1 Corinthians 14:20 – 15:11

Paul covers a lot of ground in today’s passage. First, he concludes his instructions about the public worship services in Corinth. Last Wednesday I noted the danger in trying to develop a doctrine based on just a few verses. Verses 34-35 are a good example of that danger. Some people have read these verses and then concluded that Paul is commanding that women are forbidden to speak in public worship services. However, to reach that conclusion you would have to discard chapter 11 (as well as many others places in the Bible) where Paul clearly expects women to provide leadership in worship through praying and preaching.

Some scholars suggest that these verses were added as an editorial comment by a scribe copying the manuscripts. Others suggest that Paul wrote these verses, but that he was addressing a peculiar situation in Corinth that concerned an issue other than worship leadership.

In Paul’s description of worship he introduces the inclusion of an exhorter that is still practiced in some churches. An exhorter was a speaker that followed the preacher, who encouraged the congregation to apply the lessons proclaimed by the preacher to their daily lives. The situation in Corinth may have involved interaction during the service between the exhorter and their wives. It may be that Paul is suggesting something as simple as that there is a time and place for everything, and the time and place for a woman to criticize or critique her husband is not in the midst of a public worship service.

We do not know for sure what Paul had in mind, other than; this surly is not a prohibition on the leadership of women in the church.

Chapter 15 is one of the most important of all of Paul’s writings. He begins with affirming the resurrection of Jesus which is the foundation upon which everything in the New Testament church rests. As we continue our journey with Paul we will see that he believes the resurrection of Jesus is an event, because of which, the world can never be the same again. AND, those who believe it and live it will never be the same either, as Paul affirmed in what has become one of my favorite verses:

“By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace towards me has not been in vain.” (I Corinthians 15:10a NRSV)

1 Corinthians 14: 1-19

I remember visiting a church many years ago that had a rather unusual form of church prayer. When it came time for prayer all the congregation stood and began praying, out loud. All over the sanctuary people were standing with their arms raise intently praying. Because everyone was speaking at the same time it was impossible to distinguish what was being prayed. It was very disconcerting experience for me.

I suspect the situation in Corinth was somewhat similar. In his response Paul identifies the main goal of corporate worship which is to offer a form of worship that is open and inviting to everyone in the congregation. Under the best of circumstance that is a hard assignment. In Corinth it was made even more difficult because some of the people were exhibiting their own sense of spirituality and thus directing the attention of the congregation to them rather than to God.

Paul affirms the importance of developing our own spirituality and the need for our own personal worship time. He also affirms that the Sunday morning worship service is to glorify God.

1 Corinthians 13

A few things to keep in mind as you read chapter 13, the Love Chapter.

To the great shame of the church this chapter has been relegated to weddings and poems. This chapter is the very essence of everything the Apostle Paul believed.

To continue with the metaphor of the symphony band I used yesterday, do not think of chapter 13 as a ‘stand-alone’ chapter. It is the central part of a great symphony that is chapters 12, 13, and 14. They all go together.

Within this divine music of the Kingdom you can see the core of Paul’s theology. We, the followers of Jesus, are living today by the values of the coming Kingdom of God. Today, we are the children of God; therefore we set our hearts and minds on learning to live as the Beloved of God.

As you read verses 4-7, think of how you see these qualities, attributes, and characteristics in the life of Jesus.

Remember Paul’s words in Philippians 2:5 “Have this mind in you that was also in Christ Jesus.” How do you see the attributes of Jesus, verses 4-7, being revealed in your life? Becoming like Jesus, that is your destiny.

Rest. For me the sweetest words in the Bible are in verse 12: “Just as God now knows me completely.” Yes, even though there are so many days when the attributes in verses 4-7 hardly seem present in my life; yes, even though I am most acutely aware of how much more in me is in need of being transformed to become like Christ; even so, my Father wraps His arms around me and says, “Dear one, you are mine and I love you.” My Heavenly Father knows and loves me. He made me. He knows what it is like for me to be me. I rest in the sweet affection of His smile toward me.

By the way, if you were inclined to have some deep and meaningful private devotional time, like your own personal daily retreat, you would do well to spend a week with chapter 13. Just take two verses each day. Read, mediate and reflect on those two verses three times each day; morning, noon and evening. You would do well.

I Corinthians 12: 1-31

June 25, 2011 I Corinthians 12: 1-31

As I read our assignment for today I remembered the Moody Symphony Band concert Cheryl and I attended a few months ago. It was a wonderful evening and after the concert the evening got even better. We brought three of the musicians home to spend the night with us – after making a visit to Sweetberries for frozen custard. They were delightful young women and each had a different role in the band. One was violinist and soprano and was featured prominently in the band. Another was a percussionist and was located in the back of the band. The other played brass and at sort of in the middle of the Band. All were vitally important to the band’s performance.

We sat around our kitchen table visiting and enjoying our frozen custard and from the way our guests talked and conducted themselves it was very clear that they loved Jesus. If I had not been at the concert there was no way I could discern which woman had what role in the band. That is a bit unusual for members of a band or orchestra. Usually there is most definitely a pecking order relating to which instrument is more important and who sits where. Our guests were different. They weren’t interested in blowing their own horn because they were playing for the glory of God.

The most difficult part of forming the church in Corinth was learning to set aside the class distinctions that were ingrained in their culture. In the previous chapter we learned that the Corinthians struggled with these class distinctions as they celebrated the Lord’s Supper. Today their struggle with self-importance over which of the gifts of God was most important is revealed. Paul is teaching the church that when our purpose is to glorify God and to help each other the class distinctions dissolve.

Jesus IS the Answer

On January 12, 2011 President Obama called our nation to serious soul searching in response to the tragedy in Tucson. He suggested we need to examine the lack of respect and civility in public debate as well as the state of mental health care and access to handguns.

One of my friends put on his Facebook page his appreciation of President Obama’s remarks at the Memorial in Tucson. His post drew an interesting assortment of responses, from a simple “Amen” (from me) to longer responses in support and a few critical of the President. Later a news network reported that in response to the shooting in Tucson several people have posted death threats on Tweeter aimed at Sarah Palin. Here are a few examples:

"My hatred for Sarah Palin continues to grow... I think this woman should be assassinated."

Another user posted: "Sarah Palin should be shot for her encouragement of fanaticism against Democrats."

While the polarized politics in our nation had nothing to do with the shooting in Tucson, the danger posed by this reality has certainly been apparent in the aftermath of the shootings.

All of the Cable TV and Internet pundits will have an assortment of suggested solutions. I am not a pundit. I am a preacher. But, I know the answer to this problem in our nation. The answer is found in the Sermon on the Mount. In fact, the first two Beatitudes are sufficient to change the tone of public debate.

We hear the call to humility in Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” In Matthew 5: 4, ‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted" Jesus calls us to grieve over the fact that apart from God there is no way we can have the authentic humility that will help build a world where there is respect and dignity expressed to all of God’s children.

In this Beatitude the wisdom of God is apparent as we are first comforted by God for the hurts in our own lives which then lead us to grieve over the hurt our sins cause to God as well as our family and neighbors. This awareness leads us to grieve over the state of life in our fallen world.

Some suggest that saying ‘Jesus is the answer’ is way too simplistic. It is, if you think just reading the Sermon on the Mount is going to change anything. Jesus doesn’t call us to read the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus calls us to live it. Living it is neither easy nor simplistic. But, it is life transforming.

First Think Then Pray Part Six

First Think, Then Pray

NOTE: Several months ago I began a series on the Prayers of St. Paul. That work led me to write a short book about learning to pray as the first century church prayed. Beginning with this post I will be posting excerpts from the book. You may EMAIL office@christumc.us if you are interested in receiving a copy of the book.

First Think, Then Pray

Develop the discipline of learning to think before you pray. Take time to contemplate who you are:

• You are the child of God;

• And whose you are:

• You belong to God the Father Almighty.

To first think and then pray is to keep focused on God’s purpose to transform our lives to become like Jesus as we encounter our environment. We don’t pray to change God; we pray to change ourselves. We don’t pray for God to change our circumstances; we pray to become more like Jesus.

Remember That God Is At Work Within You: Consider the possibilities of the circumstance for which you are about to pray.

• What could God want to teach you through this circumstance?

• Is there a possibility that God can use you to further His purposes through this circumstance?

Before you offer your petitions to God, think about what you have been taught through your church doctrine. Why? Because, often we will find the answer to our prayer is right in front of us. We will know what to do. I remember counseling a young woman about forgiveness. (She has given me permission to share her story.) In her youth, while in college she had done something (committed a sin) she later regretted. When she was in her late twenties circumstances came up that caused her to remember her past sin. It tormented her and she kept asking God for forgiveness. She asked close friends to pray for her, but she did not get the response she was hoping for. As she said to me, “I just don’t feel as though God as forgiven me.”

In response to her I ask her to read in her Bible 1 John 1: 9, “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” I then told her that as Christians we are taught that if we confess our sins God is faithful to forgive us. How we feel isn’t the issue. The faithfulness of God to honor His Word is the only issue. You have to choose what you are going to believe: your feelings or God’s Word. She choose God’s Word and her prayer changed from asking God to do what He had already done, to thanksgiving for His unfailing love.

Sometimes the issue may be more complicated than that. Still, we need to think through our issues before we take them to God in prayer. . In our Wesleyan heritage we have been taught to formulate our response to the various issues of life by searching scripture; applying our God given reason; considering the traditions of the church: how have Christians responded to issues like this in the past?; and through our own personal experience of God’s leading in our life.

Develop the discipline of keeping track of how you pray. The vast majority of our prayers should be Kingdom related as opposed to increasing our comfort or changing circumstances.

(Remember, Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. Matthew 6: 31-33)

Whether praying for yourself or interceding for another person, always pray for an awareness of how God can use the issue or circumstance for good to further yours or their transformation to become like Christ.

Pray for the church and specifically for you as a part of the Body of Christ, to be faithful to God’s calling to make disciples of Jesus for the transformation of the world.

Summary:

Prayer is built on the premise that God has a will for our lives. Prayer is our invitation for God’s will to prevail in our lives. Prayer prepares us to receive that will and live according to it. Prayer empowers us to be the people God wants us to be. Our main part in prayer is to examine ourselves to see if our will, our priorities in life are the same as God’s will for us.
What are the top three priorities or goals for your life? Some people have a hard time articulating their priorities. There is a simple exercise that can help you accurately identify the priorities of your life. Take a moment to examine how you spend your money; how you spend your time; and the things you think about or day-dream about. Take a few minutes and ponder those three questions. Make a list of where most of your money goes; what you do with your time and what’s the subject of your day dreams. That list will give you a pretty good idea of your priorities.

The point of this exercise is that in over thirty years of pastoral ministry seldom have I found people listing Kingdom goals or priorities among their top three. There in lies the greatest difficult with our prayer life. We don’t have our hearts set on the same things as God’s heart.
God’s greatest desire for His children is that we will want what He wants for our lives. (Philippians 2:13 “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.”)

Prayer is God’s gift of grace to His followers. In prayer we have an opportunity to share our hearts deepest desires with God. (Psalm 37:4) Prayer is also our opportunity to hear from God and be changed by Him. As we listen for God’s still small voice we will receive wisdom and direction to help us fulfill God’s purpose for our life.

The problem is that many of our prayers are not seeking God to develop authentic Christian character in our lives. Instead, our prayers are asking God to fix what we think is broken. However, the great promise of God is that when we redirect our prayers from our self interest to the interest of God we experience God’s presence in our lives.

Remember, there is no circumstance in your life so far removed that your Heavenly Father cannot find you in prayer. There is no place so dark or tear-stained that your Heavenly Father cannot comfort you in prayer. There is no burden so crushing that your Heavenly Father cannot lift you up in prayer. There is no future so impossible that your Heavenly Father cannot lead you there according to his will.

Mother Teresa said God has created us to love and to be loved. The beginning of prayer is to know that God loves us and that we have been created for greater things. Prayer enlarges the heart until it is capable of containing God's gift of himself.

My prayer for you is that you experience
God enlarging your heart for His home.