.
Lesson 1: You've Got Talents
God made everyone different, and to each He gave different talents and abilities. To some He gave the ability to be warriors like Samson, to others the ability to make music like David. Some received great wisdom like Solomon. Even Jesus' followers had different talents. Some were fishermen (strong and athletic), others were good with numbers (Matthew and Judas), and one was a doctor (Luke). Children can recognize that we are all different and that God has made our world special by making us different. Too often we wish we were like others instead of getting to know how God made us and rejoicing in what makes us unique.
Lesson 2: You've Got Gifts
In addition to our natural talents, when we become believers in Jesus Christ, God imparts to us special spiritual gifts that equip us to serve Him in furthering His kingdom here on earth! It is very exciting to discover that we have these spiritual gifts that enable us to succeed in ways that we were unable to succeed before. We may need to be able to stretch ourselves and be willing to try new things in order to discover our spiritual gifts, but if we are willing to get out of our comfort zone, we just may find out that God has some exciting new skills for us to use in order to serve Him!
Lesson 3: Your Spiritual Gifts
One of the ways we discover our spiritual gifts is by trying new things and being willing to trust God in areas where we know we will need His help. If we only do what is easy for us, then we rely only on our talents, and we won't discover our spiritual gifts! But when we venture out into new territory of service for God, we give God a chance to show us that He can give us new skills and strength to succeed that we never knew we had!
Lesson 4: Your Gifts & Talents in Action
Talents and spiritual gifts are given for a reason — to be used to serve others! God wants us to make a good difference in the world! Our gifts are not for ourselves — they exist to help us love people, reach the lost, and draw them to God! So whatever talents and spiritual gifts we have, we need to use them for the benefit of others so that they too might discover a relationship with God and come to know Jesus as their Savior and Lord.