Tag: 1 Corinthians 12

A Team Effort

Old Testament: Judges 1-3

Poetry: Psalm 52

New Testament: 1 Corinthians 12

            I love baseball. (If you don’t, don’t leave just yet, please). Baseball is a team sport.  This was put on display for me recently.  I was watching a Washington Nationals game this weekend and the commentators brought in a retired pitcher who used to play for the Nationals in their 2019 World Series winning season.  During the playoffs that year, Anibal Sanchez came very close to pitching a no-hitter.  It was broken up in the 8th inning by a Cardinals batter.  When asked about it Sanchez said he wouldn’t have come close to having a no-hitter without his teammates making great plays.  He said no pitcher should ever get sole credit for a no-hitter.  It’s impossible without your teammates making plays.   Sanchez wasn’t just being humble, he was 100% right.  It takes a catcher to catch the pitch, fielders to make plays and throw the ball to first, outfielders to run and catch fly balls.  Without good teammates, you can’t pitch a no-hitter.  When a no-hitter does happen, or even rarer a perfect game, the pitcher gets the accolades and they stick a microphone in his face after the game, but it was a team effort.

            The same is true for the Church.  That’s what Paul was trying to get at in 1 Corinthians 12.  There are a few people that are “up front” during a worship service.  The worship leader, the soloist, the scripture reader, and the pastor all have visible roles and they are important.  But they aren’t the only important people.  Many important people are working behind the scenes in nearly invisible ways.  The person running the sound system is important.  The pianist, guitar player, and other musicians are important.  The person who makes the coffee before Sunday School is important.  The people who set up tables for Church dinners are important.  The people who teach children’s church are important.  The people who clean the bathrooms, take out the trash, and vacuum the floors are important.  The people who buy toilet paper are important, very important.  If those people don’t do their jobs what have you got?  A mess.  Also important are the people who type the bulletin and change the slides with the worship song lyrics, and the people who make sure that the heat is turned on or the a/c is turned on.  All of these people are important.  So are the people who faithfully place their financial contributions in the offering, and the people who count and collect those offerings, and the people who write checks so that the pastor can feed their family and the lights stay on.  Even in smaller churches, it takes a lot of people to share their gifts and talents.

            Apparently, in the Church at Corinth, there was a lot of jealousy and rivalry going on between Christians.  It was causing division in the Church.  The Apostle Paul wrote this letter to correct some of those problems.  He wanted them to understand that Churches need to maintain unity to be healthy and carry out the mission that God has given us to do.  Everyone in the church is not gifted in the same way.  Some people love to be up front serving in visible ways.  Some people are not gifted to speak or lead worship, but they have other gifts.  I have a special needs sister, Christine, who wants to help and has claimed her gifts by handing out the church bulletins.  She grabs a stack and goes to each person in Sunday School and gives them a bulletin.  She wants to help by sharing her gifts.  She also loves to sing very loudly in worship and her exuberance is infectious.  (And she likes to say “amen” when her brother the preacher says that he’s winding up the sermon).

            Read through all of the Apostle Paul’s letters in the New Testament and see how much Paul depended on others to help him carry out his ministry.  Often when he wrote letters to encourage and teach Churches he was in jail for preaching the Gospel of Jesus, which was a threat to both the religious leaders and the Roman Empire.  Paul depended on people to take the letters he wrote from prison and deliver them to the Churches.  He also depended on people to bring him food, an extra blanket, his books and letters, and medicine.  He had poor eyesight so he depended on a secretary to write down his words. He also longed for fellowship with other followers of Jesus.  Paul was the face of much of the teaching and spread of the Church in the first century, but it took a team to support him.

            What are some ways that you are serving in your Church?  You can’t start too early.  Our church has a 7-year-old help take up the offering some Sundays. As you read through 1 Corinthians 12, try not to get too bogged down thinking about the theological issues that continue to divide Christians today (are the spiritual gifts Paul mentions for now or did they stop after the first century?)  It’s amazing how this chapter that Paul wrote to help a church not be divided has caused many Christians to disagree and divide.  If God decides to give you the gift of miracles or healing, who am I to tell you that God did away with those gifts 1900 years ago?  (if you do have the gifts of miracle or healing, please come visit me, I could use it.)

            Remember, there is no “ I” in “Team”.  And there is no I in Church.  It’s all about how we use the gifts God has given each of us to serve.

Pastor Jeff Fletcher

Reflection Questions

  1.  What similarities do you see between sports teams or work teams and the team work needed to carry out the work of Jesus and the Church?
  2. Are you currently using any of your gifts to help carry out the mission of the Church?
  3. Are you willing to test your gifts and potentially experience some failures and disappointments as you seek to carry out the mission of Jesus Christ and the Church?  What will you try and risk next?
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Builders, Unite!

*Old Testament: Nehemiah 3 & 4

Poetry: Psalm 20

New Testament: John Intro – found below

“Teamwork makes the dream work.” I’m sure this saying or one like it is on many framed posters in the workplace. I can’t utter it without a smirk on my face. It is cheesy, but there is a powerful truth at the core of it. When people work together, the result is something greater than just adding up what each would have accomplished individually. It is more than just the sum of the parts. It is the secret sauce, or added little something you get when people are connected and integrated. Iron Man is better with Hulk and Captain America. Michael Jordan is better with Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman. Neil Peart is better with Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee.

This is part of what Paul was getting at in 1 Corinthians 12 when he was talking about spiritual gifts within the body of Christ. People have different strengths and abilities they bring to the table. Not everyone does the same thing, and nobody can do everything. Instead, we specialize in something and rely on others to do their part. When everyone is contributing, things are working like the proverbial well-oiled machine. When someone is missing, things are not as efficient or effective as they could have been. Paul recognized the strength that emerges out of our interconnectedness and unity.

Rewinding back to Nehemiah chapters 3 and 4, we can see the same principle in play. The context is that they are returning to a ruined Jerusalem after being in exile. The walls need to be rebuilt to ensure the safety and security of everyone in the city, and so that they can work towards getting back to something resembling normal again. Chapter 3 gives us a less than riveting account of the names and jobs of those working to repair the city and its walls, but in chapter 4, things get juicier as enemies threaten to come make war with them to stop their progress. 

This threat prompted a needed pivot in strategy. Some people would be stationed with sword or bow to defend the city against attackers, while others continued to build. Some did dual duty, building with one hand while holding a weapon in the other. It was an “all hands on deck” situation that required the effort of everyone in order to succeed. It wasn’t easy, but they were able to accomplish the goal.

The mutual support of everyone involved and the guidance of good leadership made the result something greater than you would think possible. After experiencing something like this, you might look back and say, “Wow, I don’t know how we did it.” This creates awe and wonder in our hearts, not because of our own abilities, but because of the power of working together while following and cooperating with God’s spirit. The lines start to blur between what I’m doing, what you’re doing, what we’re doing, and what God’s doing.

What could this say about what God is like? God does not prefer to do all the work alone, but would rather delegate and involve his children in the work. When we say humanity is the image of God, this is not about appearance, but vocation. We image God not by looking like him, but by sharing in his work as his agents. Through our actions, others can experience a taste of God. Does this remind you of anyone? We can see God by looking at Jesus, whose God-imaging abilities are unparalleled. Jesus was the only human who perfectly and faithfully stepped up to the work God gave him to do.

You may sometimes feel like you don’t have much to offer the body of Christ. Whatever you can do, even if you think it is insignificant, is beautiful and desperately needed in the church and in the world we reach out to. We cannot do this without you. And perhaps paradoxically, you can’t do this without us. And we can’t do this without God. But somehow this machine works when you put it all together.

-Jay Laurent

Reflection Questions:

1. What are some things you can do to help build up the church?

2. Can you think of times in your past when being part of a team allowed you to accomplish something amazing?

3. What is your favorite team (doesn’t have to be sports)? What is it about the members of the team that allow them to work so well together?

Gospel of John Introduction

John, “the disciple that Jesus loved”, wrote the gospel of John, as well as 1, 2, & 3 John and Revelation.  John told us his purpose in writing this gospel in John 20:31, “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

Many times in the Gospel of John, John contrasted light and darkness.  For example 1:6-9, “There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John [the Baptist].  He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe.  He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.  The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.”

Then 3:19-21 states, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.  Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.  But whosoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”

Then in 8:12, John wrote, “When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’”

The most well-known verse in the Bible is found in John 3:16.  I’ll close with John 3:16-18, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”

-Steve Mattison

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As HE Chose

* New Testament Reading:  1 Corinthians 12
Psalms Reading:  Psalm 59
* Old Testament Reading:  Leviticus 25-27

My parents tried very hard to treat me and my sisters equally.  Especially when it came to spending money or giving gifts.  The idea that one might get more or better than the other, or perceived more or better, has made gift giving stressful for them.  And now there are grandkids and great grandkids!  We chose to handle gift-giving a little differently.  Of course, we try to be close in what we spend, but if a gift is found that someone really wants or needs we go with it.  Whether it’s a little more or less than the others. 

In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul tells us of God’s gifts.  The first important thing to note is that it says in verse 7 that “to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit..”  Everyone who is part of the body of believers has been given Spiritual gifts.  That means you if you have accepted Jesus as your Savior.  The end of verse 7 tells us why.  It says, “…for the common good”.  We are to use the gifts given to us for the common good of the church – to support, encourage, build up, protect, provide for, teach, etc.  This chapter describes many of these gifts.  We are told that there are many gifts, but that they all come from the same Spirit.  Verse 18 says, “But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.“  As he chose.  He gives us what we need, what he wants us to have, not what we want or wish for.  Think for a minute about your church and the people in it.  This verse is telling you that God chose each member, that he arranged them (gifted them) just how he wanted.  Now think for a minute about where you might fit in.  You see, God’s plan only works when everyone does their part; when everyone uses the gifts God has given them for the common good of the body.  

Our passage in Leviticus demonstrates another parenting thought.  When we wanted our kids to obey a specific command, we let them know what good things would happen if they chose to do so (we really built it up big). We also told them what would happen if they chose to disobey (we tried to make this choice sound horrible).  We learned that oftentimes it is in the presentation.  God wants his children to obey Him at all times.  In Leviticus 26 God says, “If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them, then I will give you….”.  He lists rain in season, abundant harvests, security, peace, victories, and His presence (verses 3-13).  He goes on to tell them, “But if you will not listen to me and will not do all these commandments, if you spurn my statutes, and if your soul abhors my rules, so that you will not do all my commandments, but break my covenant, then I will do this to you:…”.  He then tells them that they will deal with panic, wasting disease, enemies eating their harvests, wild beasts, and be scattered among the nations (verses 14-33).  The list for disobedience is long and nasty.  It seems like such a “duh” decision.  Of course they, and we, want the blessings and good stuff.  But they didn’t always choose to obey.  We don’t always choose to obey.  Thankfully, God also provides a way for us to change our minds and make the right choice.  Verses 40-45 say, “But if they confess their iniquity….then I will remember my covenant with Jacob…and Isaac…and Abraham…that I might be their God…”. 

-Todd and Amy Blanchard

Reflection Questions

  1.  There are a lot of Spiritual gifts “tests” online.  And they can be fun to take.  However, one of the best ways to know what your gifts are is to try some different ministries or acts of service.  Which ones fill you up?  Which ones drain you?  Notice I didn’t ask which ones you were best at.  God will help you learn.  God will help you find courage.  He will provide opportunities for you to grow in your gifts, so you don’t need to worry about doing it really well right away.
  2.  What choices are you currently facing?  Do any of them have the “duh” right answer? 
  3. What traits did you find in today’s reading that describe God?
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Gifts and Body Parts

1 Corinthians 12

June 13

The luxury automotive company, Lexus, advertises the “December to Remember” event every year.  The commercials show someone waking up on Christmas morning and looking out in the driveway to see a brand new car with a huge bow on top.  What a gift that would be!  I don’t personally know anyone in the tax bracket that could afford to buy a brand new car and surprise their spouse with it for Christmas.    It would certainly be a December to remember.  Ironically, I had to google which car company did the “December to Remember” campaign because I couldn’t remember. 

My birthday is in January, it is less than 30 days after Christmas.  Growing up, the majority of the gifts I received for the year tended to be within a month of each other.  During the winter of 1988-1989 a lot was going on in my world (that’s the topic for another time).  It was in many ways a winter to remember.  I distinctly remember some of the gifts I received that year. My dad made me a really neat wooden puppet stage with real working stage curtains and lights I could turn on with a switch.  I received a magic set, an Alphie the robot toy and I received a savings bond.  Yeah, a savings bond. 

I can still perform some of the tricks from the magic set.  The puppet stage went through a couple “revamps” as my dad called them over the years, but I still have it.  I think my kids might still play with that Alphie robot when we are over at my parents’ house sometimes.  Who knows what happened to that savings bond?  I’m probably a millionaire and don’t even know it.  If I ever find that thing, it will certainly be a December to remember when Hannah finds that new Lexus in the Driveway.

I started “dating” Hannah when I was 16 and she was 15.  On her 16th birthday she told me that her grandparents, in Arizona, bought her a new, blue, Volkswagen Beetle.  I kinda believed her.  She kept adding details to the story over the next few days.  The more she went on about it, the more I actually believed she had received a real car for her birthday.  I was more than a little disappointed when the truth came out, the car she had received was a toy the size of a matchbox car. 

My brother, Evan, is 13 years younger than me.  When I was in college in Atlanta and came home for Christmas I had the opportunity to be a really cool big brother.  I went to a hobby shop and bought an “Air Hogs” brand remote controlled airplane.  I thought he would love it.  If not, I kinda wanted it myself.  In an attempt to be funny, I also bought him several boxes of candy canes at the dollar store and wrapped them up for him as a gag gift.  I also wrapped up the airplane but hid it.  It was just the 20 boxes or so of candy canes under the tree.  When it was Evan’s turn to open presents he was excited to see what he got from me.  He tore into the paper and saw the candy canes.  He started crying.  Through his tears he loudly asked “What am I going to do with 100 candy canes?!”  That’s the part we all remember at family get togethers now.  Nobody even remembers the airplane.

Around Valentine’s Day, when my son Carter was 5 years old he asked me to help him make a heart out of Crayola Model Magic (a substance similar to play dough, except it drys into a soft foam rubber kind of material).  Knowing full well that he was talking about the simple geometric heart shape like chocolates come in, I carefully sculpted my best replica of an anatomically correct heart and handed it to him.  I took a picture of his disapproving scowl.  When I showed my wife, she reminded me that the Bible teaches fathers should not exasperate their children.

The first part of 1 Corinthians Chapter 12 talks about “gifts of the Spirit”.  Paul writes:

“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.  All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.”

I have known some people that have said they had the gift of speaking in tongues but I certainly couldn’t understand or appreciate what they were saying.  I have known people who desperately wanted or maybe even thought they would receive the gift of healing when someone they loved was very sick, but despite fervent prayers the healing did not come.  It would be awesome to have “miraculous powers”.  I would love to be able to raise the dead or cause the sun to stand still in the sky.  (I do have questions about the physics about how all that worked.). So far I don’t think I have been given those gifts.  Even my ability to deliver a message of wisdom or knowledge are iffy at best.  There are certainly far better preachers and teachers than me.  So where does that leave me?  Do I even have any spiritual gifts? Is have a “gift of the spirit” as important as exhibiting the fruit of the spirit?  Is this the complete list of gifts?

Paul addresses some of those questions in the second part of 1 Corinthians Chapter 12.  He compares the church to a human body.  He says “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. And yet I will show you the most excellent way.”

-Brian Froehlich

Application questions:

1. What is the first gift you remember receiving? 

2. How about the most unusual gift you have ever received? 

3. Was there ever a gift you had on your wish list that you asked for or hoped to receive, maybe even thought you would get but did not? 

4. Have you ever received a gift that the giver thought you would like but you totally did not have any desire to use?   

5. Have you ever received a gift without knowing its value till much later in life?

6. What gift(s) of the spirit have you been given.

7. When thinking of Paul’s imagery of us all being parts of the body, what body part do you think you are?  An eye?  An ear?  Maybe an appendix or a tonsil?

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But how do I know what my Spiritual Gift is?

1 Corinthians 12

1 Cor 12 27

Do you ever think God sits up in heaven, listening to us, and just smacks his forehead?  I do.

Think about this:  He is so amazingly gracious and wonderful that He supernaturally equips believers with gifts to make life better for all of us.  But instead of doing that…we sit around and take Spiritual gift inventories.

Head smack.

1 Corinthians 12: 4-7

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit.  There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.  There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.  Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.

Want to know how God has gifted you?  Here’s the super-complicated, algorithm-created, surefire way to find out.  Ready?

Try stuff.

Ta-da!

Seriously.  Try stuff.  See what fills your bucket.  What makes you light up.  What energizes, instead of drains you?

All believers are called to serve in lots of ways.  We’re all expected to demonstrate some amount of wisdom, knowledge, faith and discernment.  We are all supposed to serve through giving, helping, teaching, and working.

While I can serve by mowing the lawn or doing dishes, I don’t feel particularly pumped after doing so.  But my friend Cheryl does.  Serving others in these ways invigorates her and motivates her to do more.

Cheryl will step in and lead a class if needed, but she doesn’t love it.  I love (insert many hearts here) it.  Teaching fills my bucket, it drains hers.

So put down the Spiritual gift inventory and start doing.  Ask God to help you find your sweet spot.  I’ll bet He won’t say no.

“you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”

 

-Susan Landry