1 Corinthians 16:14-18

For me, everything about today’s passage is anchored on that first verse – “Let all that you do be done in love.” That’s really what it all comes down to. Jesus himself summed up all of the law and the prophets by saying something very similar - “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself (Luke 10:27).” This is the great secret. This is the answer to the problems of the world. If people would spend more time loving others and be less obsessed with themselves, the results would be positively world altering. And I know you could easily sit there and make a list of the people you know who need to do a better job of loving God and others, but what good is that going to do? You can’t control their actions…you can’t make them become more loving. But you do control your own actions. You do control the amount of love that you are pouring into this world. Every one of us as Christians needs to be asking, “Do I let me love for God and others form the foundation of everything I do?” Is that the driving force behind your life? It should be. As Christians, we become a living testimony to the world about the love of God, by embodying the love of God in our everyday lives. Not by pointing out how unloving and flawed others are. Let ALL that you do be done in love.

Paul even goes so far as to give us practical example as we see this Christian ideal lived out in the verses 15-18…

Verse 15 – “They devoted themselves to the service of the saints.” The members of the household of Stephanus, who were some of the first Christian converts in Achaia, have made it their work to minister to their fe3llow Christians. They allowed their love of God to drive them into building up the community of the Church. They are willing to make sacrifices of their own time and resources to make disciples and build authentic relationships. 

Verse 16 – “Be subject to such as these, and to every fellow worker and laborer.” What does it mean to be subject to? It means that Paul is instructing them to put others ahead of themselves. This is a term that is synonymous with submission. Paul is calling Christians to submit their desires, their opinions, their egos, their selfishness, etc. to others in an effort to create loving community. And this doesn’t mean that people are being called to meekly be run over by other Christians. Paul is calling for a community of mutually submissive people who are allowing love to permeate everything they do.

Verses 17 and 18 – “…they made up for your absence, for they have refreshed my spirit as well as yours.” Finally, we see that Stephanus, Fortunatus and Achaicus have gone out of their way to encourage their brothers and sisters in Christ. They have traveled to Ephesus where Paul is living spend time with him when he cannot come to Corinth. Traveling was not easy in the ancient world. They made great financial and time sacrifices so that they could simply spend time with Paul. Pray with him. Talk to him. Minister alongside him. Their loving sacrifice refreshed his soul, and that is the kind of power that Christian love has to make a difference in the world.

What would it look like for you to allow love to become the driving for of everything you do? EVERYTHING! What would change? What needs to change? What do you need to do to love as God has called you to love in this world?

-Brandon 

Who is your Timothy?

The apostle Paul thought of himself as an example to many people, especially the Corinthian church. He mentioned twice in 1 Corinthians that the church was to imitate him (4:16 and 11:1). But one person was already following that example, and his name was Timothy. In chapter 16 Paul says that Timothy was doing the work of the Lord, just as he was. There is something more to this whole thing than just a statement about the work Timothy was doing.

Later in his life, Paul would write a letter to Timothy, which we know as 2 Timothy, and he would write these words, "What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also" (2 Timothy 2:2). This statement was inspired not only by the Holy Spirit but also by Paul's own life.

Paul was on the wrong team for a while. When the Church began, Paul was a Pharisee, and a mean one. He actually sought out Christians and dragged them off to prison. He also approved of the death of Stephen. But Jesus got his attention one day as he was on his way to show more Christians who they were dealing with. On a mission for God, God told him he had the wrong mission. Suddenly, he was no longer on the bad guy team, and he was on the good guy team. But that did not stop people from having issues with him. Eventually he retreated to his hometown of Tarsus. Thank God the story doesn't end there.

We read in Acts 11:25 that a man named Barnabas saw what was going on in Antioch, and he went to Tarsus to get Saul (who would later be named Paul). Barnabas wanted him to be involved, and I imagine Barnabas probably played quite the mentoring role with Paul as well. In fact it is not until they leave on a mission trip that Paul becomes known as the leader. But where would he have been without Barnabas?

Let's recap. Barnabas invested himself in Paul, Paul invested himself in Timothy (and some others), and Timothy was told to invest in other faithful men, those faithful men were to be able to teach others also. Sounds like a chain reaction, doesn't it?

Unfortunately, we live in  society where these kinds of relationships are viewed as a means to an end. I want to be mentored so I can have a better job. I want to mentor someone so my name is great. And most people don't even consider mentoring a task worthy of their time and energy. That is why many of you could probably say nobody has invested themselves in you. But that is no excuse. You need a Timothy!!

You need someone to pour yourself into. As you learn to follow Jesus more and more, you should be sharing that with someone in your life. And let me tell you, your children should be first on that list.

So who is your Timothy? Or better yet, who will be your Timothy?

Gary Luedecke

Overcoming Death

A little over 10 years ago my dad passed away.  I can remember it like it was yesterday. I was 23 when he was diagnosed with brain cancer and just engaged to Jeff. I was shocked but determined my dad was going to be one of the 5% that beat this cancer. It was a short battle, and ultimately my dad did beat cancer but not in the way I would have hoped. I look back now and am so thankful my parents took the time to help me build a foundation in Christ, a strong foundation, because had they not I would have crumbled at that moment. Verses I hid in my heart as a child began to come to life, like John 3:16:

For God so loved the world he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.

Death brings about so many emotions from fear to anger to sadness. But as Christians we are able to look through the cloud of uncertainties and see a glorious plan that is beyond anything we can completely comprehend. Everlasting life! Jesus died for our sins and overcame death, leading us to victory against the pain and destruction of this world so we can spend eternity with Him. His Word comforted me and helped me look beyond my heartache. I grieved and continue to grieve the loss of my dad, but I know that when we said good-bye it was not permanent. As Christians our foundation is built on the knowledge that Christ is our risen Savior. 

Death on this earth is a given, and there are not any guarantees of our time here. But Paul shares with urgency in 1 Corinthians 15 the most important truth we will ever know, “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that He was raised on the third day.”  We as Christians have life changing news to share, HE DIED FOR YOU . . . HE OVERCAME DEATH . . . DEATH HAS LOST ITS STING . . . because of His love for us and our desire to follow Him we will live in eternity with Him. Paul states in 1 Corinthians 15:52 our bodies will be transformed, “in a twinkling of an eye; at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised imperishable and we will be changed.” There is no more death. In turn there will be no more illness and pain.  What reassuring truth when we are faced with the darkness of this world! But this truth is not meant to just comfort us; it is to be proclaimed to anyone and everyone so they too can know the great love of God. We share with our friends about a delicious new recipe, a great new TV show, or a good book to read . . . but do we share about the MOST IMPORTANT news anyone could ever hear? 

As I read the last verse of chapter 15 I can’t help but believe Paul is pushing us to do just that when he states, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.” He is saying that after knowing this keep moving forward, seeking God; stay true even in times of trouble; don’t be knocked down but stand on a firm foundation; and let your days overflow with things that count for Christ . . . follow the Great Commission Jesus spoke to His disciples, 

Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Matthew 28:16-20

Time is short, people need to hear the truth, it is my prayer we too feel the urgency and share the Good News with confidence and purpose.

Blessings,

Julie

A Firm Foundation

Read with me from the Easy-to-Read Version, 1 Corinthians 15:12-19:

¹² We tell everyone that Christ was raised from death. So why do some of you say that people will not be raised from death? ¹³ If no one will ever be raised from death, then Christ has never been raised. ¹⁴ And if Christ has never been raised, then the message we tell is worth nothing. And your faith is worth nothing. ¹⁵ And we will also be guilty of lying about God, because we have told people about him, saying that he raised Christ from death. And if no one is raised from death, then God never raised Christ from death. ¹⁶ If those who have died are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. ¹⁷ And if Christ has not been raised from death, then your faith is for nothing; you are still guilty of your sins. ¹⁸ And those in Christ who have already died are lost. ¹⁹ If our hope in Christ is only for this life here on earth, then people should feel more sorry for us than for anyone else.

 

Here Paul is very concerned about a matter in the Corinthian church. I love that Paul does not back away from tough subject matters and deals with the situation head on.  As we read this passage we can discern that some in the church were in doubt about the resurrection of the dead, thus ultimately denying the resurrection of Christ. Due to the nature of this dispute, Paul is compelled to provide a strong answer to the church because the entire validity of their faith as Christians was at stake!

As I think about this passage, my mind is drawn back to the days of ole’ when I was a youngster in Wee Worship. We use to sing a song entitled, ‘The Wise Man and The Foolish Man’. If you know that song, you know that it talks about how the Wise man built his house upon the rock and the Foolish man built his house upon the sand. As the song progresses we see that as the rains of life came tumbling down, the wise man’s house on the rock stood firm and the foolish man’s house on the sand went ‘splat’ (be sure and clap your hands together to get the full effect!).  This favorite children’s song then finishes with a noteworthy ending by saying; so build your life on the Lord Jesus Christ and the blessings will come down!

While this little song is cute and fun to sing, the lesson we find in it is foundational (pun intended) to our life in Christ and parallel to Paul’s defense in 1 Corinthians. Everything that we are or have as Christians is built upon the fact that we serve a Savior that was crucified and is now ALIVE. If we deny this historical fact, then our religion is ultimately worthless, and we are a people without any hope.

I do believe that God calls us to walk in faith about certain matters in our Christian walk, even in regards to the life and death of Jesus. However, I also, firmly believe that God has provided us with factual confirmation as well, and while I may not be an actual eye witness to these truths, I do trust and believe wholeheartedly that he has ordained these truths through the ages. He has preserved the truth of Christ so that those of us who come behind can have confidence and assurance in our Christian foundation.

For example, there are outside sources that site that Jesus was a man who walked this earth, that he did outstanding things, and that he was crucified and appeared on the third day. Flavius Josephus, a prominent Jewish historian of the first century mentions Jesus in his monumental work Antiquities of the Jews, written A.D. 90-95;

"Now, there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works,—a teacher of such men as received the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews, and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ; and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him, for he appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him; and the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day".

Christian author Lee Strobel, began writing, A Case for the Christ as an atheist. As he began interviewing and investigating the life and history of Jesus, he was remarkably stunned, by the compiling and critical evidence regarding Jesus. I love this quote Strobel makes; “In the end, after I had thoroughly investigated the matter, I reached an unexpected conclusion: it would actually take more faith to maintain my atheism than to become a follower of Jesus.”

Christianity starts with a foundation on Jesus Christ, the risen Savior. If we do not have that building block firmly in place then anything else we build upon will come crashing down with a splat! Throw out those doubts and any faulty thinking that hinders you from standing firmly on the truth of the resurrected Christ. Double check your foundation…make sure you are building as a wise man should…and ask God to help you overcome any doubts you may have and remember  that old gospel hymn; On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand…All other ground is sinking sand…

Blessings,

Christy Garison

SERVE Minister

Not a God of Confusion

Today’s passage (1 Corinthians 14:26-33) is kind of weird. Weird in the way that Paul is talking about problems that I don’t think we have experienced at Northside. The reason is because we really do come from a culture of order instead of chaos.

Think about it:

-          We have the same weekly schedule with school and work.

-          We have roads with lanes and parking lots with designated spaces (not the case in most countries).

-          We wait in line at the grocery store and will NOT tolerate cutting.

-          We like to have our houses picked up, our beds made, our floors vacuumed (for the most part).

-          We have TV shows that fit nicely into 30 minute and 1 hour increments.

Those are just examples from our everyday lives but our culture is filled with order and precision - Black Friday not included. The reason is because within order there is justice, fairness, and balance. If we never planned our worship services on the weekend it would be a battle between Josh, David, and whoever is doing announcements to own the stage. They have placed time limits on themselves in order to be effective with the time they have been given. They also aren’t seeking to assert themselves in a battle of egos. “Our God is not a God of confusion but a God of peace.”

We can look at the world, at nature, and see that our God is an orderly God. We have seasons that cycle. The ocean tides that surge and then recede. Antelope are eaten by lions and when lions die they feed the plants that feed the antelopes, etc. – THE CIRCLE OF LIFE!!! [Sorry, I love Lion King… a lot… Hakuna Matata]. This order was not on accident.  Order is good for our lives and order and balance is good in our church setting.

I pray that you are able to find order and balance in your spiritual life as well. That you would grow at Northside but that you would balance yourself by seeking God on your own. By conversing about God within your family. Seek what God has intended for balance to look like in your life and in your community and I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how he desires for all of us to have peace.

Grace & Peace,

Alex Berger

High School Pastor

Build Others Up!

1 Corinthians 14:1-12

The Message (MSG)

Prayer Language

14 ^1-3 Go after a life of love as if your life depended on it—because it does. Give yourselves to the gifts God gives you. Most of all, try to proclaim his truth. If you praise him in the private language of tongues, God understands you but no one else does, for you are sharing intimacies just between you and him. But when you proclaim his truth in everyday speech, you’re letting others in on the truth so that they can grow and be strong and experience his presence with you.

^4-5 The one who prays using a private “prayer language” certainly gets a lot out of it, but proclaiming God’s truth to the church in its common language brings the whole church into growth and strength. I want all of you to develop intimacies with God in prayer, but please don’t stop with that. Go on and proclaim his clear truth to others. It’s more important that everyone have access to the knowledge and love of God in language everyone understands than that you go off and cultivate God’s presence in a mysterious prayer language—unless, of course, there is someone who can interpret what you are saying for the benefit of all.

^6-8 Think, friends: If I come to you and all I do is pray privately to God in a way only he can understand, what are you going to get out of that? If I don’t address you plainly with some insight or truth or proclamation or teaching, what help am I to you? If musical instruments—flutes, say, or harps—aren’t played so that each note is distinct and in tune, how will anyone be able to catch the melody and enjoy the music? If the trumpet call can’t be distinguished, will anyone show up for the battle?

^9-12 So if you speak in a way no one can understand, what’s the point of opening your mouth? There are many languages in the world and they all mean something to someone. But if I don’t understand the language, it’s not going to do me much good. It’s no different with you. Since you’re so eager to participate in what God is doing, why don’t you concentrate on doing what helps everyone in the church?

If you have ever been to church where they don’t speak your language you can probably relate to what Paul is saying in today’s reading. These verses bring back memories of sitting through hours and hours of beautiful and passionate services where I had no idea what was going on because I didn’t speak the language. Anyone who has experienced this knows it is difficult to get something out of a service when you don’t understand what is being said or what is happening. Paul addresses this issue with the Corinthians about speaking in tongues or a “private prayer language” while you are together with other believers in corporate worship.

The Corinthians were excited about receiving gifts from the Holy Spirit like speaking in tongues, but didn’t quite understand what the gift should be used for – Paul explains that when you are gathered together you should use your gifts to build others up and he points out the truth that when you don’t understand what is being said it’s difficult to be built up.

At Northside I don’t see us struggling with using the gift of tongues improperly, however, what Paul is addressing as the root of the issue with the Corinthians seems to apply to us directly. The last thing Paul says in today’s reading drives his point home; “Since you are so eager to participate in what God is doing, why don’t you concentrate on doing what helps everyone in the church?”

How often are we concerned with what will be good for those around us – what will build them up? How often do we consider our brothers and sisters in Christ above ourselves? In our Lifegroups, how often do we think about what would be best for the group rather than just for me or my family? Paul is pushing the Corinthians to see that what they do and the gifts they were given were meant to build up the body just as he said a few chapters earlier in 1 Corinthians 12:7. In the body of Christ, we are meant to be looking out for one another, doing what will build each other up, helping one another and treating each other like we want to be treated.

It seems that we, as the whole body of Northside, do a pretty good job of this but it really comes down to personal responsibility for each of us. Each person who is a part of our body is important and useful and should be seen and treated that way. YOU are an important part of the body of Northside and as a part of the body we need you to be looking out for and building up the other parts.

I loved seeing so many of you coming out to the Ministry and Missions Fair on Sunday to see how you can serve and use the unique gifts God has given you to benefit others. I encourage you to continue praying about the opportunities you saw on Sunday, think about where you can serve not based on whether it will be convenient for you but how you can best use your gifts and talents to build others up.

God is calling Northside to do amazing things and we need everyone – each gift and talent – to accomplish what He is calling us to do. We serve an incredible God and He has given us the chance to join Him in doing incredible things together. So glad to be serving this incredible God with YOU! 

- Vicki Sommerwerck