For a church to function properly and have a clear sense of mission, it needs to have its members working together well. Too often, there can be cliques and in-fighting which distracts a congregation from being fully focused on its general mission. The lesson from 1 Corinthians this Sunday brings us to the importance of people working together. Here is an excerpt:
"I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are still not ready, for you are still of the flesh. For as long as there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to human inclinations? For when one says, 'I belong to Paul,' and another, 'I belong to Apollos,' are you not merely human.'" ! Cor. 3:3-4.
It is important, I believe, to realize that our allegiance really is to Jesus and doing his work and not being caught up in one's own self-interest. Although there may be differences, we still need to work together.
We must also realize that not everything in doing God's work depends on us. This is a major thing to understand. Here, I refer again to Paul's words to the church at Corinth:
"What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth." 1 Cor. 3:6-7
I like how this highlights that not everything is going to depend on me in doing the Lord's work. I realize my humanness and also my limitations. God can do amazing things beyond what I can do. For instance, if I talk to someone about Christ or the church, I can pray for the Holy Spirit to work in the life of that person!
You may want to read the entire reading, which is 1 Corinthians 3:1-9. May God's blessing be upon your reflection of these words as well as your worship this Sunday.
Pastor Marty
"I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are still not ready, for you are still of the flesh. For as long as there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to human inclinations? For when one says, 'I belong to Paul,' and another, 'I belong to Apollos,' are you not merely human.'" ! Cor. 3:3-4.
It is important, I believe, to realize that our allegiance really is to Jesus and doing his work and not being caught up in one's own self-interest. Although there may be differences, we still need to work together.
We must also realize that not everything in doing God's work depends on us. This is a major thing to understand. Here, I refer again to Paul's words to the church at Corinth:
"What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth." 1 Cor. 3:6-7
I like how this highlights that not everything is going to depend on me in doing the Lord's work. I realize my humanness and also my limitations. God can do amazing things beyond what I can do. For instance, if I talk to someone about Christ or the church, I can pray for the Holy Spirit to work in the life of that person!
You may want to read the entire reading, which is 1 Corinthians 3:1-9. May God's blessing be upon your reflection of these words as well as your worship this Sunday.
Pastor Marty
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