Priorities

In chapter 14 of 1 Corinthians, Paul addresses the subject of spiritual gifts, namely the gift of tongues and prophecy, and then to close out the chapter he talks about the need for orderly worship. Where does one begin when it comes to discussing these subjects? With 40 verses here open for dissection, which one or ones do I choose? To make it easy I picked the one in the very middle; verse 20. (I hope that’s not how you do your individual Bible study, but for the sake of time and keyboard strokes I’m choosing this one to discuss today.)

Here are Paul’s words in verse 20: “Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.” (ESV) In today’s vernacular he is saying, “When it comes to spiritual gifts, you need to grow up! If you are going to act like children in anything do it toward evil, not in spiritual things!” I love how Eugene Peterson’s The Message translates this thought: “To be perfectly frank, I’m getting exasperated with your infantile thinking. How long before you grow up and use your head—your adult head? It’s all right to have a childlike unfamiliarity with evil; a simple no is all that’s needed there. But there’s far more to saying yes to something. Only mature and well-exercised intelligence can save you from falling into gullibility.” Yes, that is a mouthful, but I love how he eloquently expounds on the idea. Many times throughout 1 Corinthians Paul addresses the subject of their maturity; mostly their lack of it.

What were they doing in Corinth that merited Paul’s correction? As with many of us at times, I believe that the church was looking more at the gifts themselves than the Gift Giver. They were also misdirected on the priorities of the gifts. While there was nothing wrong with the manifestations of the Holy Spirit and their use in worship and corporate gatherings, Paul wanted them to know that they should be used for the edification of the entire church, not just certain parts and, according to verses 26-40, they needed to be used in a decent and orderly fashion.

One of the things I’ve always appreciated about our worship services here at Northside, is that we always strive not to make it about the “show.” I want to be careful here as I word this, but our Sunday morning services should always be pointing toward Jesus. It should never be about how rocking the music is, (Although it does rock!) or how well Dave or Brandon bring the message, (And they do bring it!) it should always be about meeting Jesus; First and foremost.

If on Sunday mornings, we come away from here feeling that the worship was great and the preaching was fantastic that’s awesome. But if we didn’t come face to face with our Savior, we missed something.

The Church in Corinth was doing all the right things; and some pretty amazing things. But they had priority issues; doing all the right things really doesn’t matter if you aren’t doing them correctly or going in the right direction. We should always make sure that when it comes to our worship gatherings, all roads point to Jesus; even in the smallest details.

See you Sunday!

Jimmy

Sharing a Meal With Jesus

In the small church that I grew up in 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 was often read just before we took communion.  As we do at Northside, this sacred ritual was something we did every week in that fellowship, so growing up I heard this passage what seemed like a billion times and could probably come close to quoting it word for word.  Like with anything, familiarity can actually breed a little contempt.  In other words, because communion was something we always did and because this was one of the main passages that was always read, it began to lose some of its significance and power in my communion experience.  Now, let me also say that my lack of spiritual maturity probably contributed greatly to this problem.

I was reading Eugene Peterson’s take on this passage and he translates verse 26 thusly:    

What you must solemnly realize is that every time you eat this bread and every time you drink this cup, you reenact in your words and actions the death of the Master. You will be drawn back to this meal again and again until the Master returns. You must never let familiarity breed contempt. 1 Corinthians 11:26 (MSG)

Today, as a pastor, I’m in a fairly unique position when it comes to the Lord’s Supper.  Because we have three worship services every weekend, I have the opportunity to take communion three times every Sunday.  Once again, this could put me in a position where I could allow familiarity to breed contempt.  My mind can start wandering…

“I wonder how they are reacting to the sermon?” 

“Should I change it up a bit for this next service?” 

 “Hope we’re having something good for lunch today… I’m starving.” 

“Is it possible that the Texans will win today?  No, probably not!”

And there can be times when my thoughts drift toward much heavier matters and away from the intention of communion: A situation of conflict or of sin that I’ve become aware of and will need to deal with; A biting statement that someone made or an email that twisted me in the wrong direction.  And the very thing I should be doing is turning all of that over to Jesus.

Do you ever struggle with this?  Be honest.

Paul gives us the title “The Lord’s Supper.”  It is His meal.  It is His table.  And every time I’m invited to the dinner table of Jesus I need to remember that it is His supper.  He wants to share not just some food with me but He wants to share Himself with me.  And He wants me fully present. 

How rude is it to show up for dinner with someone then totally ignore them the whole time? 

I love having dinner with family and good friends.  Amazing things often happen over food with people that you love and care for and know at their best and at their worst.  The conversation isn’t staged or planned or set by a particular agenda.  It is free, it is flowing and it is almost always memorable.  One minute you may be laughing with incredible joy over something someone said and the next you are close to tears because of the incredible vulnerability of real sharing that is taking place. 

So I’m thinking one of the best ways to avoid that whole “contemptible familiarity thing” is to remember that we are having dinner with the person who knows us best and loves us most.  As Brennan Manning says, he not only loves me but he likes me!  He wants to spend some meaningful time reminding me of that love, refreshing my spirit and giving me the strength to stay committed to a life of serving him. 

We need to be around the Lord’s Table each week because He is there and He wants to share some meaningful moments with us. We must come to the table prepared to spend real quality time with Jesus.

-David

Praying Through 1 Corinthians 10:23-30

The church staff is spending the next month focusing on prayer, and I thought this would be a great opportunity to share a prayerful way of approaching scripture. Sometimes I like to focus on a passage from the Bible one verse at a time and ask God to give me prayers that spring from the verses. This is a great way to prayerfully connect deeply with God and with scripture. Here was my experience with praying through I Corinthians 10:23-30 today…

I started out with some quiet prayer time on my own. I sat in silence for a while asking God to put requests on my heart, and I wrote these out. Afterwards, I began praying by looking out the window and praising God. Creation itself boldly proclaims that God exists and I thanked Him for that. I praised His goodness, mercy, justice, holiness and everything else I could think of that amazes me about God’s character. This prayer of worship helps me to enter into this time with God understanding who I am talking to…the one and only God of everything! How amazing is it that we are allowed to enter His presence?

Next, I prayed through the list of things that God put on my heart. I tried to do everything I could to cry out to God on behalf of the people who came to mind. Protection. Healing. Restoration. Blessings. Salvation. Boldness. Forgiveness. I closed out this time of prayer by asking God to give me guidance as I prayer my way through I Corinthians 10:23-30. Here are my prayers…

v. 23 – Because of God’s great love for me, He has given me the freedom to choose how to live my life. I have the freedom to do anything I want, but I want to honor Him with my life. “God help me to sacrifice my freedom to serve myself so that I can serve you with my whole life. God help me to think about the things I say and do, and to only make choices that build up your Kingdom and other people.”

v. 24 – It’s not about me! “God please help me to stop incessantly worrying about myself, so that I can see the needs of those around me. God help me to know when people I come in contact with are hurting, and help me to be a voice of compassion and wisdom in their lives.”

v. 25 – 29 – Don’t get caught up in issues that don’t matter in the big scheme of things. “God, please help me to consistently be thinking about how I can positively influence people toward you. Don’t let me get caught up in meaningless debates and arguments when what really matters is Your name being glorified. Help me to see if there are things I am doing that would be a stumbling block for people in getting to know you, and give me the wisdom to avoid those situations.”

v. 30 – Give thanks to God. This is a great way to close out the prayer by thinking through everything that I have to be thankful about. Even hard situations and difficult decisions can be areas of thanks if they force us to rely on God more deeply and they spring from our efforts to honor Him with our lives. “God help me to be thankful in every situation. Help me to see Your hand at work in the good and the bad situations that I run into in this world. Give me the wisdom to understand that I don’t have to get caught up in what other people think when I am doing everything I can to honor you through my actions.”

These are the prayers that came to mind as I read my way through today’s passage. Feel free to pray your own version of my prayers or to work with God to create prayers that are more uniquely suited to you. May God bless your prayerful journey through I Corinthians 10.

- Brandon Forsythe