Grow Up!
Sermon
Christmas Grace
Cycle A Second Lesson Sermons for Advent, Christmas, Epiphany
The best way to jump-start your spiritual life, according to a recent survey, is to serve others in Jesus'name, in addition to studying the Bible. Eighty thousand people from 200 churches responded to this survey. What sent shock waves to pastors and leaders everywhere is that the weekly worship service can only carry a person so far in aiding spiritual growth. If the person only attends worship after awhile they become bored, angry, and sometimes leave the church. They describe their experience as being stalled in their spiritual growth.
According to this extensive study, serving is the most catalytic experience in fostering spiritual growth. "It appears that serving experiences are more significant to spiritual development than organized small groups" was one of the conclusions from this study. Reaching out and serving other people in Jesus' name does more for our spiritual growth than anything else. Not to mention that in serving we are helping other people in Jesus' name.
Spending time reading and studying the Bible is another way to fuel your spiritual life. "Spending time in the Bible is hands down the highest impact personal spiritual practice... that is most predictive of growth." While attending weekly worship services is important, serving, and spending time in God's word will catapult people in their spiritual life.1
As modern-day disciples of Jesus Christ, we are called to live out our faith in practical ways. Jesus defined believers as, "the light of the world" (Matthew 5:14). Jesus instructs us to let our light shine for others to see and not keep it to ourselves. While we live in the world we are not of the world. When people see how we conduct ourselves on a daily basis it should be noticeably clear from our behavior that we are different from the rest of the world. The love, joy, and generosity in our lives should stand out. If we blend in with everyone else there would be reason for concern.
The Corinthian church presented quite a problem for the apostle Paul. Within that new church some people thought too highly of themselves, and this only added to their problems. Whenever there are people within the church who project themselves as better than everyone else there are bound to be problems as well as hurt feelings. Paul tried his best throughout his letter to point out the error of their ways with the hope that they would change.
In the previous chapter Paul wrote about wisdom, knowing that there were people within that church who thrived on wisdom. The danger was that a group of people thought they knew it all, or maybe that their understanding was greater than Paul's. Paul brought them back to reality when he wrote, "I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ." This was not what they wanted to hear. They thought that they were mature believers, while Paul reminded them that they were still babes in Christ.
Paul uses the metaphor of an infant to describe how a person comes to faith. The new believer learns the basics of the faith: how God created the world, how Jesus suffered and died for all of our sins, and how the Holy Spirit empowers us for ministry. The starting point is entering into a relationship with Jesus Christ. The next steps would be reading the Bible, attending worship, and learning from other believers. These steps can be compared to the milk that nourishes infants. Just as an infant grows and begins to eat solid food so the believer should continue to grow and mature in the faith. The problem is that it does not always happen. People become stuck or stalled in their faith development. This was a problem in the Corinthian congregation and is still a problem in many of our churches today as well.
The current spiritual landscape has been described as being a mile wide but only a half inch deep. The task of the church is to help people grow in their faith. One way is by providing instruction and resources. To make disciples we have to dig deep into God's Word. We have to step outside of our comfort zones and serve others in Jesus' name.
The danger is when we reach a point in our spiritual lives when we feel we no longer need to grow. That was the point Paul was trying to make to the Corinthians. The people stopped growing and were in effect stuck in infancy for far too long. They should have been eating solid food but were still only drinking milk. They should have been maturing in their faith but were behaving like babies. They should have been walking or learning to ride a bike but they were still crawling on their hands and knees -- they were stuck! What made the situation worse was that the Corinthians did not realize they were stuck. They thought they were doing all right when in fact they were not. "Even now you are still not ready," Paul advised.
As long as there was division in the congregation they were not mature or growing in their faith. "For as long as there is jealousy and quarreling among you," Paul boldly wrote, "are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to human inclinations?" With their fighting, jealousy, and quarreling they were living like everyone else -- like much of the world. As growing, maturing believers they should have out-grown such behavior. The way they treated each other in the church should have been noticeably different from the rest of the world. But unfortunately that was not the case.
Within the fellowship of the church there is no place for people to insist on their own way to the exclusion of everyone's ideas and feelings. Whenever people insist on their own way, they hold everyone else spiritually hostage to the detriment of the mission of the church.
Knitting groups have been started in many churches. Women come together to knit and pray together, sometimes reading out loud favorite verses or singing hymns. Most knit scarves, blankets, and baby clothes to give away. But often the creative act of crafting combined with the power of giving transforms women spiritually. Meetings become places of spiritual connection.
One group, which meets in a church in Chicago, call themselves "Crafty Angels" and focuses on serving the poor. What they make and give away is truly impressive. In 2006 the group donated more than 3,000 items including baby caps and blankets for a local hospital, hats, mittens, and scarves for a community outreach. They're also involved in "Afghans for Afghans," which collects hand-knitted blankets for a women's hospital in war-ravaged Afghanistan. The group that meets at the church is small, only ten in number but another fifty women from around the country stay in touch via email and send in items they have knitted.
"The women are thrilled to do something they love to make a difference," says one of the organizers, Chris Pokorny. "I enjoy telling them, 'You're helping people around the world.' It's exciting to see women empowered and mobilized. They realize they can do God's work through something they like to do." Then she adds, "That's energizing."2 With everyone working together the church can do amazing things in the name of Jesus Christ.
Paul is credited as starting the church at Corinth, but another preacher Apollos came after he left. In that conflicted congregation sides were drawn with some remaining loyal to Paul and others claiming, "I belong to Apollos." It is dangerous to our spiritual health when we elevate pastors to that level, and it is also bad for the pastor. People become stuck when all they think about is a former pastor or how much better they like the new preacher than the previous one. Pastors are not in competition with one another.
Paul reminded the troubled Corinthians that both he and Apollos were on the same side. Each individual had different gifts, as Paul will claim later in his letter. When one person's gifts are used in conjunction with other gifts within the congregation the church will thrive.
Neither pastor tried to elevate himself either as Paul reminds his readers. Both were servants of the risen Lord. Paul viewed his role as planter, like a farmer who plants seeds, so Paul began the church. For growth or maturity to take place someone would have to water the seeds. In this case it was Apollos who followed Paul. But neither gentleman should have received credit or accolades because they were only fulfilling their God-given tasks. "God gave the growth," Paul and Apollos were both servants.
"So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth," Paul stated. Unlike the people Paul was addressing in his letter, he sought no special status, nor was he in competition with Apollos or any other pastor. Their gifts were complementary. Paul allowed God to use him in any way that would benefit the kingdom. Apollos could not do what Paul did and Paul could not do what Apollos did -- both used their God-given gifts to build up the church. Their efforts would not have amounted to much if it were not for God.
God can and will do amazing things in our lives and in the life of our church when we surrender our will to God's. "For we are God's servants, working together," we work together to the glory of God and not to receive human recognition or applause. This was what Paul hoped his friends in Corinth would soon understand. It was time for the Corinthians to grow up!
The church, just like the field in Paul's metaphor, belongs to God. Individual leaders who come and go are insignificant; they are simply field hands. The church belongs to God. Amen.
__________
1. Greg L. Hawkins and Callie Parkinson, Follow Me (Chicago: Willow Creek Association, 2008), pp. 40, 114.
2. Ken Wyatt, "Praying and Purling," Today's Christian Woman, Sept/Oct. 2007, Vol. 29, No. 5.
According to this extensive study, serving is the most catalytic experience in fostering spiritual growth. "It appears that serving experiences are more significant to spiritual development than organized small groups" was one of the conclusions from this study. Reaching out and serving other people in Jesus' name does more for our spiritual growth than anything else. Not to mention that in serving we are helping other people in Jesus' name.
Spending time reading and studying the Bible is another way to fuel your spiritual life. "Spending time in the Bible is hands down the highest impact personal spiritual practice... that is most predictive of growth." While attending weekly worship services is important, serving, and spending time in God's word will catapult people in their spiritual life.1
As modern-day disciples of Jesus Christ, we are called to live out our faith in practical ways. Jesus defined believers as, "the light of the world" (Matthew 5:14). Jesus instructs us to let our light shine for others to see and not keep it to ourselves. While we live in the world we are not of the world. When people see how we conduct ourselves on a daily basis it should be noticeably clear from our behavior that we are different from the rest of the world. The love, joy, and generosity in our lives should stand out. If we blend in with everyone else there would be reason for concern.
The Corinthian church presented quite a problem for the apostle Paul. Within that new church some people thought too highly of themselves, and this only added to their problems. Whenever there are people within the church who project themselves as better than everyone else there are bound to be problems as well as hurt feelings. Paul tried his best throughout his letter to point out the error of their ways with the hope that they would change.
In the previous chapter Paul wrote about wisdom, knowing that there were people within that church who thrived on wisdom. The danger was that a group of people thought they knew it all, or maybe that their understanding was greater than Paul's. Paul brought them back to reality when he wrote, "I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ." This was not what they wanted to hear. They thought that they were mature believers, while Paul reminded them that they were still babes in Christ.
Paul uses the metaphor of an infant to describe how a person comes to faith. The new believer learns the basics of the faith: how God created the world, how Jesus suffered and died for all of our sins, and how the Holy Spirit empowers us for ministry. The starting point is entering into a relationship with Jesus Christ. The next steps would be reading the Bible, attending worship, and learning from other believers. These steps can be compared to the milk that nourishes infants. Just as an infant grows and begins to eat solid food so the believer should continue to grow and mature in the faith. The problem is that it does not always happen. People become stuck or stalled in their faith development. This was a problem in the Corinthian congregation and is still a problem in many of our churches today as well.
The current spiritual landscape has been described as being a mile wide but only a half inch deep. The task of the church is to help people grow in their faith. One way is by providing instruction and resources. To make disciples we have to dig deep into God's Word. We have to step outside of our comfort zones and serve others in Jesus' name.
The danger is when we reach a point in our spiritual lives when we feel we no longer need to grow. That was the point Paul was trying to make to the Corinthians. The people stopped growing and were in effect stuck in infancy for far too long. They should have been eating solid food but were still only drinking milk. They should have been maturing in their faith but were behaving like babies. They should have been walking or learning to ride a bike but they were still crawling on their hands and knees -- they were stuck! What made the situation worse was that the Corinthians did not realize they were stuck. They thought they were doing all right when in fact they were not. "Even now you are still not ready," Paul advised.
As long as there was division in the congregation they were not mature or growing in their faith. "For as long as there is jealousy and quarreling among you," Paul boldly wrote, "are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to human inclinations?" With their fighting, jealousy, and quarreling they were living like everyone else -- like much of the world. As growing, maturing believers they should have out-grown such behavior. The way they treated each other in the church should have been noticeably different from the rest of the world. But unfortunately that was not the case.
Within the fellowship of the church there is no place for people to insist on their own way to the exclusion of everyone's ideas and feelings. Whenever people insist on their own way, they hold everyone else spiritually hostage to the detriment of the mission of the church.
Knitting groups have been started in many churches. Women come together to knit and pray together, sometimes reading out loud favorite verses or singing hymns. Most knit scarves, blankets, and baby clothes to give away. But often the creative act of crafting combined with the power of giving transforms women spiritually. Meetings become places of spiritual connection.
One group, which meets in a church in Chicago, call themselves "Crafty Angels" and focuses on serving the poor. What they make and give away is truly impressive. In 2006 the group donated more than 3,000 items including baby caps and blankets for a local hospital, hats, mittens, and scarves for a community outreach. They're also involved in "Afghans for Afghans," which collects hand-knitted blankets for a women's hospital in war-ravaged Afghanistan. The group that meets at the church is small, only ten in number but another fifty women from around the country stay in touch via email and send in items they have knitted.
"The women are thrilled to do something they love to make a difference," says one of the organizers, Chris Pokorny. "I enjoy telling them, 'You're helping people around the world.' It's exciting to see women empowered and mobilized. They realize they can do God's work through something they like to do." Then she adds, "That's energizing."2 With everyone working together the church can do amazing things in the name of Jesus Christ.
Paul is credited as starting the church at Corinth, but another preacher Apollos came after he left. In that conflicted congregation sides were drawn with some remaining loyal to Paul and others claiming, "I belong to Apollos." It is dangerous to our spiritual health when we elevate pastors to that level, and it is also bad for the pastor. People become stuck when all they think about is a former pastor or how much better they like the new preacher than the previous one. Pastors are not in competition with one another.
Paul reminded the troubled Corinthians that both he and Apollos were on the same side. Each individual had different gifts, as Paul will claim later in his letter. When one person's gifts are used in conjunction with other gifts within the congregation the church will thrive.
Neither pastor tried to elevate himself either as Paul reminds his readers. Both were servants of the risen Lord. Paul viewed his role as planter, like a farmer who plants seeds, so Paul began the church. For growth or maturity to take place someone would have to water the seeds. In this case it was Apollos who followed Paul. But neither gentleman should have received credit or accolades because they were only fulfilling their God-given tasks. "God gave the growth," Paul and Apollos were both servants.
"So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth," Paul stated. Unlike the people Paul was addressing in his letter, he sought no special status, nor was he in competition with Apollos or any other pastor. Their gifts were complementary. Paul allowed God to use him in any way that would benefit the kingdom. Apollos could not do what Paul did and Paul could not do what Apollos did -- both used their God-given gifts to build up the church. Their efforts would not have amounted to much if it were not for God.
God can and will do amazing things in our lives and in the life of our church when we surrender our will to God's. "For we are God's servants, working together," we work together to the glory of God and not to receive human recognition or applause. This was what Paul hoped his friends in Corinth would soon understand. It was time for the Corinthians to grow up!
The church, just like the field in Paul's metaphor, belongs to God. Individual leaders who come and go are insignificant; they are simply field hands. The church belongs to God. Amen.
__________
1. Greg L. Hawkins and Callie Parkinson, Follow Me (Chicago: Willow Creek Association, 2008), pp. 40, 114.
2. Ken Wyatt, "Praying and Purling," Today's Christian Woman, Sept/Oct. 2007, Vol. 29, No. 5.
